Ill and on the streets As homelessness increases, so too does the need for compassionate medical care; Catholic agencies and individuals are stepping up to help Walter, homeless off and on for years, rests in the Hollywood District of Northeast Portland April 16. âEveryone on the street has a medical condition, itâs just a matter of degree,â said the 60-year-old. âI have skin and digestive difficulties. Some have cancer.â (Katie Scott/Catholic Sentinel)
select University of Portland nursing student Crystal Moran administers a flu shot to a homeless woman last fall outside Blanchet House. Emily Harrington and members of the U.P. nursing program staff a new medical clinic at the Portland nonprofit. (Courtesy Blanchet House)
City budget goes from rags to riches May 05 2021
The City Council is already scheduled to spending hundreds of millions of additional dollars after the next budget is approved on May 13.
The Portland City Council is scheduled to adopt some version of Mayor Ted Wheeler s proposed $5.7 billion budget for the next fiscal year on May 13.
However, the council will continue spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new and expanded services into 2022. It is already set to spend an additional $80 million as soon as July 1.
The largesse is a dramatic turnaround from a budget that had been expected to see significant cuts, just a few months ago.
People experiencing homelessness want and need a living wage, said Marybeth Gonzales, deputy for Policy, Planning and Performance Management at the OHS. This program leverages public-private partnerships to give people the support they need to succeed in reaching their financial and housing goals.
Participants of Help for the Hurdles will receive three months of services such as skills training, job placement, three monthly SEPTA passes and paid childcare. The program has been funded by the CARES Act for two years.
Help for the Hurdles operates on a rolling cycle of 25 participants at a time that started last Friday. OHS says it estimates reaching 800 people experiencing homelessness.
Government leaders are celebrating the passage of a new bill they say will help thousands of people without homes. Oregon state senators passed House Bill 2006 on Monday. The House passed it about a month ago. It now heads to the governor’s desk. The bill will give local governments more flexibility when it comes to setting up emergency shelter locations in their areas.
Metro OKs county homeless plan; Portland begins collecting tax April 29 2021
The Metro Council voted 6-1 to accept Multnomah County s implementation plan for the Supportive Housing Services tax.
Multnomah County has cleared a key hurdle between itself and at least a billion dollars in new tax revenue over the next decade.
The Metro Council approved the county s Supportive Housing Services local implementation plan by a vote of 6-1 during a virtual meeting Thursday, April 29, with Councilor Mary Nolan casting the lone no vote. The question my vote answers today is, Will this plan, if implemented as presented, achieve and deliver the results within the 10 years that the voters have generously given us to end homelessness in our region? said Nolan, who represents downtown and North Portland. I come to the conclusion that it will not.