Portland, Multnomah County Look to Help People Hurt Economically by Storms

The recent storms in the Portland region forced many people to stay home and miss work. Some people couldn't get to work because of road conditions. Others were just told to stay home and that their businesses would not be opening.

As a result, some people didn't earn what they usually do and are now having trouble making their rent.

Officials from Portland and Multnomah County are now concerned that those people could be at risk for homelessness - something they do not want to happen.

They are asking landlords to work with their tenants when the rent comes due in February to find resolutions other than evictions if they come short.

"For tenants who can show that worked fewer hours in January than in past months, we ask that landlords consider waiving late fees in February," Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a letter to the community.

"Many people in our community are bringing home incomplete paychecks this month because they couldn’t safely make it to work, because they faced sudden child-care burdens with schools shut down, or because their employers were shuttered during the worst of the weather," they said.

"We should work together to ensure that being a few dollars short doesn’t lead to the trauma of homelessness."

They said that in order to address the challenges that renters face from temporary disruptions in income, this year Portland, Multnomah County, and Home Forward directed over $5.8 million of local, state, and federal resources into our shared short term rent assistance program and are actively working to identify additional rent assistance resources to make available to tenants in the coming
months.

Photo Multnomah County.