A new partnership between federal and local governments will target homelessness in Oregon.
On Monday, Oregon and Eugene announced they will join House America, an initiative under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The state government pledged to rehouse 3,500 homeless residents by the end of this year, and to create more than 200 supportive homes containing specialized resources. Eugene will also add over 150 housing units to its development pipeline.
House America will not immediately supply additional funding. Instead, partners will coordinate around millions in existing federal grants. Andrea Bell is the Executive Director for Oregon Housing and Community Services.
“It’s really looking at these resources that we received, optimizing them and making them more creative with a specific pursuit of serving our neighbors experiencing homelessness.”
Bell said her agency will seek $800 million dollars for housing investments in Oregon’s next legislative session.