Housing and Homelessness

For up-to-date information about COVID-19, please visit https://www.co.benton.or.us/coronavirus

If you are interested in volunteering with local service providers or if you are trying to find services, please visit the Community Services Consortium webpage with a list of community resources.

Home, Opportunity, Planning and Equity (HOPE) Advisory Board

The HOPE Advisory Board is a joint effort between Benton County and the City of Corvallis to facilitate a comprehensive, coordinated response from the county, cities, and diverse community partners, leaders, and persons experiencing homelessness.

Contact the HOPE Advisory Board here.

Apply to be on the HOPE Board:

Are you interested in helping find solutions to housing & homelessness? The HOPE Board is accepting applications from 7/16/21 to 7/31/21. The online application is at bit.ly/BentonCoGov-HOPE-Board

HOPE Community Feedback:

Between April 1-15, 2021, the HOPE Board collected community feedback on the draft recommendations to the City of Corvallis and Benton County. Visit the HOPE Community Engagement Page for more information.

The final adopted HOPE recommendations can be viewed here.

Upcoming Meetings:

Meeting schedules, agendas, and supporting materials will be posted to this page at least one week prior to a meeting of the HOPE Advisory Board.

The HOPE Advisory Board has an upcoming meeting on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. It is a virtual Zoom meeting and can also be accessed via the web or by calling in from a phone. The meeting agenda will be posted here and on the county calendar one week prior to the meeting and will include information about how to join the meeting.

HOPE Advisory Board Past Meeting Recordings and Documents:

July 28, 2021 Agenda, Recording, and PowerPoint presentation on Community Development: the role of the state, city, and county in developing affordable housing
- July 28, 2021 Minutes will be posted within 7 days from being approved at the August board meeting.
June 23, 2021 Minutes, Recording, and 4 PowerPoint presentations linked below.
May 26, 2021 Minutes, Recording, and PowerPoint Presentation on investigating resource development and legislative advocacy for recommendations
April 28, 2021 Minutes, Recording, and PowerPoint Presentation on the final draft of Policy Recommendations.
March 24, 2021 Minutes, Recording, and Powerpoint Presentation on second draft of Policy Recommendations.
February 24, 2021 Minutes, Recording, and Powerpoint Presentation on the first draft of Policy Recommendations.
January 27, 2021 Minutes, Recording, and Powerpoint Presentation on All Community Feedback on First Four Priority Topics
December 16, 2020 Minutes, Recording, and Powerpoint Presentation on Priority Topic 3. Transitional Options for Safety, Health, and Stability
November 18, 2020 Minutes, Recording, and PowerPoint Presentation on Priority Topic Area #2 and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
October 28, 2020 Minutes, Recording, and PowerPoint Presentation on Priority Topic Areas and Community Engagemen t
September 23, 2020 Minutes, Recording, and PowerPoint Presentation on Spectrum of Housing and Services
August 26, 2020 Minutes and PowerPoint Presentation on Models Systems
July 22, 2020 Minutes, Recording, and PowerPoint Presentation on Data
June 24, 2020 Minutes and Recording
February 26, 2020 Minutes
January 28, 2020 Minutes
December 9, 2019 Minutes

Governing Documents:

HOPE Advisory Board Vision:
Everyone in Benton County should have the opportunity to live in decent, safe, and affordable housing.

Our values are to:

Use data to drive assessments, prioritization and accountability. In order to best use scarce resources, we must understand the scope of the problem, evaluate the outcomes of our investments, evaluate progress and demonstrate accountability.

Take a comprehensive systems and multi-sector approach. Strengthen system capacity and increase leveraging opportunities across systems of care, such as domestic violence, physical, mental and behavioral health, criminal justice, and housing providers. To provide a home for everyone, we must increase coordination and collaboration of service providers and strengthen efficiencies in our current system and better align our resources.

Engage and involve the community, not just direct service providers. Policy makers and community stakeholders must understand the magnitude of the challenge in achieving the vision, the costs of not achieving the vision, and the strategies necessary to get there. HOPE will strive to ensure that the specific concerns and interests of local and county-wide stakeholders are heard and considered.

Prioritize vulnerable populations. While homelessness can be traumatic for anyone, there are those whose health and safety is at greater risk without a safe and stable home. For example, women fleeing domestic violence, children and people with disabilities, etc.

Promote community safety for all. This work is intended to be generally inclusive of all housing and services for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless in Benton County while acknowledging the limitations of funding and considering the impact on safety and livability. Hereinafter, this service scope will be referred to as Homelessness and Supportive Services System, or “System”.

Promote racial and ethnic justice. In order to ensure that our programs do not unintentionally favor one population over another population we will strive to provide culturally specific services, and use a racial equity lens across all program recommendations.