The Portland Business Alliance is proud to support HereTogether’s 2022 Roadmap that outlines the critical, immediate steps needed now to accomplish near-term and long-term, permanent goals to tackle the Portland region’s housing affordability and homelessness crises. We are hopeful that, as a community, we will continue to impact the current regional homelessness crisis and drive forward solution-oriented work.
Alliance members and staff were part of the founding, drafting and campaign to enact Portland Metro, Oregon, Measure 26-210, Income and Business Taxes for Homeless Services in May 2020, the largest per-capita expenditure in the nation dedicated to homelessness. The Alliance has also actively participated in the drafting and enactments of several of the local implementing plans post-voter approval. Additionally, our members and staff remain dedicated to seeing successful management of our state’s flagship government body entrusted to implement homeless services in our region through service on A Home for Everyone’s executive and coordinating boards.
Collectively, our members serve on innumerable provider boards; contribute technical and financial support across the spectrum of service provision, and actively advocate at the city, county, metro, state and federal levels for both the requisite policy and funding support necessary to reduce homelessness in our region and meet the distinct needs of individuals who find themselves unsheltered. We join HereTogether in decrying the humanitarian conditions for the homeless who are unsheltered and recognize that Oregon is #2 in the nation in proportionate share of our homeless population that is unsheltered, a ranking which we should collectively reject and work to change.
The Alliance recognizes that this is an ongoing conversation, and we hope you will join us in driving forward healthy discussion and deliberation that will bolster more effective policy and contribute to the larger conversation around solutions.
Portland Business Alliance letter of support (pdf)
A Home for Everyone Coalition letter of support (pdf)