Coastal Caucus Appeals Homelessness Problem, Jan. 19

The Oregon Legislative Assembly just got underway in Salem and the battle over funding to address the growing Homelessness Problem in Oregon is heating up. Prior to the session, the Coastal Caucus sent new Governor Tina Kotek a letter protesting her omission of coastal communities from her $130 million request of the Legislature to attack the problem. However, the State of Emergency Declaration would only cover 11 of the State’s counties leaving out 25 rural counties in Eastern Oregon and along the Coast. According to the Governor’s Office, that’s because the counties did not meet the threshold of an increase in homelessness of 50% or more from 2017 to 2022. In the letter, the Coastal Caucus notes rural counties have far fewer resources as compared to urban communities but face challenges just as severe.