PORTLAND, Ore — Multnomah County is pitching landlords on a program to house the homeless — with a guarantee that rent will be paid.
The new program, called "Move In Multnomah," houses people in vacant homes and apartments and covers their rent for an entire year at market rate. The county also covers the security deposit and any additional damage beyond what the deposit would cover.
Advocates of a "housing first" policy argue housing people is where services must start, then other issues that might keep people from staying in housing can be addressed. People who are homeless often have a hard time getting into a home because of an already competitive rental market, past evictions, criminal convictions or job issues, so the county hopes this can help establish a good rental history that people can carry forward.
The funding comes from the Supportive Housing Services fund. It's already been done at a smaller scale, and landlords who have participated have mostly positive things to say.
"When we were approached, it came from the tenant himself saying, 'I'm part of the Urban League, I have a case manager and they gonna take care of everything, you don't have to worry.' It's like hmm, really, we don't have to worry about anything? We were pretty skeptical," said Violet Larry, a property owner, during a media availability to discuss the project. "It's been the best partnership that we could've had. The case management experience that they provide and the services that are provided to the family, who are the tenants, has been amazing."
The county is accepting applications now. Property owners can apply online by June 30 if they have a vacant unit or property.
In March, advocates challenged the city of Portland to house 3,000 people by the end of the year in homes that already exist. Multnomah County said this is not a response to that — the effort was already underway.