Housing Multnomah Now (HMN)

The program piloted new outreach methods by bringing housing navigators, case managers, and dedicated funding for rent assistance and other needs to campsites. In addition to offering a blanket or referrals, street outreach workers directly connected people to housing resources that aren’t often available in their work.

Additionally, the program piloted new technology tools, serving as a “pre-pilot” for a mobile app for street outreach providers. In turn, this allowed them to input data in the field that geotagged the location of their interactions. A similar tool was later piloted on a wider scale across the County as part of the HSD’s work on Built for Zero. As a result, those project insights will guide future data collection work and help develop a tool for providers to identify available shelter beds.

Continually Strengthening Connections

The pilot allows HSD to strengthen connections between outreach teams, case managers and alternative shelter providers. This was due to the Multi-Agency Collaborative that led the HMN pilot and the local response to the Oregon All In initiative. The collaborative borrows elements from an emergency command structure typically used during disasters.

The group met weekly, convening key partners and leaders from the City of Portland and Mayor Ted Wheeler’s Office. More so, they worked together to select geographic locations for the program, establish eligibility requirements, and adapt to challenges along the way.

Expanded referral pathways increase access to housing

Early in the pilot, providers noticed a shift in camping patterns. People were no longer stationary in large campsites, but were instead found in smaller, scattered campsites. As such, that shift made the original program design difficult to scale as intended.

At the same time, the change dovetailed with the opening of new low-barrier shelter options like Clinton Triangle Temporary Alternative Shelter site. These focused on serving people impacted by camp cleanups.

Those locations needed additional resources to improve their “flow-through” to housing. Furthermore, these factors led the Multi-Agency Collaborative to adjust the eligibility criteria for the HMN program and expand the referral pathways. In turn, this allowed people who moved into shelter from the street within the past 90 days to qualify for the program.

Furthermore, instead of only serving people in specific geographic areas, the program began providing housing resources to street outreach workers. In turn, this allowed them to serve people living unsheltered across the County.

These changes, reflecting evolving community conditions, drastically increased the number of housing placements in a short period of time. They also allowed the program to continue housing some of the most vulnerable and highly impacted people in the community.

The housing placements build on the Homeless Services Department’s success in rehousing 234 households through Gov. Tina Kotek’s Oregon All In initiative, which also exceeded the state’s goal. A total of 545 households were housed across the two initiatives.

Building on HSD’s other housing programs

The placements are just one aspect of HSD’s efforts to help people transition from homelessness to permanent housing. In the fiscal year (July 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024), HSD funding helped 3,587 people move out of homelessness and into housing.

Additionally, the placements achieved through HMN in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, along with the rest of the HSD’s housing work, will add to that number. While the Housing Multnomah Now pilot program ended June 30 and won’t house additional people next fiscal year, it will continue providing housing assistance, case management and support services for people placed in housing during the pilot.

The Board of Commissioners allocated $5 million for the HSD to fund rent and services for people who moved into housing as a result of HMN, to ensure their continued stability in housing. Henceforth, from that experience, the County can increase the people it will house through other programming and investments.