Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury (left) and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown listen during visit to the Human Solutions Family Shelter in December 2017.
Amelia Templeton / OPB
Delivering her fourth State of the County address, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury announced plans to establish a Supportive Housing Investment fund for the county's homeless population and a new partnership between law enforcement and county boards to deal with the opioid crisis.
Kafoury delivered her speech in the Reynolds High School auditorium in Troutdale, where, in 2014, a 15-year-old armed with a military-style assault rifle and nine loaded magazines shot and killed a fellow student and injured a teacher. The shooting happened on Kafoury's first full day as chair.
"It is fitting that we are here at Reynolds High School because it is the students, and not the adults, who are leading the fight for a better future," Kafoury said, referring to the wave of student activism that followed the shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school.
"Thank you to all the students here today. You understand: No matter how tough it is, we have to take care of one another."
Kafoury listed accomplishments in the county in the past year – from reducing the number of opioid prescriptions to investments of more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in capital project investments.
Kafoury's address later transitioned into a Q&A with Kevin Modica, legislative staff to Democratic Sen. Lew Frederick and former Portland Police Bureau assistant police chief, during which she answered questions about the sale of the Wapato Jail and whether she thinks she plays a role in perpetuating institutional racism at the county.
With few details offered, Kafoury announced a plan to establish a Supportive Housing Investment fund this year "for people who need more than just the keys to an apartment."
"They need housing that is connected to the services that will save their lives," Kafoury said.
In October 2017, Portland and the county announced a commitment to creating 2,000 supportive housing units over the next 10 years, with plans to be funded, in part, by the now-stalled sale of the Wapato Jail. The 155,440-square-foot jail has sat empty in North Portland while the county continued to pay $300,000 a year to maintain it, and commissioners voted in November to sell it.
"We'll know by the end of the month whether that offer [for the jail] is coming through," Kafoury said later.
Kafoury also announced a partnership with Lines for Life, the sheriffs, district attorneys and boards of Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties to figure out how to move forward to address the opioid crisis.
"Multnomah County’s first job is to be there in a crisis. But the county also provides the essential infrastructure to assure that those services are available."
Kafoury went off notes during the Q&A portion, where she was asked about the Human Solutions homeless shelter, which was evacuated in February after troubles with the roof. OPB has reported extensively on problems with the shelter and found that a report recommended replacing the failing roof of the Human Solutions Family Shelter back in 2015. But Multnomah County leaders may never have received that document.
"Moving forward we're trying to assess whats the best way to move forward, whether the shelter can be repaired to be used again or whether we need to find another option. But a shelter is not a solution," Kafoury said. "And no family in our community should be sleeping on the streets or in a shelter."
You can read Kafoury's full address here.