Involvement in the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness

by Keith Vann and Genny Nelson

On November 19, 2003, more than 60 community advocates, service providers, grantors, and local government officials convened to create a 10-year plan to end homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County.  As the recipient of more than $9.2M in federal funding for homeless services in 2003, Portland was one of the first cities federally mandated to produce such a plan.

Two primary bodies were designated to inform and guide the planning process.  The first, the Citizens Commission, would make final plan recommendations to the City and County.  The second, the Coordinating Committee, would compile ongoing workgroup input from both local homeless service providers and concerned citizens.

Sisters Of The Road/crossroads was instrumental in getting homeless representation on the 18-member Citizens Commission.  Without Sister’s hard work and persistence, the homeless community would have had no voice at all on a commission tasked with solving the very problems they face.  I was proud to be recommended by them for this important position.

The announcement, on December 20, 2004, of Portland’s latest homeless plan was long overdue.  Homelessness here had surpassed crisis levels.  Currently over 2300 people sleep outside on any given night.  Hundreds of visibly homeless people fill benches, bus stops, doorways, and sidewalks throughout the Downtown and Old Town/Chinatown neighborhoods.  In large part, these folks are the primary constituents of Sisters Of The Road Café, and our unique community for now over 25 years.

Well before November 19, 2003, Sisters Of The Road/crossroads had identified several key concerns we believed imperative for a successful 10-year plan to end homelessness in Portland and Multnomah County.  In particular, we were convinced that the final plan would be remiss if it did not target the barriers that prevent so many of our constituents from escaping a vicious cycle of homelessness.  It is a core belief of Sisters that homelessness cannot truly be ended without identifying and addressing the underlying unique factors that force each person from their home.  The 10-year plan contains Sisters preliminary report of our research with people who have a direct experience of homelessness, including barriers they face.

Additionally, we created a draft vision statement for the Citizens Commission that advocated for a systemic approach; with the championing of crossroads member Dan Newth we crafted a consumer feedback mechanism that is included in the plan, and if funded will become a systemic change instrument; and further we outlined methodology with examples for testing innovative, out-of-the-box, ideas via 12 month pilot projects that address immediate and long term solutions to homelessness.

Mayor Potter has included $500,000 in his July ‘05-June ‘06 budget for the remaining six months of the initial three pilot projects begun in January 2005, and for the first six months of new pilots in both Downtown/Old Town/Chinatown and inner Southeast neighborhoods.  Representatives from Sisters Of The Road/crossroads sit on the Committee that is charged with oversight and evaluation of outcomes for these pilot projects.

We at Sisters remain optimistic that with mutual cooperation and persistence, Portland can ultimately craft solutions which ensure that having an affordable home is the inalienable right of every Portlander.

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Keith Vann is a local homeless advocate and software specialist who recently experienced being homeless.  Genny Nelson is a Co-founder of Sisters Of The Road.