Next year, Community Action's Hillsboro Family Shelter is expected to lose $145,000 per year, or half of its operating budget, due to the failure of Measure 34-83, the Washington County criminal justice property tax levy. Generous donations comprise the other half of the shelter budget. Donor support helps Community Action prevent homelessness and helps people recover from it, providing a safety net for families with nowhere else to turn.
Our partners, Monika's House , Good Neighbor Center in Tigard, and Family Bridge, are also affected by the loss of levy funds. The Hillsboro Family Shelter provides housing for up to five homeless families for a maximum of five weeks while they search for stable housing options, employment, and other services. Families on the waiting list currently wait more than 30 days for a room at one of the shelters, which have a central waiting list.
Last year, Community Action helped 361 homeless children re-enroll in school. The shelter provided temporary emergency housing for 200 individuals and 55 households, for a total of 4,700 bed-nights.
The future of these shelters is in jeopardy because it is unclear how the funding will be replaced. All four shelters - the only family shelters in Washington County - have been receiving total of $500,000 annually. The loss of these funds will destabilize the shelter network.
As of mid-December, no news media have reported the loss of funding for homeless family shelters in Washington County. Reporting has focused on the $12 million that would need to be cut from county criminal services. Washington County Commissioners are deciding whether to re-submit the levy to voters on the November 2006 ballot.
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