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Oregon awards $30 million in Healthy Homes grants to nonprofits and tribes to repair low‑income housing
Summary
The Oregon Health Authority has distributed $30 million in Healthy Homes grants — $3 million to nine tribes and $23 million to 34 organizations — to fund repairs, weatherization and hazard abatement for low‑income homeowners and rental properties. Grantees will report metrics in contracts; OHA says it will return with outcomes.
The House Housing and Homelessness Committee heard an update Jan. 29 on the statewide Healthy Homes Grant Program, which the Oregon Health Authority has used to award $30 million to organizations that repair and make safer homes for low‑income residents.
Gabriela Goldfarb, Environmental Public Health Section Manager in the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division, told the committee the program combines broad eligibility with local delivery: “We need funding that will fill gaps, and that's an incredible advantage that this state program has,” Goldfarb said.
The program allocated $3 million in noncompetitive grants to nine federally recognized Oregon tribes and $23 million in competitive grants to 34 organizations across the state. Grants ranged from smaller awards under $200,000 to awards as large as $750,000. Goldfarb said most of the competitive dollars — roughly $20 million — went to larger grants at the upper end of that range.
OHA and grantees are funding a mix of interventions, Goldfarb said, including energy‑efficiency upgrades such as heat pumps, roof replacements, whole‑home assessments and abatement of lead‑based paint, mold and radon. The agency showed a brief video of families and local providers, and the presentation highlighted the Community Energy Project as an example of a grantee that helped a homeowner install a heat pump.
Goldfarb also said OHA expects to use approximately $2.2 million in additional funds that may be available through the state’s climate pollution reduction grant program; those funds would carry greenhouse‑gas reporting requirements and likely be distributed through existing grantees. She said grant contracts include specific metrics that OHA will collect from grantees.
Committee Chair Barb Marsh thanked Goldfarb and said the committee would like a follow‑up in about a year to review outcomes. Goldfarb said the agency will be able to report on the contractual metrics and would return to brief the committee on results.
The committee did not take formal action on the grants during the meeting; the presentation was informational and included time for brief questions from committee members.
