Portland’s housing crisis is visible everywhere you look. It is hard to witness the level of homelessness and housing insecurity happening in our area. And how much harder, still, to be among those trying to survive the crisis on the street, in their car, or in a shelter. It is painful to acknowledge that there is no quick fix when so many people are suffering. The causes are complex and the solutions are not so simple, either.

What heartens us here at Our Just Future are the incredible people who engage with our programs. To have the opportunity to be part of their progress is what drives us forward as an organization. Despite the ongoing and heartbreaking crisis on our streets, we see success every day when the folks in our programs achieve career advancement, housing stability, and long-term economic security.

East Portland and wider East Multnomah County are special places with amazing diversity. This area has been under-resourced for decades, and residents have fewer resources than in other parts of the Portland area. While housing is the core of our work that most people are familiar with, we partner with folks seeking services in other ways, too.

Here are just a few of our programs that support people in our community:

• We help unsheltered folks find and settle into stable housing. Roughly 285 people stay in our three shelters on any given night. Our team works with every resident to find their way back to stable housing they can afford for the long term. We’re proud that 80% of program participants remain housed for at least 12 months.
• We build affordable housing in our region to increase the supply, which is tens of thousands of units too low. This under-supply of housing is a main cause of the housing crisis—in Portland and across the nation. Our current development will open in 2026 with 124 units, bringing the total number of affordable apartments we own and operate to 1,020 residences.
• We coach job seekers toward living-wage work. Our career coaches help folks who face more barriers than most—such as individuals with a justice background, no job history and/or homelessness. When we pair short-term rent assistance with job training, people can finally begin to thrive!
• We work with families to stay housed so their elementary-age kids can consistently attend the same school, which is so important for their mental health and academic success. When kids change schools often—which happens when parents lose their housing—learning and relationships suffer. Our approach keeps kids connected to a single school and existing support system.

These, along with other supportive services and trauma-informed care, form the foundation of Our Just Future’s holistic approach to creating change. While our shelters and rental assistance programs address the symptoms of systemic poverty and injustice, our many other programs target the root causes of homelessness. Ultimately, our programs work to prevent homelessness for vulnerable individuals.

As our city and nation face extraordinary change in the coming months and years, we strongly believe this holistic, trauma-informed approach to community care will be even more critically important in creating a more just future for everyone.

👋  Will you help support our efforts to keep more East Portland neighbors safely housed? Every donation helps!