Gov. Tina Kotek is extending the state of emergency on unsheltered homelessness she announced on her first day in office for a third year, this time focusing on mental health and addiction, her office said Friday.
“We have helped thousands of people move from the streets into shelter, from shelter into homes, and prevented thousands more from experiencing homelessness in the first place,” Kotek said in a statement. “But we must maintain the momentum and strengthen our focus on the intersection of homelessness, mental health and addiction.”
The emergency order builds off Kotek’s first homelessness state of emergency she declared upon taking office in January 2023. It applies to regions that experienced an increase in homelessness of 50% or more between 2017 and 2022, including the Portland area, central Oregon, and Clatsop, Jackson, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Marion and Polk counties.
From January 2023 to September 2025, Kotek’s office reported successfully providing nearly 6,300 new and maintained shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness, rehoused 5,500 Oregonians and provided eviction prevention assistance for almost 26,000 households.
However, Oregon still has unmet homelessness needs. In 2024, Oregon had the third-most unsheltered unaccompanied youth on a single night in January, behind Arkansas and California, according to a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Oregon is also one of five states where more than half of all veterans experiencing homelessness were sleeping in places not meant for human habitation.
Kotek’s new executive order specifically addresses that larger share of people experiencing chronic homelessness have serious mental illness, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injuries or other behavioral health conditions.
The declaration orders the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Oregon Housing and Community Services, Oregon Health Authority and executive state agencies to rehouse 1,400 more people using funds the legislature adopted for 2025-27, prevent homelessness for more than 8,000 households and invest $20 million to support permanent supportive housing, expanding behavioral health capacity and improving coordination between housing and health care systems.
The extended order also releases $19 million to help people experiencing homelessness in their defense in the justice system.
“Through local and state partnerships, we remain vigorously committed to materially making everyday life better and improving the trajectories of families, neighborhoods and entire generations,” said Andrea Bell, Oregon Housing and Community Services executive director.
The extension takes effect immediately and remains in place until Jan. 10, 2027, unless modified or terminated.
Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: info@oregoncapitalchronicle.com. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and X.