CRO launches universal-referral pilot and expands street outreach, hires navigator

Coordinated Homeless Response Office (CRO) staff told the HOPE Advisory Board on July 8 that they have begun piloting a universal referral process to streamline access to housing and support services and that they are expanding street outreach and encampment-response work.

"We actually hosted the first case conferencing of 10 households where we piloted the form," a CRO staff member reported, describing a virtual "single door" referral intended to connect households to the Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool (FHSP) and other local services.

Staff said the pilot will allow enrollment of a subset of those 10 households into the FHSP and that new enrollments will resume; staff described the foreseeable funding horizon to support these placements as through June 30, 2027. Training for agencies that use the Homeless Management Information System and for partners who do not will roll out this fall.

On outreach, staff said Housing360 funds are being used to prioritize people with complex needs, and CRO has executed a contract with a Corvallis daytime drop-in center to coordinate street outreach, encampment response, and neighborhood-focused rapid-response work. Staff also announced the hiring of a risk-reduction navigator to support implementation.

Staff asked board members to help with property-manager outreach and to support MOUs with affordable-housing developers to set aside units linked to FHSP subsidies. The CRO plans a short newsletter of staff updates by the end of July and will return to the board with progress at the October meeting.