Watch the board briefing here.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners heard updates Tuesday, Nov. 5, about ongoing efforts to maximize support for households who aren’t part of the homeless service system and who need emergency rent assistance to prevent being evicted.
Requested by a Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget note, the briefing was intended to address the efficacy, short-and long-term impacts, and staffing needs of Multnomah County’s emergency rent assistance programs — an invaluable resource for individuals and families that can both prevent immediate evictions and ultimately avoid and mitigate the long-term costs of houselessness.
Without the County’s emergency eviction prevention rent assistance programs, “it is a guarantee that we would see more families experiencing homelessness,” said Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who opened the briefing.
“The long-term impact on children is a critical part of the story that can’t be ignored. With rental prices increasing, utility costs spiking and the cost of food multiplying, it's become increasingly difficult for working families to meet their needs. This is a systemic issue and not an issue of a lack of effort, personal responsibility or poor choices,” said Vega Pederson.
Emergency rent assistance, which helps people stabilize and retain their housing, while also allowing households to make decisions for their future that will keep them housed, “is one of the only programs we have to intervene and prevent childhood homelessness,” said Department of County Human Services Deputy Director Rachel Pearl.
“I believe everyone in this room would align in the value of doing everything we can to prevent any child in our community from spending one night sleeping outside or wondering where they might sleep. We need to take a firm stance on this as a county.”
The way the program assists people, she continued, “is an example of how we lean in to not only trust our community members who are navigating poverty, but also remove barriers that help them move towards thriving and reaching the life they want for themselves and their families, the life they deserve.”
Pandemic-era American Rescue Plan dollars provided an influx of funding that helped establish and expand the County’s emergency rent assistance program to over $100 million. Those investments kept young children, domestic violence survivors, aging adults and many more in housing, Pearl shared.
“Prior to the pandemic, there was no emergency rent assistance funding and no investments to tenant education and advocacy, core outreach, and eviction legal defense," said Pearl.
But now, the County must navigate a steep drop in available funding, even and especially as eviction rates reach what officials said are unprecedented levels. As resources decrease without federal emergency dollars, “we are committed to finding a path forward for emergency rent assistance that continues to meet people where they are,” said Vega Pederson.
For Fiscal Year 2025 — which runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025 — the County’s eviction prevention efforts are supported by a combination of federal, state and local funding totaling $23.8 million, the majority of which is allocated as one-time-only dollars.
One-time funding presents significant challenges, including hiring and retaining staff, planning for long-term continuity, and collecting follow-up data, said Pearl. Evaluating the program also becomes challenging, as that requires additional employees, effectively competing with dollars that can be used to directly provide more people with rent assistance.
The good news, however, is that community experience and frontline worker feedback all reflect an effective program that’s making critical short- and long-term differences, said Pearl. However, the program model requires enhanced support for its services, improved responsiveness to clients, and increased staff support.
Pearl presented a slide of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness’ recently adopted framework for homelessness prevention, which is organized into a tiered system that prioritizes prevention, then diversion, then rehousing and stabilization.
“It speaks to how homelessness is not simply a housing crisis — it's the result of cracks in multiple systems and requires multi-system solutions,” she explained. “To end homelessness we obviously know that we need all systems and sectors involved in health and human services, the justice system, education, employment, child welfare, and emergency services working together towards common goals.
“This aligns with the One County approach that we often talk about here.”
What rent assistance and eviction prevention looks like
Lolita Broadous, the Housing Stability Team program manager in the Department of County Human Services’ Youth and Family Services Division, provided an overview of FY 2025 eviction prevention and housing services.
An initial set of support includes:
- Information and access to eviction prevention resources.
- Triage to assess needs and connect tenants with appropriate services.
- Access to a centralized emergency eviction process through 211info.
Those who are facing eviction receive:
- Information about tenant rights.
- Referrals to legal support and advocacy organizations.
- Court outreach and legal representation to help dismiss cases.
Depending on the circumstances, the County can then step in with:
- Emergency Rent Assistance that offers crisis response and one-time emergency rent assistance to prevent immediate eviction.
- Economic Recovery that offers short-term stability support, including rent assistance and other holistic services, to help tenants regain financial stability and prevent future housing crises.
