Polk County Press Release - April 14th, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14th, 2022

Polk County was one of eight counties to be selected as a pilot entity to address affordable housing and homelessness in their county.  The $1,000,000 grant award is the result of House Bill 4123 which provided the funding to our response team consisting of Polk County, the City of Dallas, the City of Falls City, the City of Independence, the City of Monmouth, the City of Willamina, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and any other interested parties.

The grant recipient is tasked with creating a coordinated homeless response system that consists of just some of the following:

· Establishment of a coordinated homeless response office with a point of contact and staff

· Creation of an advisory board with representation from the named communities above

· Coordination with the regional Continuum of Care

· Creation of a 5-year strategic plan

It is the hope of the State Legislature that these eight pilots will be the base map for addressing this very serious issue.