Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson today released a new administrative rule guiding the County’s purchase and distribution of outreach supplies for people experiencing homelessness.
The new rule further limits the distribution of certain County-purchased gear, allowing direct distribution of tents only during severe weather and cold weather advisory events. Year-round, the County will continue to distribute hygiene kits, basic first aid supplies, water, clothing, and sleeping bags and blankets to people living unsheltered. The rule will take effect beginning Tuesday, May 27.
“Making sure people in our community are safe and housed is goal one. As we build more shelter beds and place more people in housing, our need to hand out supplies that help people survive outside will decrease,” said Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “This community can trust that we’re focusing on meeting critical goals — fewer people sleeping on the streets, more people entering treatment, and a safer community for everyone.”
“The proposed budget reduction for tents and tarps and the new proposed distribution rule is an important change and one that I support. Tents are not a solution to homelessness. This shift also acknowledges the impact unmanaged encampments have on public health, safety, accessibility and livability,” said Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards.
“I stated last year that we needed to make this policy shift.Taking urgent action, in coordination with the City of Portland, to stand up more shelter — and provide a path from shelter to housing — needs to be the focus of our work. It’s critical that we use our resources more effectively to help people move off the streets — not just survive outside, but find a path to stability and housing."
The County started directly distributing outreach supplies to providers and others, outside of severe weather, during the COVID-19 pandemic — to keep people safe from the elements and comply with public health guidance calling for increased physical distancing and capacity limits in congregate shelters.
Under the new rule, individual outreach providers will retain the ability to use their flexible client funding to obtain and distribute tents on their own, just as they were able to do before the pandemic. Flexible client funds allow providers to address a range of needs, including clothing, transit passes, meals and more. Providers will make those decisions based on the unavailability of an appropriate shelter bed and/or a particular person’s specific health needs.
The new rule replaces interim supply distribution guidelines implemented by the Homeless Services Department in October 2024.
Providing life-saving supplies can mitigate the poor health outcomes associated with unsheltered homelessness and provide people with a limited level of safety, security and privacy, particularly when adequate shelter and housing are unavailable. Outreach providers also distribute supplies to build trust and strengthen relationships with clients as they work to connect them with critical housing and healthcare services.
Multnomah County has an unequivocal imperative to increase shelter and housing capacity, thereby reducing the need for tents while mitigating the impact of the use of these supplies in public spaces as well as their inadequacy to be considered appropriate shelter. As additional shelter and affordable housing capacity becomes available, the community's need for tents should diminish. The goal is to have sufficient shelter and affordable housing capacity to make the distribution of tents unnecessary.
As of February 2025, providers funded by the Homeless Services Department were actively helping 7,398 formerly homeless people remain in apartments and homes through rent assistance and other services. That’s a 79% increase since January 2021.
In addition, since 2020, the number of shelter beds funded by the County and City of Portland has increased by 81%. The County has opened 18 new shelters since 2020 and provided funding and other support for the City of Portland’s Safe Rest Villages, Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites and new overnight-only shelters.
In the Chair’s proposed FY 2026 budget, the County would consolidate two existing County supply warehouses (one operated by the Office of Emergency Management, the other operated by the Homeless Services Department) to just one warehouse. That change, along with the changes to supply distribution, provides $941,000 that the County will use to maintain and expand other services.