OREGON STATEWIDE SHELTER STUDY August 2019 Technical Assistance Collaborative 31 St James Ave, Suite 950 Boston, MA 02116 OREGON STATEWIDE SHELTER STUDY 1 Oregon Statewide Shelter Study TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................1 Background ...............................................................................................................................2 Methodology ..............................................................................................................................3 Data Sources ........................................................................................................................3 Focus groups ........................................................................................................................3 Online Surveys of CAA and CoC stakeholders ..........................................................................4 Rural Webinar .......................................................................................................................4 Online Survey of People with Lived Experience .........................................................................4 Stakeholder Interviews ...........................................................................................................4 Study Findings ...........................................................................................................................6 How many shelter beds are there in Oregon currently? ..............................................................6 How many persons were experiencing homelessness in Oregon in 2018? ...................................8 Is homelessness concentrated in particular counties? Do all counties have people experiencing homelessness?..........................................................9 Who is served by shelters? Who is not served? ......................................................................10 What are the experiences of providers and partners in rural areas? ..........................................16 Do Oregon shelters adhere to best practices? ........................................................................18 Where do people experiencing homelessness go during the day? ............................................18 How do people experiencing homelessness get to and from shelter?........................................18 How are shelters funded? .....................................................................................................19 Experience of agencies working to expand shelter ..................................................................20 Does the Oregon shelter system result in positive outcomes for those experiencing homelessness? ................................................................................................20 What did we learn about the quality of shelter data available? .................................................24 Do winter/warming shelters face unique challenges? ...............................................................24 What do people with lived experience say about Oregon’s crisis response system? ...................25 Shelter Gap .............................................................................................................................27 Is there a need for additional shelter for families experiencing homelessness? ...........................27 Is there a need for additional shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness? ......................28 Do winter/warming shelters reach their capacity? ...................................................................28 What do other data sources indicate regarding need? .............................................................29 Oregon Statewide Shelter Study TABLE OF CONTENTS continued How many more shelter beds are needed? .............................................................................29 Is shelter the only answer? Do we really need all these beds? ..................................................29 Best Practices .........................................................................................................................30 Best Practices in Emergency Shelter Operations, Siting, and Design ........................................30 Operations ..........................................................................................................................30 Best Practice in Crisis Response Systems .............................................................................34 Best Practice Role of Government Partnerships and Oversight ................................................34 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................35 Overview of Recommendations .............................................................................................35 Shelter Expansion ................................................................................................................35 Best Practices across the Crisis Response System .................................................................37 Intergovernmental Collaboration on Homelessness .................................................................38 Support Community Action Agencies and Continuums of Care to Achieve Best Practices, Optimal Outcomes ........................................................................................39 Shelters and Shelter Operations ............................................................................................40 Ensure OHCS Internal Systems Support Local Best Practices to End Homelessness..................40 EHA/SHAP Recommendations ..............................................................................................41 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................43 Appendices .............................................................................................................................44 Appendix A: Definitions of Key Terms and Acronyms ...............................................................45 Appendix B: Sheltered and Unsheltered by CoC and County ...................................................49 Appendix C: Online Survey of People with Lived Experience ....................................................50 Appendix D: Housing Inventory Chart and Point In Time for Oregon CoCs ................................51 Appendix E: Shelters In Oregon (SIO) Report ..........................................................................52 Appendix F: Coalition of Communities of Color 2017 Memo to the Joint Office of Homeless Services in Multnomah County ......................................53 Appendix G: Fair Housing Council of Oregon Shelter Guide - Summary ....................................54 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the fall of 2018, Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) contracted with the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) to conduct a statewide shelter study. Among the goals of the study, OHCS hoped to better understand how to strengthen shelter policies and services in order to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. As part of the study, TAC conducted focus groups in five different parts of the state, an online stakeholder survey, a webinar focused on rural/frontier areas, individual interviews with key stakeholders, a survey of winter/warming shelters, as well as analyzing over seven different sets of data. Nationally, Hawaii, California, and Oregon had the highest rates of individuals experiencing homelessness, with 50 or more individuals experiencing homelessness per 10,000 individuals. According to HUD’s 2018 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Oregon is one of four states in which more than half (61 percent) of all people experiencing homelessness were found in unsheltered locations. The study found a gap in shelters for both families with children and individuals experiencing homelessness; this gap is best illustrated by the number of families with children and individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. To ensure no one remains unsheltered, TAC estimated an additional 5,814 beds would be needed. TAC also found particular need among certain subpopulations including people of color, persons who do not have documentation of citizenship, youth, families where one parent is male, and people who are LGBTQ. In alignment with the OHCS Statewide Housing Plan, this report emphasizes that shelters should be part of an efficient and effective crisis response system that includes other components critical to preventing and ending homelessness including street outreach, diversion, rapid re-housing, coordinated entry, and permanent supportive housing, in addition to general expansion of affordable rental housing. When each of these components is available and working effectively as part of a local or regional Continuum of Care, a greater number of households are prevented from becoming homeless, will have shorter stays in shelters, and are less likely to return to homelessness. Some sheltering will likely always be needed, but the number of shelter beds necessary will decrease as the crisis response system becomes more effective. In order to address the needs of families with children and individuals experiencing homelessness, the report makes recommendations including: • Strategies