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Multnomah County staff brief commissioners on shelter referral policies, pilot mapping of entrants
Summary
The Homeless Services Department presented pilot data and maps showing where people entered shelters, reported a delay in an updated dashboard, and recommended a community discussion on moving toward an open referral system.
Multnomah County staff on Wednesday responded to a budget‑note briefing request and presented a pilot study of shelter entrants, maps of unsheltered populations, and an overview of how referrals currently work across family, youth, domestic‑violence and adult shelter systems.
Commissioner Julia Brim Edwards had requested the briefing in the county’s adopted fiscal‑year 2025 budget to better understand referral policies and whether people living near a shelter had access to that site. Homeless Services Department deputy director Anna Plum and research analyst Doc Ramblings told the board that referral practices differ by system and shelter type and that the county lacks a systematic, service‑wide record of where people were sleeping immediately before entering shelter.
Why it matters: The differences between ‘‘open’’ referral shelters (self‑referral or community referral) and ‘‘closed’’ referral shelters (entry limited to…
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