Portland outlines joint Homelessness Response System, action plan and early performance metrics

Portland and Multnomah County officials on Jan. 7 presented the Homelessness Response System (HRS) and its companion Homelessness Response Action Plan (HRAP), described the new oversight committees that will guide implementation and shared early performance data showing progress on placements but gaps in shelter-to-housing exits and racial equity outcomes.

The HRAP, which the presenters said was drafted alongside an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the city and county and adopted as part of that agreement, sets nine goal areas and about 120 action items to better align shelter, housing, behavioral health and related systems. "Our vision is a community where homelessness is rare and brief, where people take care of one another," HRS Director Jillian Choney told the council.

Why it matters: the city and county say the plan is meant to move beyond ad hoc problem-solving by convening a steering and oversight committee, an implementation committee and a community advisory committee so that policy, investment and on-the-ground practice are coordinated across jurisdictions and service providers.

Senior advisor Ryan Deibert framed the work against national trends: "This is the first year... in which... more than three-quarters of a million…