Lane County reports 14% rise in homelessness; MLK Commons shows reduced jail and hospital use and cost savings

Lane County officials reported June 10 that the countywide point‑in‑time (PIT) count for January 2025 showed a 14% increase in people experiencing homelessness and highlighted outcome data from MLK Commons, a 51‑unit permanent supportive housing project, that county staff say reduced use of costly public services.

James Yule, Homelessness and Community Action manager for Lane County Human Services, presented the quarterly homelessness update. He said the county had a master grant agreement for fiscal 2025–27 totaling $12,900,000; roughly 60% of that total is state funding confirmed for the county, while the federal portion (about 40% of the package) remained uncertain. "This year's point in time count occurred on January 29," Yule said, and he told the board the count registered 3,509 people, with 3,444 of those already in the county’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).

Yule said the PIT results showed a 14% overall increase and a 4% decrease in unsheltered homelessness, noting that severe‑weather shelters that were open on the count night added about 500 shelter beds and likely made the sheltered totals higher. He also said the share of people who are chronically homeless and sheltered rose substantially in recent years (transcript noted an increase from about 25% to about 46% in the timeframe discussed).

On funding, staff told the board the state portion of the master grant is confirmed but that federal funding and proposed national shifts in how homeless assistance is distributed (for example, federal proposals that would move more funding through state ESG rather than Continuums of Care) remain uncertain. County staff also said the governor’s “All In” shelter funding was wrapped into the OHS budget at an amount roughly $10,000,000 less than earlier expectations for the biennium and that some of that funding is one‑time money; staff warned that reductions at the state or federal level would make maintaining current shelter capacity challenging for Lane County.

Maria Cortez, senior program services coordinator, reviewed MLK Commons, a project-based permanent supportive housing site developed in partnership with Homes for Good. MLK Commons opened in February 2021 with 51 studio apartments; Homes for Good is the building owner and operator and received $510,000 in FY25 to support the project, Cortez said. The program mixes intensive supportive services and long‑term rental assistance and participates in the FUSE (Frequent Users Systems Engagement) initiative to reach high‑system‑use individuals.

Cortez presented outcome data the county collected: since 2021, 129 residents have exited literal homelessness into MLK Commons; in fiscal 2025, 94% of residents had remained housed for 12 months or more. Comparative pre/post data for residents showed large declines in system use: jail time dropped more than 60%, emergency department visits were cut roughly in half, and inpatient days declined more than 60% after housing. County staff reported an average annual cost savings per resident of $46,586; multiplying that figure by 51 units yields roughly $2,000,000 in annual savings and more than $8,000,000 over four years across the site, the presentation said.

Cortez also updated the board on Lazydays, a 30‑unit replacement project for a mobile home park destroyed in the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. She said 7 units are currently occupied, three residents were close to lease-up, and the county is processing applicants; the 30 units include twenty 2‑bed modular homes and ten 1‑bed park‑model units. Cortez said state disaster recovery staff recently broadened eligibility criteria to include renters in Lane County impacted by the 2020 Labor Day fires; Lane County has submitted a request for state approval to open the additional priority group to applicants.

Commissioners discussed vacancy rates, RFP scoring and funding constraints, and the need for more long‑term rental options across the county. Several commissioners praised MLK Commons’ outcomes and noted the project’s reduction in public‑safety and health system costs. Yule told the board the NAV Center remains a topic and that staff will return for a July 8 work session to address public concerns about the navigation center and related mitigation steps.

What’s next: staff continue RFP and contract work for homeless services, are monitoring state and federal funding decisions for 2027, will present NAV Center items in a July 8 work session, and will continue to track outcomes from permanent supportive housing projects.