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Local provider warns of housing-services cuts after state overestimate; county commissioners pledge to push back
Summary
A Clackamas County nonprofit that uses SHS funds said a projected state funding cut will force program reductions; commissioners said the county and cities are coordinating to resist proposed cuts by Metro.
Shivani Shurn, founder of the local nonprofit Up and Over, told the board on Jan. 9 that state overestimates of Supportive Housing Services (SHS) revenue mean providers face budget reductions and she may have to cut outreach and flex funding that buy survival supplies for clients.
Shurn said Up and Over has housed 74 people with SHS funds since December 2022, 19 with rapid rehousing funds and nine through a separate rapid rehousing program; she added the group has a “99% retention rate” for clients it placed.
She said the state advised counties that SHS revenue had been overestimated, and that Metro’s proposed changes and potential tax reductions put local providers at risk. “When I look at my budget, the only places I can cut is my flex funding, which means I can't help people who are housed and I can't purchase survival supplies,” Shurn said. She described clients receiving basic items such as shirts and shoes and said cuts would directly affect their ability to remain housed.
Commissioner Ben West and others responded during the meeting, saying the county has joined other jurisdictions in challenging Metro’s proposal to change SHS funding and that the county issued a letter opposing cuts. West and Chair Roberts said Clackamas County has been a model in regional outreach and that they are working with cities and Metro to try to preserve funding and programs.
No immediate funding remedy was adopted at the Jan. 9 meeting; commissioners said they are coordinating with partner jurisdictions and expressed support for affected providers.
