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Outback Strong awarded $1.7 million BHRN grant; commissioners criticize low Aid and Assist allotment
Summary
Outback Strong received a $1,700,000 Behavioral Health Resource Network grant for 2025–2029 to expand supportive and transitional housing and employment coaching; commissioners criticized the county’s small Aid and Assist allotment and noted current service capacity and waiting lists.
Heidi Martinez, director overseeing Outback Strong services, told the Lake County Board of Commissioners on April 8 that the county received a $1,700,000 Behavioral Health Resource Network (BHRN) grant for a four-year period to expand supportive and transitional housing and provide supportive employment and job coaching. Martinez said the county is also remodeling county-owned buildings to add needed services.
Martinez explained a Fifth Amendment to the Oregon Health Authority financing agreement would allow Aid and Assist funds to cover housing-related needs for individuals in crisis. She said there were no Aid and Assist clients at the time of the meeting but cautioned that could change if courts ordered placements.
Commissioner James Williams criticized the size of the Aid and Assist allocation to Lake County, saying it was inadequate in the context of statewide housing priorities: "in a state that was prioritizing housing needs, allotting Lake County only $700.00 for Aid and Assist was waste of everyone's time." Community Corrections Director Jake Greer added that his department had exhausted housing funds for homeless offenders early in the biennium and emphasized local challenges in securing placements for people subject to supervision.
Martinez said Outback Strong faces a capacity target from the Oregon Health Authority to add 125 clients in 2026 and that the program currently has a waiting list of over 60 people; she warned that failing to meet the capacity requirement could place the program out of compliance. Martinez also reported an initial week of billing activity of approximately $85,000 under a new billing system and said clinicians favored the change.
The Board accepted the presentations and directed staff to include the related intergovernmental amendment and grant paperwork on the regular-session agenda for formal action.
