Dear Partners,

Happy New Year! Reflecting on 2018 has given me boundless hope for the coming year. As an agency we strived to improve on seven strategic goals and we will build on that momentum in 2019. With the release of the Energy Burden Ten-Year Plan and Assessment this month and the Statewide Housing Plan next month, we have mapped out our strategies and are ready to operationalize them. We look forward to working with our partners to better serve Oregonians.

I would be remiss not to mention the federal government shut down. As you are aware, this situation has created a general sense of uncertainty in our provision of services to Oregonians. Our local Public Housing Authorities and Community Action Agencies will continue to operate and we do not anticipate any lapse in services for a majority of programs at this time. This includes the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP, funded through the Department of Health and Human Services), tenant-based rental assistance, project-based rental assistance, homeless assistance grants, and various block grants. However, staff are not working at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and any programs that require any sort of authorization, including a simple intervention to distribute funds, are on hold. Additionally, one key program is impacted. Services related to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) expired upon the federal government shutdown although many local programs will continue to operate utilizing other funding as it is available. OHCS will continue to monitor the shutdown and will respond as needed. More details on the impacts of the federal government shutdown can be found at the National Low-Income Housing Coalition website.

Projects Closing
Great news – we have closed on the funding for four additional affordable communities in the last month! Congratulations are in order for Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI), Evergreen Union Retirement Association, Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Inc. (GOBHI), and Central City Concern. Thank you to our partners and to OHCS staff for your work on getting these over the finish line.

  • King + Parks Apartments is a new multifamily development located in Portland that will serve families with children and the elderly. The seventy units also include workforce housing.
  • Ya Po Ah Terrace is the tallest building in Eugene at eighteen stories. It will be acquired and rehabilitated to include 202 affordable homes for low-income seniors and 20 market rate homes.
  • Clatsop Woman’s Supportive Housing will provide four homes combined with supportive services to single, pregnant, and parenting women in the early stages of recovery from substance use disorder.
  • The C.K. Henry Building will include the acquisition and rehabilitation of 158 affordable studios and 15 market rate studios to serve veterans, homeless households and those reentering the community after incarceration.
Manufactured Dwelling Parks Preservation NOFA 
Eligible manufactured dwelling parks, mobile home park resident groups, or qualified non-profits can access these funds to mitigate rising rents or gain ownership control over parks in danger of closing. The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) opened January 2nd, 2019 and closes September 3rd, 2019. The funds are first-come, first-reviewed. You can read the NOFA at this link.
Low-Income Utility Program Working Group – Governor’s Climate Cabinet
Under the leadership of Governor Brown’s Climate Cabinet, OHCS worked with the Public Utility Commission over five months to convene a collection of non-profits, electric and natural gas utilities, local jurisdictions, and legislators to review available energy assistance, efficiency and weatherization programs for low-income and historically underserved communities. That group’s report was released last month with four main recommendations, below. You can read the full report here.

1.  Give utilities the authority to create low-income programs and require annual reporting on data and metrics.

2.  Ensure low and moderate income customers, especially seniors, people with disabilities and environmental justice and rural communities are resourced to participate in the clean energy transition; including allocating funding which may be available under a Cap and Invest program to mitigate the impacts of climate change on low-income customers, reduce energy burden, and decrease carbon emissions.

3.  Make permanent an Energy Burden and Poverty Task Force to formalize and continue to further the development of innovative approaches to meeting the energy burden and reducing the greenhouse gas footprint of low-income Oregonians.

4.  Implement new programs, enhance existing program designs, and diversify funding sources to reach greater numbers of low and moderate income Oregonians.
Energy Burden Ten-Year Plan and Assessment 
Pursuant to Governor Brown’s Executive Order No. 17-20 and in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Public Utility Commission, OHCS created a 10-year plan to reduce energy burden and improve energy efficiency in affordable housing across the state. The plan, which is accompanied by an interactive assessment of energy use in affordable housing, provides recommended steps to reduce energy burden for low-income households. By improving energy efficiency, lower-income Oregonians can benefit from smaller utility bills and greater housing stability. Weatherization improvements have benefits beyond energy cost savings, these improvements create better indoor air quality and improved comfort and safety of homes, which every Oregonian deserves. The reduced greenhouse gas emissions make these efforts a win-win.
Point-in-Time Count
The Point-in-Time Count is critical to understanding what homelessness looks like in Oregon. While it doesn’t tell the whole story, it provides big picture information about those who do not have a permanent place to call home. At the end of January, Continuums of Care will work with hundreds of trained community volunteers to identify our most vulnerable neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. I urge all those who are able to volunteer their time to contact the people below to find out how you can support this work.