How a new Portland-Multnomah County agreement for homeless services may impact people living on the streets

Think Out Loud

Portland and Multnomah County have been working together for decades on how to get people experiencing homelessness off the streets and ultimately into permanent housing. Since 2016 that collaboration has taken the form of a Joint Office of Homeless Services. The five-member city commission, three of whom are running for mayor this fall, narrowly approved a new agreement governing that joint office – albeit with some changes. We hear more from Dan Field, the director of the Joint Office of Homeless Services, and Skyler Brocker-Knapp, the director of Portland Solutions, about what the new agreement will mean for people living outside and how it changes how the two governments work together.