Tualatin hears homelessness update as county outreach workers report rising need and new shelter resources

Megan Cohen, the city–county homelessness liaison for southeast Washington County, briefed the Tualatin City Council on April 14 about outreach, data trends and resources serving people experiencing homelessness in Tualatin.

Cohen said housing costs and limited local services are driving higher counts and made the case for local referral pathways: “Street Outreach is working with folks who are, literally unsheltered,” she told council, noting the teams focus on people living in cars, on the street or in tents.

Cohen and outreach staff described how the system operates locally and the limits of existing data. The presenters said point-in-time and McKinney-Vento counts undercount the population because they rely on self-identification and broad geographic aggregates. Cohen said 31% of Tualatin households live at 50% of area median income or below — roughly $41,000 for a family of four — and that the city currently has about 720 regulated affordable units but would need an estimated 4,300 additional units to meet local need. She noted online rental searches show very few available low-cost units: “If you go on Zillow, and look for units that are $1,500 or less in Tualatin right now, you’ll get 4 units,” Cohen said.

Outreach model and pathways

Lucy Simmons, outreach coordinator at Home Plate Youth Services, and Caleb Peterson, street outreach coordinator at Just Compassion, described outreach as a long, relationship-driven process that begins…