HOPE Recommendations & Community Progress

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Benton County and the City of Corvallis formed the HOPE Advisory board to provide policy recommendations for a coordinated homelessness response system. The board conducted a gap analysis of available services in Benton County, researched successful models for transitioning people out of homelessness, and engaged the community in public feedback to form these final policy recommendations, accepted by Benton County and the City of Corvallis in June, 2021

The following is a list of progress made by Benton County housing and homelessness services providers, healthcare partners, and local government agencies toward implementing the HOPE Policy Recommendations and supporting a coordinated homelessness response system.

 

Prioritize housing solutions within existing city/county resources and hire additional staff to coordinate and implement these policy recommendations. Support the growth of local service providers who transition people out of homelessness.

Work with service providers to assess funding to build organizational capacity, pursue additional funding, and allocate resources to agencies implementing these policy recommendations. 

Continue to advocate for statewide funding, shelter bed requirements for every county, and partnerships to address affordable housing impacts.

Facilitate and coordinate data improvement efforts with community partners.

Work with providers to create metrics for successful program goals.

Prioritize collaboration and coordination of providers and partners with routine meetings for improved care coordination facilitated by a full‐time staff member.

Collaborate with social service and health care partners to increase the number of paid, full‐ time case managers to support people transitioning out of homelessness.

Pursue implementation of a crisis response team and collect data on the scope and scale of need for crisis response.

Provide organizational capacity to facilitate and coordinate providers in establishing a 24/7/365 Sheltering System for all populations with onsite resources at shelter locations to transition people out of homelessness. 

Facilitate and support the creation of a Resource Center. 

Explore and investigate the need and the barriers to accessing housing for individuals and their families in our community whose past history has impacted their ability to secure housing. 

Provide routine communication, notice, and opportunities for community involvement on the topic of homelessness services. 

Increase development or acquisition of affordable housing units for permanent supportive housing (PSH) by 20 new units per year for the next eight years to add at a minimum 160 new units of PSH in Benton County. 

Increase available rental/income assistance options. 

Increase supportive services and stable funding streams to provide services to residents at more affordable housing locations.