danger
Winter weather: office closure, emergency shelters and city services
  • Most City offices are closed Thursday, Feb. 13, due to winter weather.
  • Shelters are open until at least noon Thursday. More information: Multco.us/Cold.
  • City information: road closures, transportation updates, preventing frozen plumbing, tree emergencies
information
Portland is a Sanctuary City

Find sanctuary city resources from the City of Portland's Immigrant & Refugee Program, including free legal services and state resources for reporting hate crimes, bias incidents, discrimination, and violations of Oregon's sanctuary laws.

Multnomah County, Portland, Gresham leaders overseeing local homelessness response to host first meeting of 2025

News Article
Image shows logos from joint release representing Multnomah County, the City of Gresham, and the City of Portland
Published

Last year, the work of the joint Homelessness Response System (HRS) between Multnomah County and the City of Portland began after both governments approved an agreement in July. 

The work of the Homelessness Response System is guided by the Steering and Oversight Committee (SOC), which is led by elected officials from Multnomah County, the City of Portland and the City of Gresham. The committee started meeting last year as a central component of our renewed regional response to homelessness with increased accountability, collaboration and nimbleness to help more people leave the streets for shelter and housing and to better serve all our neighborhoods. 

These public meetings help shape our region’s shared goals, expected outcomes and pathways to accomplish those goals, all while providing flexibility to adjust strategies if goals are not being met or to set new metrics that push our collective progress further. 

This Wednesday, Jan. 22, marks the first Steering and Oversight Committee meeting of 2025 and will include new representatives from Multnomah County and the City of Portland.

The Steering and Oversight Committee consists of five voting members:

Multnomah County (two seats)

City of Portland (two seats)

East County (one seat)

The five voting members are joined by three non-voting members: Health Share CEO Mindy Stadlander, Home Forward Executive Director Ivory Mathews, and CEO of Melvin Mark Companies Peter C. Andrews, who represents the Portland Metro Chamber. Community members who will fill two additional non-voting positions must still be nominated and approved by both the Portland City Council and County Board of Commissioners. 

Representing Multnomah County will be Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who has made urgently addressing our homelessness crisis her top priority and helped develop the Homelessness Response System as part of that work.

“We cannot solve our homelessness crisis fast enough, and that requires providing more shelter, services, and housing within our limited budget. Through our Homelessness Response System, our region uses every tool we have to provide respite from the streets and relief to our neighborhoods,” said Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “We now have leadership across the county committed to working towards a shared mission of ending homelessness.”

Chair Vega Pederson will be joined by Multnomah County District 2 Commissioner Shannon Singleton, who brings a wealth of experience working to move people off the streets and into housing throughout her life’s work.

“I’m looking forward to getting to work. It’s important that our community can see that we’re pushing as hard as we can for results,” said Commissioner Shannon Singleton. “Homelessness is a crisis with many causes, but the solution is always a safe affordable home. The partnership we have with the cities of Portland and Gresham is critical to making more affordable housing and homeless services available across Multnomah County.”

The City of Portland will be represented by Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, who has made ending unsheltered homelessness his top priority. 

“Homelessness across our region is a crisis, and we’re going to treat it like a crisis,” said Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. “The ongoing partnership through the Homelessness Response System is essential for us to collaborate and find solutions.”

Mayor Wilson will be joined by newly elected District 4 Portland City Councilor Eric Zimmerman, who spent the last two years as Chief of Staff for Multnomah County District 3 Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards.

“Introducing a strong sense of urgency into our homeless response system is crucial. We must open every funded shelter bed, expand shelter capacity across different types and affiliations, and clearly define our expectations from programs and providers,” said Councilor Eric Zimmerman. “This approach must improve the situation on the ground and demonstrate to the public that the SHS funds can deliver results. I plan to serve on this oversight committee to enhance shelter availability, hold nonprofit and government providers accountable, and ensure Portland's contributions are used effectively."

Continuing in his role representing East County is Gresham Mayor Travis Stovall, who has pressed for increased urgency to address racial and geographic disparities in our response to homelessness. Last fiscal year, Gresham's homeless services team, with resources from the Supportive Housing Services measure, served over 250 unique individuals experiencing homelessness with outreach services and permanently housed 72 households, many including children. He joins Chair Vega Pederson as the only returning member of the SOC from last year. 

 “This work takes collaboration, focus, and accountability from a broad range of governments and service providers.” said Mayor Travis Stovall. “This table isn’t a place for discussions, it’s one for direction, leadership, and action. That’s what our constituents demand and what those living on our streets desperately need.”  

The renewed regional partnership to address homelessness together has already been on display in 2025. Chair Vega Pederson and Mayor Wilson jointly selected Jillian Schoene to lead the Homeless Response System moving forward. 

“We have never been more focused,” said HRS Director Jillian Schoene. “This next iteration of the SOC is going to be a space where we continue to chart our way forward, watch our progress closely and pivot when needed.”

Chair Vega Pederson and Mayor Wilson began meeting regularly shortly after election day and have already adapted our winter weather sheltering strategy by partnering with the Salvation Army to open 200 overnight winter shelter beds. This speaks to the nimbleness of the Homelessness Response System and the collaborative nature of our region’s executive leadership. 

While we are making progress in addressing our region’s greatest challenge, there are still far too many people sleeping on our streets. The Steering and Oversight committee will continue to guide and adapt our combined strategies to make homelessness a rare and brief experience in our community.

Back to top