OREGON UPDATES
Governor Kotek Marks One Year in Office, Announces Next Steps on Homelessness, Signs Two Executive Orders Preliminary data shows state exceeded all three goals of initial homelessness state of emergency issued last January Salem, OR | January 09, 2024 | Press Release G overnor Tina Kotek today marked one year in office by reflecting on her first year and signing two new executive orders aimed at continuing to
advance efforts to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis. The orders come after preliminary data shows that the state exceeded all three goals set out in the homelessness state of emergency she issued last year. “One year ago, I told Oregonians that the homelessness emergency order was only the first step and that it would take collaboration to act at the scale and urgency this humanitarian crisis demands,” Governor Kotek said. “Now, we are continuing the fight to bring housing stability to more Oregonians. I want to thank legislators, local governments, shelter providers, and housing providers for stepping up last year and delivering results to address our homelessness crisis. We’ve seen that together we can make an impact, and we will continue to push this work forward until every Oregonian has a safe and stable place to call home.” Preliminary data from Oregon Housing and Community Services shows that in the past year since Governor Kotek declared a homelessness state of emergency, the state has worked with local partners to create 1,032 low-barrier shelter beds, exceeding the original goal by 432 beds; rehouse 1,293 households experiencing unsheltered homelessness, exceeding the original goal by 93 households; and prevent 8,886 households from experiencing homelessness, exceeding the original goal by 136 households. The original goals in the emergency order were to create 600 shelter beds, rehouse 1,200 households in emergency areas, and prevent 8,750 households from becoming homeless statewide. Final data for the first year’s outcomes will be available in late February.
Today, Governor Kotek signed EO 24-02 to maintain the added capacity to the state’s shelter system, rehouse people experiencing homelessness, and prevent homelessness. Measurable outcomes for the new order will be developed in collaboration with local communities based on need and capacity and will be announced by the end of February. Governor Kotek also signed EO 24-03 to refresh the state’s Interagency Council on Homelessness and direct them to develop plans for the Governor’s consideration in response to the analysis done through EO 23-03, an order also signed last January that directed state agencies to prioritize reducing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in all areas of the state using their existing statutory authorities. The Council will meet on January 16 to discuss next steps. The new executive orders came as Governor Kotek observed the one-year anniversary of her swearing-in on January 9, 2023. A video stream of her remarks and the signings can be found here. See a comprehensive list of highlights from Governor Kotek’s first year in office here on the Governor’s website. n
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The Business Review | February 2024
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