Beaverton Year-Round Shelter Ribbon Cutting Remarks

Good morning. Thank you, Mayor Beaty, for inviting me today. I’m so grateful to be with these dedicated leaders. 

I’m inspired by their persistence in our common, urgent goal: to provide housing for families in need.

The 60 new beds that we are commemorating today represent Oregonians that will have shelter and peace of mind they would not otherwise have. They represent a dedicated workforce who share our collective commitment to address homelessness in every community in Oregon. 

It will be open all year round, 24/7, because homelessness is a crisis all day long, all year. We’re celebrating a new space to help people get their basic needs met, access the health care they need through the coordinated care center, and make the hard trek out of homelessness, and into the stable life they deserve.

When I first took office in 2023, I told Oregonians that the homelessness emergency order was only the first step and that it would take collaboration to act at the scale and urgency this humanitarian crisis demands. Since then, my administration has been laser-focused on moving the needle and this community has risen to the occasion time and time again. 

By the end of the biennium, we are projected to rehouse 2,700 households and prevent another 24,000 from becoming homeless in the first place. The state will add 1,700 more shelter beds and 2,400 existing beds will be maintained. We brought together city, counties, public housing authorities, homelessness agencies, housing and behavioral health providers, developers, and shelter operators into a structure to better deliver these services. 

I’m proud of these numbers. But I can’t tell you to see something different than what is right in front of you. Across the state — from big and mid-size cities like Beaverton, to small, rural towns — families still strain under the pressure of an unaffordable housing market, worsening the homelessness crisis. Homelessness is still affecting Beaverton business owners and residents, who must financially and morally navigate a humanitarian crisis right on their doorsteps. People are still suffering in tents in Beaverton’s public spaces. 

The work is certainly not done, but the opening of this shelter today shows us – despite the uphill battle we’re fighting – that we are making real progress, that we remain unrelenting in our goals,” Governor Kotek said. “We can change Oregon lives and communities. I am energized by the continued collaboration with local leaders to build a healthier, safer, more prosperous Oregon, where everyone has a safe place to call home.

Thank you.