About the Interagency Council on Homelessness
Governor Kotek issued Executive Order 23-03 on January 10, 2023, as part of a suite of executive orders designed to address the housing and homelessness crisis in the State of Oregon defined by unsheltered homelessness, and an acute shortage of housing units. EO 23-03 directed all state agencies to prioritize reducing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in all areas of state within their existing statutory authority and budgets.
According to the 2023 Point in Time Count conducted in January 2023 prior to the Governor's suite of executive orders, there are over 20,000 people experiencing homelessness across the State of Oregon. To coordinate agency implementation of this order, the Governor's Office initiated a robust evaluation of programs to better understand opportunities to optimize resources, improve program effectiveness, and ultimately reduce and prevent homelessness statewide. The program evaluation resulted in a set of objectives to achieve the goals of the executive order by aligning and closing gaps in homelessness-related programs across state agencies. By taking steps to improve program effectiveness and accountability, the state can more effectively achieve the outcomes that Oregonians want to see, and people experiencing homelessness deserve: a reduction in homelessness across the state.
In order to fully realize this work, Governor Kotek signed
EO 24-03 on January 10, 2024 to refresh the state's Interagency Council on Homelessness and direct them to develop plans for the Governor's consideration in response to the analysis done through EO 23-03. The Council will meet on January 16 to discuss next steps.
Council Members
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Governor Tina Kotek (chair)
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Director Andrea Bell (co-chair) - Oregon Housing and Community Services
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Director Fariborz Pakseresht - Oregon Department of Human Services
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Director Sejal Hathi - Oregon Health Authority
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Director Nakeia Daniels - Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs
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Director Charlene Williams - Oregon Department of Education
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Director Mike Reese - Oregon Department of Corrections
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Director Joe O'Leary - Oregon Youth Authority
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Director Kris Strickler - Oregon Department of Transportation
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Director Berri Leslie - Department of Administrative Services
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Director Erin McMahon - Oregon Department of Emergency Management
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Director Lisa Sumption - Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Upcoming Meetings
Meeting Materials
For questions and comments you would like submitted to the Council, please email ICH_GOV@oregon.gov