Street Roots • February 13-19, 2015
Page 3
Editorial
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contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhi at
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Street Roots
211 NW Davis St,
Portland, OR 97209
503-228*5657
Fax; 503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
www.newSeStreetroots.org
Hours; 7:30 a.m.~3 p.m. Mon,-Fit, 7:30
. a.m.-2 p.m., Sat., and 7:30-11 a.m. Sun.
Staff
Executive Director Israel Bayer
israel@streetroots.org
What will it take to end homelessness?
T X o r tla n d , like many cities throughout thé United
States, finds itself at a crossroads. How do we
collectively tackle the housing crisis and begin to
really put the resources needed into ending
homelessness?
„ ,
______
. , Anna Griffin’s series on
homelessness in The Oregonian
B I B E C T O B 'S
has provided the region with a
broader perspective on the issue.
People around the city, in doorways
and under bridges, in coffee houses
By Israel Bayer
and pubs, in the halls of power and
atneighborhoodgatherings are all
asking the same question. How can
we tackle the housing crisis in dur city?
Regional government leaders, foundations and
supporters like you have been working for years to hold
the line both politically and financially when it comes to
housing thousands of people experiencing
homelessness. Unfortunately, after 30 years of
divestment by the federal government from public
housing, no regulations on maintaining affordable
housing locally and multiple recessions, we still find
ourselves asking the same questions.
What new ideas or tools can we use to specifically
tackle the issue of homelessness and housing? That’s
the question I posed to civic leaders, government
officials and advocates. Here’s what they had to say.
JL
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
Deborah Kafoury, Multnomah County chair: “I
spent the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 28 at JOIN s day
center on Northeast 82nd Avenue. It was the second
time I’ve participated in the one-night street and shelter
count and the experience reminded me in a very
tangible way how desperate the need for housing is in
our community.- It is my number one priority as
Multnomah County chair.
“Creating ‘A Home for Everyone’ and the
collaboration between Multnomah County, the cities of
Gresham and Portland, Home Forward and Meyer
Memorial Trust was a first step toward creating a
common agenda that will align policies and dollars to
make new strategic investments.
“This past month, we committed to end all veteran
homelessness by the end of 2015 and we were awarded
a $2 million federal grant to house 130 chronically
homeless households.
However, no m atter how efficient or well-coordinated
our system becomes, unless we have new tools such as
inclusionary zoning and more dollars to develop
affordable housing units, we won’t make a significant
impact on th^ housing gap, especially for our extremely
low-income neighbors.”
Jes Larson, director of the Welcome Home
Coalition (a coalition working to provide long-term
supportive funding for affordable housing and homeless
services): “We know housing is the antidote to
homelessness. What we haven’t solved is our strategy to
sufficiently fund our housing affordability infrastructure.
Local communities historically relied on federal
resources to fund affordable housing, but these funding
streams have been cut dramatically year after year for
the past four decades and newer state-level funding
strategies have never filled the gap. After 30 years of
divestment, we’ve created our modern-day rate of
widespread homelessness and a housing crisis that
affects most family budgets.
“To solve homelessness, we need to act locally. We
can learn from other U.S. cities acting locally by
dedicating new revenue streams to fund affordable
housing. For example, in Miami, Fla., a 1 percent dining
tax generates $20 million annually and has reduced the
city’s rate of homelessness, from 8,000 to 800. That’s $1
for every $100 meal out ending homelessness.
“Seattle’s property tax levy is another leading
example. The average homeowner pays $65 a year, in
turn generating $20 million for housing development,
rent and homeownership assistance.
“Boston, for example, uses a combination óf
developer fees on commercial and residential projects
to produce nearly $20 million in affordable housing
investments each year.
“Many are familiar with San Francisco affordability
crisis, where voters recently passed a ballot measure to
require a $20 million set-aside from the city’s general
fund for affordable housing, with a schedule to increase
to $50 million by 2045.
“These are just a few examples of how local
communities are coming together to dedicate local
funds to address local housing needs. It’s time for the
Portland metro region to come together and decide h o w
See DIRECTOR'S DESK, page 5
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhi
joanne@streetrc5ots.org
Cole Merkel
cole@streetroots.org
V e n d o r C o o r d in a to r
O p e ra tio n s D ir e c to r Sarah B eeaoft
P r o g r a m A s s is ta n t Grace Badik, Jesuit
Volunteer, grace@streetroots.org
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Development Assistant Ann-Derrick
Gaillot
Reporters Emily Green, Sue Zalokar,
Christen McCurdy, Sarah Hansell, Sam
Bouman, Jacques Von Lunen
Photographers Diego Diaz, Kristina
Wright
Canvasser Desmon Hardison
Board of Directors
Chairman Bruce Anderson
Vice-Chairman Michael Anderson
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Amber Bielman
Directors Rich Rodgers, Brad Taylor, Leo
Rhodes, Ken Hawkins, Nora Coon, Darren
Alexander, Eddie Barbosa, Rachel Langford
Volunteers
Jan Bayer, Rob Shyrock, Stacey Heath, John
Barker, Sarah Hansell, Jade Maniscalo, Sam
Bouman, Eliese Baker, Tom Ray, Lee Ko,
Aaron Von Reyn, Cherie Vedal, Jessie Carver,
James Vu, Melissa Kahn, Lisa Waldo,
Susannah Kamala, Monica Kwasnik, Doug
Spangle
If you are interested in volunteering with
Street Roots, please submit a volunteer
application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or
call Volunteer Coordinator Grace Badik fo r
more information at 503-228-5657.
u