Advocates and people in recovery urge county to fund sober and recovery housing, back $1.8M voucher pilot

Several people with lived experience and recovery housing providers urged the Multnomah County Board to support sober and recovery housing as a pathway out of homelessness and to back a recovery‑housing voucher pilot.

Matthew Cavett, a case manager who said he was formerly houseless and incarcerated, told the board sober living “is where it starts” and credited it with giving structure and accountability needed to stabilize life after prison. He urged prioritizing sober living before other housing placements.

Autumn Lawyer, who identified herself as a member of the Nez Perce tribe and described eight months of sobriety, said sober housing provided stability, cultural supports and an ability to rebuild family life: “It’s more than that. It’s a home…It gave me the ability to truly commit to my recovery.”

Melly Rose, deputy director of IronTribe Network and president of the Oregon‑affiliated National Alliance for Recovery Residents, urged support for Commissioner Moyer’s recovery housing voucher pilot, which she said would dedicate $1,800,000 to recovery housing vouchers prioritizing families and people in substance‑use‑disorder‑supportive housing. Rose cited internal program outcomes: when someone remains in recovery housing for six months to a year, her organization has observed about a 77 percent chance of maintaining recovery.

Speakers framed recovery housing as cost‑effective because it links housing, behavioral health and reentry services, and urged the board to fund supportive housing options that allow people to keep children and rebuild employment and stability. The remarks were part of the public‑testimony period; no county action was taken during the meeting on a voucher pilot presented by a community speaker.