May 11 2021
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioners Mingus Mapps and Dan Ryan call for studying a crisis-intervention program before expanding it.
In late 2019, Portland s City Council unanimously and enthusiastically approved a game-changing plan to create a new branch for our city s first responder system called Portland Street Response. The program is currently operating as a one-year pilot in the Lents neighborhood.
The idea behind this new service is: instead of sending armed police officers to respond to 911 calls involving a houseless person experiencing a mental health crisis in a public space, the city will send out a team of mental health specialists, who will try to connect the person in crisis to the services they need to heal.
Nine Oregon tribes to receive $10.5 million for affordable housing under American Rescue Plan Act
Oregon s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced March 19 that nine Oregon tribes will receive more than $10.5 million in affordable housing grants under the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to help with the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Warm Springs Confederated Tribes will receive $1.06 million.
Warm Springs Housing Authority Executive Director Danielle Wood said the housing block grant will help with the housing needs in Warm Springs. Warm Springs Housing Authority was excited with this new opportunity, and we are exploring how best to use these funds to house our people, she said.