Statement of support for the HereTogether 2022 Roadmap

It is the fundamental mission of Shelter Now to support policies that remove barriers and accelerate the timeline to bring our neighbors into places of secure and dignified shelter, and to expand the range of shelter options available to meet the diversity of needs that exist in our unsheltered population. The HereTogether 2022 Roadmap, Accelerating Relief for the Portland Region’s Housing Affordability & Homelessness Crisis, is a significant step forward in policy thinking to address the urgent shelter crisis in the Portland Metro region. Shelter Now endorses this document and the progress it represents. 

As we approach the policies put forward in this document, it is important to consider the terms we use: emergency and transitional shelters - indoor congregate, outdoor village or otherwise, are considered transitional because they are temporary tools to use as a step towards permanent housing solutions - but how do we define that goal? “Permanent housing solutions” can mean different things to different people, and our policies need to recognize that standardized housing solutions will not work for many of those who currently wear the mantle of “unhoused.” There are significant success stories, in Portland and beyond, of non-traditional  housing models, such as tiny home villages and community land trusts, that have created opportunities for people who do not thrive in traditional housing models to find stability, security and community, and the platform necessary to build a functional relationship with larger society. 

We, as advocates for these neighbors, need to figure out how to embrace these non-traditional models. We often let our subconscious biases toward familiar models stand in the way of the real questions: Is this unfamiliar community sanitary? safe? Can my community negotiate with its representatives? Can we identify areas of mutual trust and purpose? If the answers are “no,“ can we take corrective action together? If “yes,” can we build towards unity? Neighborhood associations are tasked to represent the residents within their boundaries, whether they are housed or not, and, along with faith communities and other forms of grassroots community projects, are a vital tool to support this bridge building. The HereTogether 2022 Roadmap recognizes the need to draw upon this community energy. Shelter Now would go further, and suggests that policies that tap into community support not only leverage the energies and nimbleness of non-governmental organizations, but set the groundwork for the cultural evolution necessary for these programs to succeed.