Last-minute advocacy nets additional $11M for homelessness prevention

State budget still cuts proven programs by 74%, leaving over 20,000 Oregon households without protection from eviction

The Oregon Legislature released its final budget bills on Monday, June 23, adding back $11M of the nearly $100M it had previously cut from homelessness prevention services – which include emergency rent assistance, legal aid for Oregonians facing eviction, and tenant outreach and education. The final funded amount of $44.6M represents a 74% cut from the $173.2M needed to maintain the current level of statewide services. As a result, over 20,000 fewer households will receive support to stay in their homes during the next two years, as compared with the past two years.

The Oregon Housing Alliance and its 110+ member organizations call on legislators to act with urgency and conviction to address the record-high number of eviction cases being filed across the state: over 27,000 in 2024. While the $11M in new funding announced on Monday is expected to prevent an additional 1,500 evictions, the scale of the remaining cuts to homelessness prevention is devastating.

​​“The cheapest and best way to reduce homelessness is to prevent it in the first place,” said Kim McCarty, Executive Director of Community Alliance of Tenants. “The costs of shelter and rehousing are very high, while prevention avoids trauma and is much less expensive. This budget has gutted fundamental prevention services, and as a result, thousands more families will be at risk of becoming homeless and in need of shelter. The legislature must re-invest in these cost effective and proven programs at the earliest opportunity.”

The budget for the Oregon Housing and Community Services department, adopted on Monday morning by the House of Representatives and now headed to the Senate floor, slashes homelessness prevention services by over 80%. Over the past week, advocates from across the state were joined by legislators in calling for funding to be restored, resulting in the $11M add-back through HB 5006 – the budget reconciliation bill that was released on Monday and is on track to be adopted during this final week of the legislative session.

While the 2025 session is expected to conclude with no further measures to prevent homelessness, the Housing Alliance stands poised to work with legislators in the months ahead to identify revenue options and restore funding for the proven, cost-effective programs that were decimated in this year’s budget.

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Media coverage of cuts to the homelessness prevention budget: