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Oregon now anticipates 1st motels purchased to house homeless will open in February at the earliest

By Jamie Goldberg, oregonlive.com
Published: January 26, 2021, 8:17am

PORTLAND — Three months after the Legislature allocated $65 million to buy motels to combat homelessness, Oregon is reviewing 19 applications from non-profits and government agencies in 14 different counties that aim to create unconventional motels-turned-apartment complexes to house wildfire victims and others experiencing homelessness.

However, the non-profit organization tasked with vetting applicants and distributing money to purchase the motels now anticipates that the first properties won’t be available for occupancy until at least mid-February, more than a month after the agency had hoped to start having units available.

“Our goal is a high-quality investment for the community,” said Megan Loeb, associate program officer at the Oregon Community Foundation, chosen to administer the program. “We continue to work as quickly as we can with the highest level of accountability and integrity.”

Oregon lawmakers allocated the millions this fall to purchase hotels and motels across the state to house wildfire victims and people experiencing homelessness. At the time, backers said that the money allocated to Project Turnkey could be used for 1,000 shelter units across 18 to 25 properties.

But only about 25 applicants have applied for funding through the program so far with 19 moving forward to the second round of the process. Loeb said those applicants would collectively be able to provide 600 to 700 new shelter units, if they are ultimately approved for funding.

The application process for the $30 million wildfire fund has already closed, but the foundation is continuing to accept applications for the $35 million fund to house people experiencing homelessness.

The non-profit agencies and government entities applying for the funding will be responsible for identifying the individuals who will live in the new shelters once they’ve completed the motel conversions.

The foundation is evaluating applicants from nine wildfire-impacted counties and 10 other counties across the state.

It is currently reviewing applications from non-profits and government agencies in Benton, Clackamas, Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Lane, Klamath, Multnomah, Umatilla and Washington counties. Multiple applicants from Marion, Jackson, Deschutes and Multnomah counties are being considered.

Lane County Human Services and the county’s housing authority, Homes for Good, are one of the groups that have applied for funding through the new program.

Steve Manela, division manager for Lane County Human Services, said that the county is targeting a 50-unit motel in Eugene to convert into apartments for individuals and families who were displaced by the Holiday Farm Fire last September.

He said there are currently 88 households in the county representing a total of 166 people who are still living in commercial motels. He said the county is hopeful that many of those households will be able to relocate to the new motel-turned-apartment building.

“Having a range of options for people is incredibly important right now,” Manela said.

In the long-term, Manela said the new property would be used to house people experiencing homelessness, helping the county achieve its goal of creating 350 new units of permanent supportive housing at a fraction of the cost that it would take for them to acquire or build a new complex on their own.

Manela said that the county can tap into local, state and federal resources to operate the motel in the long-term. He said the bigger financial challenge will be funding supportive services for those experiencing homelessness.

“It’s not the same as the fire population,” Manela said. “Oftentimes, the people we are prioritizing for permanent supportive housing have been homeless for some time, may suffer from mental illness, substance abuse disorders or have chronic health conditions and just need a whole lot more service support.”

Loeb said the foundation expects to announce the first approved properties in early February and is hopeful that individuals in need will be able to move in soon after that. She said the foundation expects to have spent all the money allocated to the program by the state in the next six to eight weeks.

The state had hoped to have the motels-turned-apartments available in time for the winter months, but Loeb said it has taken time for the foundation to vet applicants and potential properties. The foundation also extended the application deadline after receiving fewer applications than anticipated during the initial application periods.

“The need is dire,” Loeb said. “We want this to be up-and-running. We are acting with every bit of urgency and working around the clock to move these applicants through the process as quickly as we can.”

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