(PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici says she is under no illusions that her legislation to take Project Turnkey national will result in immediate conversion of former hotels and motels that will get people off the streets and connected with services.
But she said that the Oregon program has shown itself to be effective in helping formerly homeless people get what they need while many of them move on to permanent housing. The Oregon Community Foundation was the administrator of the program, which has resulted in 1,382 units at 32 sites in every corner of the state.
“Housing is the foundation to people’s success. If we want to get people back in the workforce and off the streets, they need a place,” the Democrat from Beaverton said June 6 after meeting with local advocates at the foundation offices in Portland.
“This model Project Turnkey is a way to do that by using existing structures so that it is more cost-effective. It is more expeditious to take an existing building and convert it so it can give people a home.”
Lawmakers started the program in 2020 — though it took a second vote by the Emergency Board to take it statewide — and expanded it in 2022. (In the second round, buildings other than former hotels and motels qualified for purchases.) The state’s total of $125 million increased Oregon’s year-around shelter supply by 30% in three years.
Read more at PortlandTribune.com
The Portland Tribune and its parent company Pamplin Media Group are KOIN 6 News media partners
Peter Wong
Source link