The work spans a network of internal County programs and external partners that work together. 211info provides centralized access and information to callers seeking help. The Community Alliance of Tenants supports tenants through outreach, education and advocacy.
Legal and court-related services include Bienestar de la Familia’s court outreach team, Metropolitan Public Defender, Portland Community College, Oregon Law Center and this year the Commons Law Center.
Community-based organizations provide case management and emergency rent assistance, including culturally specific providers and organizations working with survivors of domestic violence.
County programs like Bienestar de la Familia, County Human Services’ Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Division, and the Health Department offer rent assistance and eviction prevention services.
“We have about $16.3 million in emergency rent assistance available currently and project that we can provide rent assistance to approximately 35 (hundred) to 3,600 households,” said Broadous.
The state’s Medicaid 1115 waiver, which launched Nov. 1, days before the briefing, will “complement and enhance” the County’s current rent assistance and eviction prevention efforts,” Broadous shared. Through the waiver, eligible members of the Oregon Health Plan may qualify for rent assistance, nutrition support and climate devices.
Tracking of the County’s emergency rent assistance program beneficiaries shows that 92% of households that received rent assistance remained in the same housing or moved to more stable housing 12 months after they were no longer receiving the assistance. 79% of those served by the program had an eviction notice when they applied; and 86% of them were able to avoid an eviction on their permanent record.
Critical needs
According to the County economist, rent increases are likely to outpace increases in pay. Utility rates and inflation, including the cost of essential goods such as groceries and household items, are also rising. These are just some of the challenges low-income renters face, explained Pearl.
"On the income side, unemployment is not high, but it is higher than it has been, and job openings are declining," she noted. "This erodes workers' bargaining power and will lead to slower wage increases.”
The scenario places immense pressure on low-income renters for whom the cost of living can force them to decide between rent and utilities, explained Pearl. Yet even if a household chooses to have their electricity turned off to have enough funds to pay rent, “they can likely be evicted because they’re out of compliance.”
Pearl shared census poll data showing that from Aug. 20 through Sept. 16, 2024, 11.23% of Oregon tenants reported they were not caught up on rent payments, a significant uptick compared to previous surveys that showed rates from 8.35% to 9.81%.
In Court
Becky Straus, managing attorney of the Oregon Law Center’s Eviction Defense Project, said two attorneys and one paralegal are specifically dedicated to the nonprofit’s eviction services in Multnomah County through Supportive Housing Services funds.
Last fiscal year, the group served over 5,000 Multnomah County tenant households seeking assistance for anything from Know Your Rights materials and referrals, to resources to presentation in court, said Straus. The Eviction Defense Project also closely monitors eviction court filings.
"We've known, more than we’ve ever known before, about what’s happening to tenants in eviction court,” Straus said while showing a chart of eviction non-payment filings in Multnomah County from June 2022 to September 2024.
“Filings are high in September 2024 and that trend is continuing into October and November. They’re higher than they were pre-pandemic.”
Straus cited two reasons for the increase: economic struggles, as well as “the availability of rent assistance, which is often accessible only to those in eviction court.”
Landlords are now more likely to initiate eviction proceedings sooner, in eviction court, because that's where the resources are, she theorized.
But the good news, Straus noted, “is that protections the state legislature put in place in early 2023 through House Bill 2001 prioritized slowing down court eviction timelines to align with rent assistance disbursement,” which allows more time for tenants to access resources.
“We’re seeing a key difference in dismissal rates and tenant wins at trial with a 60% dismissal rate, up from 30% a couple years ago,” said Straus.
Still, roughly 25% to 35% of tenants do not have their cases dismissed, while there are additionally “probably about five times the number of households that get to eviction court (who) get a notice and are displaced before they ever reach eviction court,” Straus estimated.
Needs by race and ZIP code
Straus also shared a Portland State University study comparing eviction filing rates for different racial demographics. “What we’re seeing is clear disparities in who faces evictions, which underscores that all of the eviction prevention work you’re doing and homelessness prevention work is important race equity work, as well.”
Another way to understand who needs emergency rent assistance is looking at ZIP codes of those who have requested and received it, said Broadous, while sharing a map of zip codes in Multnomah County.
“In FY 2024, there is a need throughout the County for rent assistance, with the density of recipients matching areas with higher numbers of low-income households and BIPOC residents,” she explained.
