Domestic Violence and Housing Instability

Building upon the housing needs assessment published by the Coalition in 2015, this report provides an overview of the barriers to safe housing faced by survivors, existing support systems and other resources, and policy recommendations for how we might alleviate barriers to housing for survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Oregon.

The report identifies seven critical priorities for urgent action, defining programmatic, legislative, and regulatory changes that must be part of Oregon’s housing policy discussions moving forward.

1. Increasing the stock of affordable housing units across Oregon;
2. Increasing investments in the Emergency Housing Assistance and State Homeless Assistance Program;
3. Increase funding for the Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors (TA-DVS) program;
4. Support the creation and growth of culturally-specific tenant services and support services for tenants experiencing domestic violence, substance use, health and/or mental health issues;
5. Increasing budget allocations to the Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services fund (ODSVS) and other flexible resources for community-based advocacy programs;
6. Developing cross-system partnerships and collaborations between domestic violence advocacy programs, landlords, local housing authorities, housing rights advocates, and other stakeholders; and
7. Identifying and countering discrimination faced by survivors of abuse at all phases of the housing process;

The Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence would like to thank Meyer Memorial Trust, Caroline McCulloch, Sarah Groshell, and the following programs for their contributions to this report:

• Bradley Angle
• Call to Safety
• Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Domestic Violence Program
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Public Safety Department
• Domestic Violence Services
• Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services
• HAVEN From Domestic and Sexual Violence
• Marta’s House
• Multnomah County Domestic Violence Coordination Office
• NAYA Family Center
• New Beginnings Intervention Center
• Raphael House of Portland
• Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center
• SAFE of Columbia County
• VOA Home Free
• YWCA of Greater Portland