Affordable Housing

Americans are facing an affordability crisis — and particularly with housing which is incredibly unstabilizing to families and communities. We must take action to ensure that individuals and families across different income brackets and at various stages of their lives have access to high quality, safe, stable, and affordable housing. During my time on the Gresham City Council, affordable housing has been a big priority. I helped create workforce housing designed for people with mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Both the Albertina Kerr Wayne Watts Commons and Rockwood Village are utility payment free because they run off solar and clean energy, helping us keep folks housed and while meeting sustainability goals. Further, we created high quality multi-generational affordable housing so families could live under the same roof. Now, residents have apartments with many bedrooms, so grandparents and aunties and uncles can live and share wisdom with their children and grandchildren. There’s more to be done, including:

• Expanding affordable housing vouchers and rental assistance programs. I will continue to advocate for increased funding and expansion of rental assistance programs, such as Housing Choice Vouchers, to help individuals and families keep a roof over their heads.
• Making investments in affordable housing development. We can promote public-private partnerships to build more affordable housing units, ensuring they meet the needs of low- and middle-income individuals and families. Further, we must continue to make investments in existing affordable housing to prevent the loss of affordable units due to market pressures or deterioration.
• Expanding affordable housing tax credits. I will support legislation to expand low-income housing tax credits and grants for affordable housing initiatives, encouraging developers to invest in affordable housing initiatives.
• Homeownership programs. I will support programs that assist low and middle-income individuals in achieving homeownership through down payment assistance, favorable mortgage rates, and homeownership education.
• Addressing homelessness and housing insecurity. Our unhoused neighbors are not getting the support they need, and it’s creating a growing divide in our communities — especially in metro Portland. I will support comprehensive strategies to address housing insecurity by providing access to stable housing and wraparound services to those in need. Read more about that here.