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Commissioner West highlights Veterans Village, recovery campus and regional SHS task force
Summary
Commissioner Ben West used the Feb. 6 meeting to describe progress on the Veterans Village and a planned recovery campus, and said he will co-chair a new regional task force on supportive housing and services (SHS) with Metro Council President Lynn Peterson to seek coordinated solutions.
At the Feb. 6 Clackamas County Board of Commissioners meeting Commissioner Ben West described recent county efforts to expand recovery-oriented housing and to coordinate a regional response to homelessness and behavioral-health crises.
West said the county will highlight a new recovery-oriented "village" adjacent to the Veterans Village in a media interview and described the Veterans Village as a replicable model for providing shelter, care and pathways to recovery. "This gets people off the streets. This gets people on a pathway to recovery and treatment and care that they need," West said.
He also said he will co-chair, with Metro Council President Lynn Peterson, a task force to discuss regional supportive-housing and services (SHS). He described the effort as an opportunity to bring local elected officials together to chart a common approach for the Portland metro area and stressed the need for collaboration across local, state and federal partners. "We can't do this without our federal partners," he said, and he urged a focus on "not right, not left, but forward."
Why it matters: the update describes county-led, place-based housing interventions (Veterans Village, recovery campus) and a planned regional work group intended to align policy and funding across jurisdictions. The initiatives are positioned as part of a broader strategy to increase access to treatment, recovery services and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder.
What was requested/next steps: West said the task force will name a "true north" and develop shared policy goals; he said board representation on the regional work group will be determined in subsequent meetings. He characterized the county's programs as pockets of replicable success and urged broader collaboration.
