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c3Category — Housing & Homelessness
Posted inNews

Multnomah County Pauses New Housing Vouchers After Losing State Funding

As Mayor Wilson pushes for more shelter beds, county resources for moving people to permanent housing are dwindling
Avatar photo Jeremiah Hayden

Multnomah County is pausing new housing placements for hundreds of homeless residents after adjusting its budget to address the loss of state funding it had expected to receive. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 October 30 to approve funding for 1,051 people to continue their housing process through rental voucher programs. But it […]

Posted inOpinion

The Black Byline: A 10-Year-Old (Forgotten) Emergency

In 2015 a Renters’ State of Emergency was declared. Ten years later, Oregon has its highest eviction levels in history—why? 
Avatar photo Donovan Scribes (fka Donovan Smith)

REMEMBER: DIKES ARE SAFE AT PRESENT. YOU WILL BE WARNED IF NECESSARY. YOU WILL HAVE TIME TO LEAVE. DON’T GET EXCITED. —Housing Authority of Portland (present day Home Forward), May 30, 1948 notice to Vanport residents.  THE STORM The ground was eroding beneath Portlanders. Yet another rent increase. An eviction notice is on the door. […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Portland Responds to SNAP Shutdown Delays and Funding Cuts: Resources to Use and Support

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars are delayed. These organizations, markets, restaurants, and cafes are trying to fill people’s plates.
Avatar photo Suzette Smith

Oregonians that rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars will likely find their accounts running low this November. Whatever’s in there won’t disappear, but new deposits will likely be delayed. There’s more than one reason why. The major issue looming in everyone’s minds has to do with the ongoing shutdown of the federal government—in […]

Posted inNews

Mayor Wilson Puts Portland Housing Bureau Director On Leave

Social housing expert Helmi Hisserich has been the Bureau’s director since 2024, but Wilson remains ‘laser focused’ on temporary overnight shelters
Avatar photo Jeremiah Hayden

Mayor Keith Wilson has put Portland Housing Bureau Director Helmi Hisserich on leave, effective immediately. City Administrator Michael Jordan sent an email to city councilors and city leadership on October 30 announcing Hisserich’s leave, according to public records obtained by the Mercury. The letter names Michael Buonocore as the interim director while Hisserich is on […]

Posted inNews

City of Portland Begins Enforcement of ‘Public Camping’ Rules This Weekend

The same day federal SNAP benefits expire for over 15,000 homeless Multnomah County residents, Mayor Wilson piles on penalties for being homeless in Portland.
Avatar photo Jeremiah Hayden

Note: This story has been updated to include comments from Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vazquez. This weekend, the city of Portland is resuming enforcement of its local laws governing when, where, and how homeless Portlanders can live in public spaces. Mayor Keith Wilson announced that enforcement would begin November 1, saying he wants people […]

Posted inNews

ICE Targets Chicago’s Homeless Community

Plus, law enforcement attempts to stifle free speech, and barring the feds from making arrests at the county courthouse.
Avatar photo Chicago Reader staff

[This roundup of news about ICE and the incursion of federal agents and troops in Chicago comes from our sister paper, the Chicago Reader—eds.] Feds target unhoused Chicagoans Since September, at least six unhoused Chicagoans have been abducted by federal agents. That number is likely higher, but the social invisibility and isolation already faced by […]

Posted inNews

Eviction of Disabled Veteran Halted After Intervention From Neighbors and a City Councilor

A 68-year-old man in Northwest Portland was served an eviction notice for unpaid rent he says he didn’t know he owed.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Updated: 12:50 pm Thursday This story has been updated with input from Home Forward. A veteran with disabilities who faced eviction will stay in his apartment, after intervention from a tenant union and a Portland city councilor.  Last Friday, Dan McLean, 68, got an eviction notice at his apartment in The Yards at Union Station—an […]

Posted inNews

UPDATE: “We Do Not Consent”: Sweep at Thousand Acres Removes Longtime Unhoused Community

State contractors used pepper spray on people while removing an encampment along the Sandy River delta. The situation highlights pitfalls in Oregon’s approach to chronic homelessness.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

UPDATE SUN, JUNE 8: The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) has announced it’s pausing cleanup and restoration work at the Sandy River Delta, the longtime home of a community of unhoused people whose encampment was recently swept by a private hazmat company hired by the state. Following questions from the Mercury about a protester/bystander […]

Posted inNews

City Councilors Advocate for Tenants in Old Town Affordable Housing

Councilors Mitch Green and Candace Avalos say a small budget adjustment could help tenants stay in their homes.
Avatar photo Adlai Coleman

Following public outcry over leasing rates from tenants at Everett Station Lofts, Portland City Councilors Mitch Green and Candace Avalos have suggested a potential solution in the form of a rent subsidy.  Everett Station Lofts has a unique agreement with the city that lies outside of the usual state and federal affordable housing programs, allowing […]

Posted inNews

City Council Halts Vote on AI Rental Pricing Software Ban

Portland City Councilor Angelita Morillo says city attorneys are monitoring a lawsuit in California related to the algorithm-driven software 
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

An ordinance that would prohibit AI-driven rental pricing software in Portland was referred back to the Housing and Homelessness Committee as the city waits to see how a lawsuit over a similar ordinance in California plays out.

Posted inNews

Cash-Strapped Tenants Say Landlords Flout Housing Rules at Low-Rent Apartments

As residents push back against property managers, many are questioning whether current oversight and enforcement can meaningfully protect them.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

Property management companies are facing scrutiny over living conditions at several affordable housing sites in Portland, as tenant groups have begun to push back. The tenants union at Wimbledon Square and Gardens (WSG) in inner Southeast Portland rallied against their property manager, Prime Residential, on Saturday March 1, calling on Prime to remedy issues related […]

Posted inNews

Priced Out of Affordable Housing: City Sides With Property Owner in Dispute Over Rents

Tenants at Everett Station Lofts say they’re being price gouged on rent-capped units. Historic documents show a strange financial arrangement with the city of Portland.
Avatar photo Adlai Coleman

On a gray December morning last year, a group of neighbors made their way through downtown Portland, headed for the office of the city’s Housing Bureau. Their goal was to deliver a demand letter asking the Bureau to intervene on behalf of the newly created tenant union at the Everett Station Lofts.  The letter laid […]

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