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Milwaukie homeowner urges staff to design assistance that captures communal and multi‑occupant households
Summary
Anna Eldred, a Milwaukie homeowner and small‑scale landlord, told the committee that combined household income rules exclude many shared‑household residents who individually qualify for assistance and asked staff to consider alternative eligibility measures such as percentage of household on SNAP or categorical indicators.
Anna Eldred, a Milwaukie homeowner and small‑scale landlord, spoke during community comment to urge changes to eligibility criteria for utility assistance programs.
Eldred described operating a home shared by multiple formerly homeless or vulnerable residents and said combined household income rules often prevent individually needy people from qualifying. “My home is also called home, today by 8 people,” she said, describing residents who include seniors, people with disabilities, transitional‑age youth and others who would individually qualify for assistance but are excluded because their combined household income exceeds thresholds.
Eldred recommended the committee explore eligibility measures beyond total household income, such as the share of household members on SNAP, WIC or Medicaid. Committee members and staff responded that the suggestion was valuable; council and committee members said they would ask staff to follow up and consider auto‑enrollment and tiered approaches. Michael Osborne and Erin Blue indicated staff would take comments and follow up during the UAP redesign and IGA discussions with WES.
