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New Bill (SB 603-1) to Help People at Risk or Experiencing Homelessness

 

This new introductory bill can be a useful tool to deal with the rising issue of homelessness as there will be more people who will be losing their homes this year. This is due to an increase of price in everything we purchase

For those who are unfamiliar with who our Oregon Governor is; Tina Kotek was recently elected after winning in the 2022 midterm election and during her campaign, she made a promise to tackle on homelessness. Not only did she recognize how big the issue is but promised to create many social and economic programs/opportunities as a method to counter homelessness and the rising cost of living.

Earlier this month, Oregon Governor, Tina Kotek, introduced a bill that would provide the unhoused or those at risk of becoming unhoused $1,000 a month for 12 months. The qualified individuals are those experiencing homelessness, spending over half their monthly income in rent, or earning 60 percent or less of area median income.  The reason this bill is introduced has to do with an increase of homelessness occurring as income level has been stagnant and cost of living has gone up exponentially due to inflation.  This emergency fund would be used as the person’s discretion but is aimed to use on expenses such as rent, clothes, food, etc.

 According to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are at least 18,000 Oregonians experiencing homelessness. As Kotek stated in front of the House Committee, “We must work together across all levels of government and across party lines to make the immediate and long-term changes that this humanitarian crisis requires.” She predicts there will more people unhoused as this issue has only been increasing as the rent limit increase has been capped at 14.6 percent this year.    (It was 9.9% in 2022)

This introductory bill can be used to prevent an ongoing issue to drastically become more difficult to resolve as we continue to deal with overall increase in price in everything we purchase. Also, this bill can help reduce the amount of people sleeping in our streets where for the last few months, has been very cold and rainy, with spotty snow falls. Many would be able to obtain temporary housing or cover their past due bills or those facing eviction from late payments. It can also begin to create a more positive environment where there is hope for our beloved city and restore it back to its original beauty before this crisis began.

If you would like to read the preliminary bill and the intention of the bill, you can click the link below:

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB603/Introduced

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/CommitteeMeetingDocument/262651


-Cristian Mendoza

Location: Portland, OR, USA

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