In December 2014 the Coalition submitted a two-part needs assessment covering housing and human trafficking to the community domestic and sexual violence programs across the state. Affordable housing has been identified as a pervasive unmet need of survivors, and in order to advocate for programs and survivors, the Coalition asked programs to provide basic information about the following for the period of six months preceding the assessment:
- Housing resources currently available in their communities
- Types of housing needed
- The number of survivors using their housing resources
- The percentage of survivors that have accessed permanent affordable housing
- Affordable monthly rent
- Barriers to survivors seeking housing
- The most pressing housing needs for the Coalition to work to address
Over half of programs from each of the Coalition’s seven regions turned in the needs assessment, for a total of 39 respondents. The results of the assessment are presented by region in this report.
There were several things in common across regions. The vast majority of responding programs (31) reported that no or poor rental history was a barrier to survivors seeking housing. The second most commonly cited barrier, at 25 programs, was unavailability of housing. Difficulty with making deposits and low or no income were barriers cited by 17 programs each. Funding issues and a pervasive lack of affordable housing were most frequently reported as the priorities for the Coalition to work to address. Most of the funding needs cited are for survivors themselves, including an increase to TANF and TA-DVS, long-term rental assistance, and funding to help with deposits.
The Coalition looks forward to working with programs and partners to improve housing options for survivors in Oregon.
Shelter
Transitional housing programs