January 9, 2024 11:00 a.m.  

On Tuesday, Governor Tina Kotek marked one year in office by reflecting on her first year and signing two new executive orders she said are aimed at continuing to advance efforts to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis.

A release from the Governor’s Office said the orders come after preliminary data shows that the state exceeded all three goals set out in the homelessness state of emergency which was issued last year.

Preliminary data from Oregon Housing and Community Services shows that in the past year, the state has worked with local partners to:

*Create 1,032 low-barrier shelter beds, exceeding the original goal of 432 beds

*Rehouse 1,293 households experiencing unsheltered homelessness, exceeding the original goal by 93 households

*Prevent 8,886 households from experiencing homelessness, exceeding the original goal by 136 households

Tuesday, Kotek signed EO 24-02 to maintain the added capacity to the state’s shelter system, rehouse people experiencing homelessness and prevent homelessness. Measurable outcomes for the new order will be developed in collaboration with local communities based on need and capacity and will be announced by the end of February.

Kotek also signed EO-24-03 to refresh the state’s Interagency Council on Homelessness and direct them to develop plans for the Governor’s consideration in response to the analysis done through EO 23-03, an order signed last January that directed state agencies to prioritize reducing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in all areas of the state using their existing statutory authorities. The council will meet on January 16th to discuss next steps.

A detailed list of what the Governor believes are the highlights from her first year in office are on the Governor’s website: https://www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/Accomplishments.aspx