Журнал Афиша Май 2016

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MULTNOMAH COUNTY CHAIR DEBORAH KAFOUR
CALLS FOR INVESTMENTS IN HOUSING,
HEALTH AND EQUITY IN PROPOSED BUDGET
(Portland) Multnomah County will hold
three public hearings on Chair Deborah
Kafoury’s proposed $1.87 billion budget
on April 27, May 4 and May 11.
Chair Kafoury released her proposed
2017 budget Thursday, April 21. It in,
the Chair invests heavily in housing and
emphasizes programs that promote equity
and mental health care.
“Our community thrives when we all have
the opportunity to work, afford decent
housing, care for our families and reach
our potential,” Chair Kafoury said as she
submitted the document to the board.
The five-member Board of County
Commissioners will vote to adopt the
final budget on May 26.
“We must be ever mindful that the
economic recovery has been uneven,
bringing prosperity for some people but
leaving too many others behind,” she said.
“Our priorities must change to prevent
current gaps from becoming wider and
becoming more expensive to close down
the road.”
Housing
The 2017 budget prioritizes safe and
stable housing, which the Chair said
was an essential part of healthy and
stable lives. The investments are aligned
with A Home For Everyone, which brings
together county and city departments,
along with business and faith leaders,
and community organizations.
They include a proposed Joint Office
of Homeless Services that will combine
the work of county and city staff to serve
homeless families and individuals.
The budget would expand shelter
capacity with an additional $1.8 million,
expand rapid rehousing services by $4.4
million, including housing placement
and retention services targeting east
Multnomah County, and $1.6 million in
expanded supportive housing for people
with disabilities and veterans.
The Chair’s proposed budget includes
$440,000 for shelter providers to get
families into safe, if temporary, living
situations with a friend or family, help
with transportation, and help for people
leaving treatment programs so they can
get directly into permanent housing.
Equity
The proposed 2017 budget continues
investments in programs that aim to reduce
disparities in communities of color.
Kafoury highlighted the need for deeper
partnerships with nonprofits that have
relationships in and experience serving
children and families of color in the county’s
85 SUN Community Schools. Her budget
also doubles the county’s investment in
SummerWorks, an internship program
that places hundreds of at-risk youth in
offices at more than 100 companies and
government offices in the metro area.
The budget would continue the county’s
investment in the Promise Neighborhoods
Initiative, which enlists culturally-specific
non-profits to provide social services
to families of color and immigrant and
refugee families in east Multnomah
County. It includes $1.2 million in funding
for the Health Equity Initiative, which
builds partnerships with cross-cultural
community organizations to bridge gaps in
service and improve care. And it includes
$261,000 in ongoing funding to provide
culturally-specific meals to seniors,
ensuring they have food that matches
the cultural tradition of the county’s diverse
communities.
Safe & Healthy Communities
Chair Kafoury said the 2017 budget must
tackle head-on the inequities in health,
safety and criminal justice.
“We need to address the disparities that
we find throughout our criminal justice
system, and push our system to focus on
the root causes of illness, incarceration
and poverty,” she said.
96 May 2016 Будьте замечены!
Her proposal would cut spending on
the use of jail beds by 9 percent -- beds
that have primarily been used to contain
inmates with mental health issues or punish
minor offenders. She would invest instead
in mental health services, including new
funding for a peer support team for those
living with mental health challenges, and
programs that address gang violence
and reduce recidivism. And the budget
includes $223,000 in ongoing funding
for mentors for gang-impacted youth,
and adds $450,000 to other county antiviolence
programming.
Chair Kafoury’s budget also sets aside
$25 million for replacing seismically-unsafe
buildings including the county courthouse
and health department headquarters.
“I have tried to reflect the concerns
and aspirations of our community,” Chair
Kafoury said Thursday. “But at the same
time I know that there is more that is
needed. I’m committed to listening to
ideas from our community and to find
ways the county can help those in need.”
Upcoming Public Hearings
The board will hold public hearings, from
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., in the following
locations:
April 27 – Immigrant and Refugee
Community Organization (IRCO)
Gymnasium, 10301 N.E. Glisan, Portland,
(hosted by the Communities of Color)
May 4 – East County Building, Sharron
Kelley Room, 600 N.E. 8th St., Gresham
May 11 – Multnomah Building, Board
Room 100, 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.,
Portland