HOPE Advisory Board Meeting - April 8, 2026
The HOPE Advisory Board held its spring quarterly meeting on April 8, 2026, covering leadership elections, updates from the Coordinated Homeless Response Office (CHRO), and discussions on system improvements for addressing homelessness in Benton County. Key topics included the regional coordinator role under House Bill 3644, improved referral pathways, street outreach coordination, and inter-agency collaboration for housing support.
Summary
The meeting opened with recognition of years of community collaboration that has built the foundation for the coordinated homeless response system in Benton County. After housekeeping and approval of January meeting minutes, the board held a chair and vice chair election, selecting Jessica Andrade (Philomath City Councillor) as Chair and Jim Moorefield (Corvallis City Council) as Vice Chair, both running unopposed.
The CHRO provided a comprehensive update covering several major initiatives. First, Benton County was selected as a regional coordinator under House Bill 3644's statewide sheltering program, covering a region that includes Linn and Lincoln Counties. This role involves developing a regional plan identifying gaps and needs, building on previous local planning efforts tied to the governor's emergency declarations on homelessness and an existing HOPE-informed strategic plan.
The CHRO reported on a shelter bed survey conducted with emergency shelter providers (Unity, CY, Jackson Street Youth Services, and Faith Hope and Charity) to help the state establish statewide shelter bed cost standards. The Point-in-Time count was also completed in late January/early February, with over 40 volunteers deployed across Benton County and incentives provided to engage over 300 unsheltered individuals. Full data results are expected to be presented at a Board of Commissioners meeting on May 12th.
On housing access, the CHRO highlighted successful property manager outreach, reporting 58 households leased up with 16 different property managers through the Oregon Rehousing Initiative, exceeding the state goal of 51 households and housing over 120 individuals. A key factor cited was having a dedicated CHRO point of contact to manage landlord relationships and prevent evictions.
The board discussed two priority work group topics for 2026-2027: (1) improved referral pathways and accurate data collection, aimed at centralizing housing services so other agencies don't need to become housing experts, and (2) street outreach coordination with encampment response. A universal referral form and coordinated entry process are in development, with a draft expected soon and summer training planned. A new street outreach contract with the Corvallis Daytime Drop-in Center was recently executed.
Agency-specific discussions covered coordination with the City of Corvallis on encampment response and two transitional housing properties (Van Buren and Harrison), Benton County departments around programs like forensic diversion and adult treatment court, CSC around HMIS and coordinated entry transitions, the Aging and Disability Resource Center for personal care assessments for formerly homeless individuals, Philomath on rural needs and an affordable housing development with Commonwealth, IHN on a pilot per-member-per-month HRSN tenancy support model for Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool participants, and LBHA on housing choice vouchers and long-term rental assistance. The meeting closed with commitments to return in July with updates on the regional coordinator role and statewide shelter plan.
Key Insights
- The CHRO reported that having a dedicated point of contact at the Coordinated Homeless Response Office to diffuse issues, build trust, and prevent evictions has been the 'game changer' in getting households into private market housing, resulting in 58 lease-ups with 16 different property managers — exceeding the state goal of 51 households.
- Rebecca argued that programs like forensic diversion, deflection, and adult treatment court are proven to be less successful when households lack stable housing, and that requiring those programs to also become housing experts detracts from their core mission — making centralized housing referral through the CHRO essential.
- Julie explained that the CHRO provided financial incentives (gift cards) to engage over 300 unsheltered individuals in the Point-in-Time count survey, framing the invasive nature of PIT survey questions as a key reason why incentives are necessary to achieve meaningful participation.
- Rebecca noted that Benton County is poised to be the first jurisdiction in Oregon to pilot a per-member-per-month model for tenancy supports through HRSN for Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool participants, with no comparable model yet implemented elsewhere in the state.
- Rebecca highlighted that more than 50% of the current cohort of Flexible Housing Subsidy Pool households approaching their 24-month rental assistance limit have successfully secured a housing choice voucher before that limit expires, describing this outcome as 'unique' and notable compared to other cohorts.
Topics
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