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This past Monday, Governor Tina Kotek visited Astoria to meet with Clatsop County housing providers and local officials to discuss the progress the county has made nearly two years into the Governor’s housing and homelessness initiatives.
The Governor’s Office released projected outcomes of her initiatives last month. She also met directly with an individual who has been helped as a result of her initiatives. In the first year of the emergency response, Clatsop County established 80 new 24/7 shelter beds, where they had previously only had some emergency beds related to weather, and rehoused 57 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, exceeding their rehousing goals by 36%.
“Since my first day in office as your Governor, I have focused on bold, urgent action to address housing and homelessness. As I approach the two year mark of this work and take stock of where we have been and where we are going, I am grateful to Oregon communities for rising to the challenge of reducing homelessness in partnership with my administration,” Governor Kotek said. “In Clatsop County, their commitment to solving this crisis is self-evident. And there is always more work to do, and I am in it for the long haul.”
The Governor started the visit at Columbia Inn, a result of Project Turnkey 2.0. Operations funding for the Columbia Inn Shelter was included in HB 5019, which provided statewide resources to address Governor Kotek’s Homelessness State of Emergency. Clatsop Community Action (CCA) operates the facility, which collaborates with a number of social service providers. Since October 2023, the Columbia Inn has served as an emergency shelter in Astoria, catering to families with homeless children, individuals and families fleeing domestic violence, youth, those with mobility-affecting disabilities, and underserved communities including Latino, Veteran, and LGBTQ+ communities.
Before touring the shelter, the Governor spoke with a current resident of Columbia Inn to hear their story of how Columbia Inn made it possible for them to have shelter after their lease was unexpectedly terminated.
After Columbia Inn, the Governor toured Owens Adair Apartments and the site of the Owens Adair II project. Owens Adair is an historic 46-unit complex consisting of 1-bedroom income-limited units for elderly or disabled persons. Owens Adair II is an expansion of the original Owens Adair affordable housing development to be constructed in an underutilized parking lot adjacent to the existing development. The 50-unit project benefited from the Governor’s 2024 legislative priority, SB 1537, which reduced parking requirements. 13 of the new units will be permanent supportive housing with operating subsidies for supportive services from Oregon Housing Community Services.