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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
News Page 4 Street Roots • Dec. 21-27, 2018 Stretched thin Local agencies weigh budget options to alleviate the high-stress and low-wage conditions social-workers workers face on the front lines of the homeless crisis and low-income people receive will worsen: Clients will have multiple case managers due to high staff turnover, shelters and other ow wages, high staff turnover, stress programs may be understaffed, and programs and low morale are rife among the staff will slowly become less effective and more at homeless services nonprofits, dysfunctional. according to those who work in the field. So “We’re not going to see good outcomes ... if the Joint Office of Homeless Services is we can’t stabilize the organizations,” Jolin looking to the upcoming budget process to said. help fund solutions. There are increasing concerns with being “There is an urgent need to stabilize our able to retain employees, prevent high nonprofits,” said Marc John, the director of turnover and fill job vacancies. Sources for the Joint Office of Homeless Services, during this story say it is also a struggle to provide a Dec. 17 budget presentation to the appropriate training, support, and ongoing executive committee of A Home For training and education for employees so their Everyone. “They’ve grown aggressively. We’ve job skills change and advance. asked them to achieve more and more. What In the social-service world, the stresses and we’ve been hearing is that it’s a strain.” demands of the job, which involves working A Home For Everyone is an advisory group closely with people while they are homeless for the Joint Office composed of homeless and and experiencing great housing experts. Its m MM i m n m m — atr-Gaorio mheFeftt i y - - ■ ■ executive committee taxing, especially during approved the past few years as the 1C •Our staff recommendations to Portland area has prioritize next year’s experienced a crisis in experience significant the dollars for programs affordability and that reduce racial availability of rental housing stress and disparities among the housing. homeless population, instability, We’re feeling Low pay, preserve budget money characteristic of and programs that It' fairly acutely as an nonprofit work, is also receive matching dollars cited as a factor, and it from the state and organization,” affects the ability of case federal governments, - Stacy Borke managers, shelter and prioritize services Transition Projects workers and other that prevent people employees in the social from becoming service world to find homeless. affordable housing. The 2019-20 budget Morale, sources say, is consequently low. will not be approved until next summer, but Stacy Borke, a member of A Home For planning is already underway to draft the Joint Everyone’s executive committee and the Office’s budget and create different funding senior director of programs for Transition scenarios in the case of an increase in budget Projects, one of the largest social-service dollars, stable funding or a budget cut. agencies in Portland, said that many of The issue of staffing concerns surfaced Transition Projects’ employees have a second repeatedly. job. Other employees live “doubled up” with “If we want to better meet the need, we family and friends, in their cars or even in a need more staff and more resources,” said shelter. Bobby Weinstock, the housing advocate for “Our staff experience significant housing Northwest Pilot Project, a social service stress and instability,” she said. “We’re feeling agency that houses low-income seniors. “I it fairly acutely as an organization.” think the whole system is feeling that.” Borke said the starting wage for a case As the recommendations for how to manager at Transition Projects is $17 an hour; prioritize the budget were being drafted, Jolin the starting wage for people who work in said, there was discussion of abandoning the shelters is $14 an hour. recommendation to address staffing concerns According to the National Low Income in the budget, for the sake of continuing Housing Coalition’s Out of Reach 2017 report, prioritizing programs that prevent and end a person needs to earn nearly $24 an hour to homelessness. be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Yet there are growing concerns that if thé issue is not addressed, the services homeless BY AMANDA WALDROUPE STAFF W R IT E R B ISTOÇK ILLUSTRATION See STR ESSED , page 5
