Homeless services providers and tenant advocacy groups in Oregon are slashing jobs and programs. Leaders are blaming the cuts on reduced funds through the Legislature’s recently passed housing budget.
The cuts so far span from Portland to Salem to Monmouth to Eugene, and even more are bracing for layoffs. As evictions and homelessness rise in Oregon, staff say they will be able to serve fewer people, potentially increasing the strain on the state’s social services network.
“We’re seeing the most vulnerable folks getting squeezed on both ends,” said Tim Morris, executive director of the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association, which reduced its full-time staff from six to two. It can now support about 2,200 households annually compared to the 4,000 it helped last year, he said.
The cuts come just months after the Oregon Legislature passed its housing budget. While the spending plan surpasses $2.6 billion, it reduced funding for the state Housing and Community Services Department by roughly $1 billion over the next two years.
“The cost of everything, including housing, food, everything is rising, while also prevention dollars, like rent assistance and other preventative services are being reduced dramatically,” Morris said. “We are approaching a future in which tenants are just alone and won’t have folks in their corner able to help support them and defend them.”
In Portland, the Community Alliance of Tenants, a nonprofit that advocates for renters throughout Oregon, recently laid off nearly its entire staff — 28 people — after its state funding plummeted by more than $1.4 million. That’s a 66% drop.
The nonprofit has a red banner across the top of its webpage citing the funding cuts and noting response times will be slow. It’s asking for donations.
The nonprofit Oregon Law Center cut half the positions in its eviction defense program, which provides free legal assistance to low-income renters facing eviction and helps them navigate the resources available to them. As a whole, the statewide program lost more than a third of its staff.
The center will “continue to help as many households as we can, but with fewer resources and very limited rental assistance more people will be evicted and pushed onto the streets,” said Sybil Hebb, the director of legislative advocacy for the nonprofit, which helped more than 10,000 households last year.
“We are really worried — our most vulnerable neighbors will be the most affected: families with children, domestic violence survivors, and seniors.”
Church at the Park,a nonprofit that provides shelter and safe parking services to houseless people in Marion and Polk counties, cut 29 positions, including 16 layoffs.
DJ Vincent, the group’s founding pastor and director, said in a letter to the community that the organization’s contract with the state “represents a 20% reduction in operating expenses,” and added: “This affects each department and level of leadership.”
“Each person leaving our team represents someone who has been creating value and encouragement with our unhoused neighbors and their fellow team members,” said Vincent, who noted that the contract still allows for the organization to continue operating its five shelters and a program that provides designated locations for people to park their vehicles.
The housing department wasn’t alone in seeing cuts this year. A revenue forecast released in May estimated that the state would have hundreds of millions of dollars less to spend than anticipated for the state’s next budget. That was partly due to ongoing trade tensions and slow growth in the state’s economy.
Democrats blame the state’s mounting financial problems on the Trump administration, which has moved to dramatically downsize federal spending across the country, with steep cuts to social services programs.
For their part, Republicans have blamed Democratic leadership for passing housing policies with vast amounts of money that Oregonians can’t afford. At the same time, evictions and homelessness increased and the number of housing permits issued last year dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade.
Lawmakers allocated large amounts of money — nearly $205 million — toward homeless shelters, establishing a state-funded shelter initiative backed by Gov. Tina Kotek. But funding for eviction prevention saw a $100 million cut. Those funds go toward rental assistance and legal services for tenants, among other things.
The funding was far less than what Kotek had requested to curb the state’s housing crisis, which has remained a top priority throughout her tenure. A spokesperson for Kotek’s office did not return a request for comment.
The state Housing and Community Services Department, which oversees much of the funding doled out to such programs, also did not return a request for comment.
Meanwhile, other programs are bracing for a steep decline in funds.
Rick Russell, a pastor at Mountain View Fellowship and the director of a safe parking program in Redmond, said state funding makes up much of the program’s budget. He said he expects to hear how much money they will receive in the coming week.
For now, they are leaving positions unfilled.
“I expect it will be painful,” Russell said in a text message. “I hope it’s not brutal.”
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.