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Family Promise urges Tualatin council to push for flexible eviction-prevention funding and case management
Summary
Family Promise told the Tualatin City Council that Washington County faces thousands of children experiencing homelessness and asked the city to amplify advocacy for short-term, flexible funding, volunteer support and eviction-prevention measures to keep families housed.
Family Promise representative Elise told the Tualatin City Council on Nov. 24 that homelessness among families in Washington County is larger than commonly understood and that short-term, flexible funding is critical to preventing more households from losing housing. "We're talking about 3,000 kids in Washington County experiencing homelessness," Elise said, citing McKinney-Vento counts and noting that figure excludes preschool children and adults. She estimated that including preschoolers and parents the total affected could be about 11,000 people.
Elise described Family Promise's 70-room non-congregate shelter in Tigard and on-site services, including a new commercial kitchen, case managers, tutoring for children and partnerships with NAMI, CareOregon and the Taggart Library. She said the shelter has provided refuge for more than 460 people and has helped 99 households achieve stable housing; average shelter stays are about four months.
The agency told councilors it is pivoting toward more intensive case management to improve housing retention and is seeking more agile short-term resources: eviction-prevention dollars, shelter-diversion funds, utility assistance, short-term hotel stays and individualized flex funds. "By orders of magnitude, it's more cost effective to keep someone housed than it is to have them sheltered and then rehoused," Elise said in response to a council question about where to focus advocacy.
Elise also appealed for volunteer support — Family Promise currently has about 43 staff and relies heavily on volunteers — and described the organization's fundraising plans. The group is participating in the Willamette We Give Guide with a stated target of about $30,000–$35,000 and a $5,000 match on Giving Tuesday.
During Q&A, Councilor Brooks asked how elected officials should advocate amid shifting state and regional funding decisions. Elise recommended emphasizing eviction prevention and case management capacity as cost-effective interventions and ensuring local nonprofits know about city programs such as utility-bill forgiveness that can help prevent evictions. Prism Pratt asked about long-term housing stability after shelter stays; Elise said case managers follow families for two to four years through voucher programs and that multiple attempts at housing can be necessary for some households.
No formal council action on funding was taken during the meeting. Councilors thanked Family Promise for the presentation and noted the city will share information about local programs that could support clients.
