We were thrilled to see a significant investment in housing opportunity during the 2022 Legislative session. This discussion began in January when Governor Brown and OHCS proposed a $400 million package of housing investments that focused primarily on building and maintaining affordable housing, and access to homeownership. The Legislature created a new $400 million package that addresses homelessness, building and maintaining existing affordable housing, and access to homeownership.
The total investments in housing this session are incredible. This package represents a significant and important investment by the Legislature! These investments are included in HB 5202.
Addressing homelessness — $165 million
- $80 million: Address immediate homelessness needs statewide, including shelter infrastructure and operations, rapid rehousing, resource referrals, and housing stability. This includes:
- $30 million to support homelessness prevention efforts.
- $50 million to support homelessness services.
- $50 million: Project Turnkey 2.0, funding the acquisition of hotels and other buildings to convert into sources of shelter or housing.
- $25 million: Grants to local governments for shelter capacity, hygiene needs, and outreach to people experiencing homelessness. This includes: $10 million to Multnomah County; $750,000 to Washington County; $2 million to Clackamas County; $1 million to Hillsboro; $750,000 to Beaverton; $5 million to Eugene; $2.5 million to Salem; and $1.5 million to Medford.
- $8 million: Support coordinated regional responses to homelessness across the state (HB 4123)
- $1.2 million: Services and tuition help for homeless youth (HB 4013)
- $500,000: These funds will support an Interagency Council on Homelessness, and provide matching grants for Built for Zero.
In addition, the Legislature committed $13 million for trash and sanitation services for folks experiencing homelessness. These funds are to be used for voluntary trash collection and mitigation, but not with camp site removal or sweeps. $10 million will go to Metro, and the remaining $3 million will go to Eugene, Salem, Bend, Medford, Springfield, Corvallis, and Albany.
Building and preserving affordable housing — $215 million
- $65 million for Preservation—keep affordable housing affordable for families in supported units, preventing displacement
- $55 million: Invest in building new affordable homes to rent and buy, including:
- $35 million for the Small Projects NOFA, which builds smaller scale affordable rental housing, particularly in rural areas; and
- $20 million for LIFT for homeownership to fill gaps and make the program work better.
- $50 million: Support affordable housing construction projects struggling with market and supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic
- $35 million for manufactured housing, which includes:
- $20 million to acquire manufactured housing parks to keep them affordable; and
- $15 million to St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County to seed investment to produce new affordable manufactured homes for low income buyers and rental housing. Currently, there are significant delays to purchase new manufactured homes.
- $10 million to support land acquisition for affordable housing projects.
Supporting homeownership — $20 million
- $15 million: Increase capacity for homeownership centers and other nonprofits that help families navigate homeownership, mortgages, and the homebuying process, and to expand outreach and mediation associated with manufactured housing through Community Dispute Resolution Centers.
- $5 million: Launch a home loan program managed by Hacienda CDC to help first-time homebuyers across the state to make down payments, particularly BIPOC homeowners.