So often the subject of homelessness boils down to statistics, but those numbers can hide the depths of despair facing those who can’t pay their rent.
At St. Anthony’s Catholic Church’s “Housing Justice Festival” on Nov. 9, hundreds of people in attendance along with several local officials were brought to tears by the heartfelt stories of several young women fighting eviction, homelessness and harassment.
St. Anthony’s Housing Justice Team, which sponsored the forum along with the City of Tigard and other organizations, champions tenant rights and advocates for safe, quality and affordable housing. Moderator Veronica Vasquez started off by saying that the purpose of the forum was to facilitate dialogue between community leaders and elected officials about housing insecurity.
Rep. Ben Bowman (D-District 25) and Sen. Aaron Woods (D-District 13) were unable to attend but sent representatives who joined Metro District 3 Councilor Gerritt Rosenthal, Washington County Commissioner Pam Treece representing District 2, and Tigard Mayor Heidi Lueb.
But the real-life stories got everyone’s attention. Veronica Aguilar said that during last January’s ice storm, her apartment flooded after her upstairs neighbor’s pipes burst and the ceiling fell in, “exposing mold that wasn’t supposed to be there.” She had to evacuate and live in a motel for two months and got no assistance.
A woman who moved here from Africa said that there is a common misconception that “homeless people are lazy or unwilling to work, but we often live with a disease or disability,” she said. “I have sickle cell anemia. I was hospitalized a lot. My rent went up.”
She explained that she had to go back to work five days after giving birth to her son, who walked over and hugged her while she finished her story of desperately trying to find affordable housing and provide a stable life for her son.
Lueb responded, “I think this country is failing families. You went back to work five days after giving birth. I went back to work 10 days after giving birth in 2020. We fail mothers. Let me know what I can do to help you.”
Another woman explained how she was threatened by a neighbor who was harassing her, and the apartment owners did nothing. “I was evicted before the other tenant was,” she said.
Bowman’s representative responded, “We need to respond and deal with these situations and also find long-term situations.”
According to Kim McCarty, executive director of the Community Alliance of Tenants, November was National Homelessness Awareness Month, and unfortunately, Oregon is experiencing the highest rate of eviction in its history, and Black women are three times more likely to experience eviction than White women.
The group is advocating for fewer apartment buildings to be allowed to increase rents “but the rent is still too damn high,” McCarty said. “And we need to get rid of late fees and application fees… Housing justice is racial justice.”
Kemp Shuey, executive director of Community Action, told the story of Maria, who was barely scraping by until the engine in her care blew, and she fell behind in paying rent. “Although she was served with an eviction notice, she found our emergency rent program in time,” Shuey said. “This is one of thousands of stories we’ve heard over the last five years.”
Shuey talked about the CARES Act, which provides emergency rent assistance, noting, “Seventy-five percent did not need additional assistance (after the initial aid). In the last three months, more than 2,000 people have called asking for help with emergency rent assistance, which is very effective in preventing homelessness.”
Sybil Hebb, director of legislative advocacy at Oregon Law Center, explained that the center provides free legal help, and there are 131 legal aid attorneys statewide. “There are 2,500 eviction filings per month, far above pre-pandemic levels, and 87 percent is due to unaffordable rents,” she said. “For every $100 increase, there is a 9 percent increase in homelessness. And we must ensure greater protection for manufactured-home owners renting spaces in parks.”
The Housing Justice Team is asking for a rental-property registry, proactive inspections and a rental housing report card system, noting that with a greater oversight system, property owners would be held responsible for addressing these issues before they escalate.
“I am committed to bringing this back to the city and continuing to work on it,” Lueb said.
One success story is the Woodspring Apartments in Tigard, according to Jim Ahl, president of the Woodspring Tenants Association. The landlord continued to raise the rents over the last few years, and the tenants took their case to the Oregon Capitol and Washington County. The county ended up buying the complex using state and county funding to provide stable housing so “qualified low-income older adults and families with children can live there,” Ahl said.
At the end of the forum, everyone was asked to show by raising their hands if they were committed to making progress on homelessness issues and being willing to meet again in January 2025, and all the hands in the room went up.
For more information, contact Danny Rauda, coordinator of St. Anthony’s Social Justice Ministry, by calling 503-639-4179, Ext. 123 or emailing drauda@satigard.org, or visit satigard.org/housingjustice.
