Oregon grants $1.2 million* to Benton County providers for rapid re-housing

In July and August, we shared (see below) that Oregon granted $1.2 million to service providers in Benton County with a goal to support rapid re-housing for community members in need. Today, we are providing an update on that communication.

• State Funding: Governor Kotek’s recent announcement provided an update about state funding for sheltering and rehousing in the Balance of State Continuum of Care, also called the Rural Oregon Continuum of Care (ROCC). 

Benton County’s portion of this funding will be $1,175,000 for emergency sheltering, awarded to Unity Shelter and $1,266,000 to fund a community effort to rehouse people by June 2025. This funding is part of a larger effort by the state from HB 5019 to support local communities in helping transition people out of homelessness. (For local background on HB 5019, see the below news update from July 2023.)

• Local Community Plan: In July, our local planning group of diverse organizations involved in homelessness developed a community plan to identify our highest priority populations with the greatest barriers to housing. The community plan outlines rehousing strategies that this funding could support. 

Due to overwhelming requests from local planning groups for emergency shelter funds, the state adjusted the original rehousing funding awards. In collaboration with our local planning group partners, we will adjust our community plan to match our new allocation.

• Next Steps: We will learn more next week from Oregon Housing & Community Services (OHCS) about timeline, next steps, and process. Until we know more, we are celebrating by sharing this message with community partners.  

To learn more about local work to end homelessness, visit Benton County’s Coordinated Homeless Response Office website.

————–

July 2023

Oregon Housing and Community Services is working with local planning groups to allocate $26 million in funding for rapid rehousing and sheltering through House Bill (HB) 5019 to counties in the Rural Oregon Continuum of Care (ROCC), which includes Benton County.

• $1.2 million* will be allocated in Benton County to support rapid rehousing for 33 people.
• Another $6 million in sheltering funds is available through a competitive application process among the 26 counties in the ROCC.

The Benton County Coordinated Homeless Response Office compiled input and data from local homeless service providers and engaged in conversations with the community to inform the County’s implementation plan for HB 5019.

*The amount originally allocated by the state for the Benton County local planning group was $1.4 million, with $1.2 million dedicated to rehousing activities, and $200,000 dedicated for administrative costs.