Emergency rent assistance provider partners have also shared with the County that the demand for emergency rent assistance is growing at a rapid pace.
“There’s increasing need from low-income folks, but also those who are fully employed,” said Broadous. That instability extends even to those who are engaged in the direct work of providing the assistance.
“I want to express my appreciation for the adaptability and resilience of our eviction prevention and emergency rent assistance staff,” Broadous said. “Every day, they provide support to families who are struggling and afraid, even while facing their own uncertainties.
They do this with love and hope.”
Staffing
Case managers on the frontlines of providing rent and crisis support take on a wide range of responsibilities, from scheduling appointments and conducting intake interviews to verifying eligibility and engaging with landlords.
Within those responsibilities are countless more granular tasks. This includes gathering property manager documentation, confirming eligibility and completing a fraud prevention checklist. Once tenant verification is finalized, staff submit the documentation to Department of County Human Services supervisors for review and approval.
Nabil Zaghloul, manager of Bienstar de la Familia, shared that case management load ratios differ depending on the type of program someone needs.
The Emergency Rent Program, which helps low-income renters facing an imminent risk of eviction and for whom one-time emergency assistance will keep them housed, has a 1:300 case manager-to-client ratio. The Economic Recovery Program assists those for whom one-time emergency assistance is insufficient to keep them housed, whose needs beyond rent support includes employment, education, financial literacy and transportation. This program uses a 1:30 case manager-to-household ratio.
Zaghloul took a moment to share the story of a household — including a pregnant person and a daughter, who were evicted and lived together in a car — to illustrate the kind of life-altering impact emergency rent assistance can make.
“We were able to utilize the economic recovery to look at a holistic approach and access different services, not just rental assistance, and empowering families towards financial independence and resilience,” he said.
They are now housed and have an apartment.”
Final Questions
The FY 2025 budget note requested a comparison of the efficacy and outcomes between County-delivered emergency rent assistance services and services delivered by contracted providers.
"We found them to be quite comparable,” said Pearl, mentioning that each method of service delivery had its strengths.
The County is able to be more adaptable and responsive to quick timelines when there is an imminent risk of eviction, she said. On the other hand, community-based organizations excel at a "no wrong door” model for rent assistance. They also provide culturally specific services, which helps people feel more comfortable seeking support.
Board Remarks
"What methods have been implemented to safeguard against fraud or abuse of emergency rent assistance, and how have you measured any instances of fraud or abuse?” asked Commissioner Sharon Meieran.
The program, said Zaghoul, uses a comprehensive checklist to strengthen fraud detection. The process begins with two-step verification of both the applicant (and their residency) and the landlord.
Case managers collect applicants’ pay stubs and review landlords’ information, including business registration, Social Security numbers and W-9 forms. Case managers’ supervisors conduct further reviews before any payments are approved; the Accounts Payable team performs an additional, thorough approval process, he said.
“Is there a way to have more visibility upstream before it reaches eviction court?” asked Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards.
“Absolutely. Some of the work that the County does is upstream," Straus responded. “The landlord starts with a notice, then it goes to court. So some of the County programs and County-funded legal programs operate in the pre-court stage with 211 serving as the entry with requests for assistance, and the Oregon Law Center is primarily focused on the court stage.”
Commissioner Lori Stegmann inquired about the focus on economic mobility, asking how the County works holistically to allow families to rise above poverty.
As you know regular rent assistance focuses on short-term, responded Zaghloul. “It doesn’t address the underlying social challenges but rather immediate need to prevent eviction and secure housing. Bienestar’s Economic Recovery Program provides rental assistance but also access to workforce training, employment services, healthcare, transportation, and childcare, said Zaghloul.
"You're empowering families to obtain financial independence," he said. "It's designed to create lasting stability, but we need more programs like it — programs that invest in human capital with accountability."
Pearl thanked Chair Jessica Vega Pederson for her “fierce and consistent advocacy in programs like SUN Community Schools and Preschool for All, and the entire Board for continued investments in emergency rent assistance.”
“I think the reality is Portland is becoming a more expensive place to live,” said Vega Pederson. “This work is really important in figuring out how we're connecting all of the strategies to ensure we’re providing the safety net.”
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