The Commission this week voted to approve a proposal advanced by Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, in partnership with Char Vega Pederson, that will kick-off the creation of an economic empowerment strategy for Multnomah County.
“We're facing economic head winds for a variety of reasons, but the County has been essentially a missing partner and player in economic development,” said Commissioner Brim-Edwards. “So today's proposal will kick-start our work to better support, retain, and help grow our existing businesses, while also pursuing strategies to better position Multnomah County as a welcoming place to attract new business and traded-sector employers.”
This week the County unveiled a new and comprehensive Data Dashboard with more accurate data on the number of individuals who are homeless in the County. The improved data shows that 14,361 people in Multnomah County are experiencing homelessness, an increase of thousands from previous estimates.
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards has been calling on the County and providers to share this detailed data and reporting for over a year, which is key to ensuring accountability and informing more effective strategies that address homelessness.
Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards released the following statement:
“As shocking as it is to see the new numbers, it provides us with better data that should be used to inform better outcomes. If we don’t have accurate data on the number of individuals experiencing homelessness, we won’t know whether we are making progress, treading water, or losing ground on moving people off the streets and into shelter and providing a path to housing.
“Homelessness requires a collective, community response. We need to fulfill the City-County commitments to our Community Sheltering Strategy that calls for a net significant increase in shelter beds, and we need the City of Portland and those with the responsibility to drive increased housing production to deliver on that needed housing supply.
“Ultimately though, to truly end homelessness, we need more housing. As we work to sustain the County’s shelter services and expand behavioral health and addiction treatment services, we need the City and Metro to take urgent action to fund more transitional, affordable and permanent housing that meets the diverse needs of our community.”