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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2016)
Street Roots • June 17-23, 2016 Commentary Page 11 The time is now for the city to act on affordable housing Deborah Kafoury is chair o f the M ultnomah County Board o f Commissioners. Dan Saltzman is the Portland City Commissioner in charge o f housing. Join the official launch of the Yes for Affordable Homes campaign on June 30 at 5 pm at Buckman Coffee Factory (1105 SE Main) and learn how you can help make Portland a place everyone can afford to call home. BY DEBORAH KAFOURY AND DAN SALTZMAN C O N T R IB U T IN G W RITERS ortland is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis. Rents are up nearly 15 percent over last year, and low vacancy rates are making it harder to find a place to live. These forces are being driven by a strong local economy that is producing many new job opportunities for people who live here and for those who are moving to our city seeking out our reputation for a high quality of life. But for too many Portlanders, wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of housing. And thousands of Portlanders struggle to find a safe place to sleep at night. On any given night, about 4,000 people — including women, children and seniors — will sleep on our streets, in a car or in a temporary shelter. Locally, we have responded to this housing emergency by investing in supportive services that help people get into housing. But every day our service providers run into the same obstacles that anyone looking for a safe, affordable home in Portland faces: they are very hard to find. Nearly half of families with low incomes (less than $37,000 a year for a family of four) can’t find a home they can afford because we lack 25,000 affordable homes in Portland. We need to act now to create affordable housing for people who live and work in our communities. We want Portland to be a place where everyone can afford a home. And with thousands of residents living without access P I ■ to a safe, affordable home, we must do more. We believe that the majority of Portlanders agree. And later this month, the Portland City Council will consider sending an affordable housing bond measure to the November ballot, giving voters an opportunity to invest in urgently needed housing for those who need it most. A $250 million investment in affordable housing would put thousands of families into stable, safe housing over the life of the bond. And it would enable our community to help those who made this place what it is today afford to live here during retirement. The need is real and now is the time for us to act. We hope that you’ll join us in this effort And we hope you’ll join the Welcome Home Coalition — over 140 organizations strong — I ilk becoming homeless? Transition Projects Please call 855.425.5544 or visit 650 NW Irving Street Asian Family Center, Im m igrant and Refugee Community Organization, REACH, JO IN and APANO presented the postcards to Commissioner D an Saltzm an and Chair Deborah Kafoury. FARMERS’ MARKET FOOD CO-OP Armed Forces ■M att or at risk of members from Sign up fo r updates at yesforaffordablehomes.com, and L IK E the campaign a t facebook.com/ yesforaffordablehomes \»z Did you serve in the Above: The Welcome Home Coalition collected hundreds o f postcards from the community calling fo r action on affordable housing solutions. Recently, which has done the research and outreach to develop community support for new affordable housing funding. There is no single cause for this crisis — and there isn’t a silver bullet solution. But for too many people, a home they can afford to live in simply doesn’t exist And in order to turn that around, we need to act now to dose the gap before we become like San Francisco - overcrowded and overpriced. Together, we can make Portland different. The Portland City Council will consider referral of the affordable housing bond at 2 pm on Thursday, June 30, at Portland City Hall (1221 SW4th). WEDNESDAYS 2-7PM ■ n | ■ ■ W ■ DP TO $5 MATCH WITH EBT CARD We’re passionate about helping our community access healthy food that they can trust. By shopping our market, you’ll get extra food dollars while supporting local farmers and community. 3029 SE 21st Ave. btwn Powell & Division
