Multnomah County may cut legal services that supporters say prevent homelessness

A Multnomah County program that helped 293 clients clear their records of past misdemeanors and a handful of felonies last year – paving the way for better access to housing and jobs – is slated

to be cut

.

The legal program is one of seven that county Chair Jessica Vega Pederson may cut or vastly reduce to save $2.8 million

in her proposed budget

for the next fiscal year.

Three eviction prevention programs would be cut entirely. So would a legal services program for homeless people, that includes help with immigration cases. And a program called Project Reset, which helps people living in poverty clear traffic, parking and criminal debt that can hold them back from getting basic government identification or clearing their own criminal records, would be cut by more than half.

A program that helps people represented by public defenders access mental health and substance use treatment, housing and other practical supports, is also on the chopping block.

Last year, those seven programs helped more than 4,000 people, according to the nonprofit law offices that provide the services.

Staring down a tight budget, Multnomah County officials say the programs are important, but don’t necessarily align with the county’s priorities.

Multnomah County chair’s homeless services budget prioritizes shelter over other interventions

The chair’s proposed homeless services budget has fewer holes in it than expected.

The county’s

homeless services department

, which houses some of the legal services programs, faces a $70 million shortfall to maintain current services and the county’s general fund was short $15.5 million at the start of the budgeting process.

“This is a much-needed and successful service,” said county spokesperson Julia Comnes, but “the proposed budget prioritizes preserving housing programs and shelter beds, unfortunately at the cost of other programs. It is a needed program that has had good outcomes, but is not among our most core services.”

‘It means everything to me’

In 2003, S. Jackson was 18 and about to have the worst night of his life.

Jackson, a community college student at the time, was driving from Portland to Eugene to visit his girlfriend when he ran out of gas. He decided to call a cab. The car service that showed up had no meter, but Jackson had grown up in Portland’s foster care system and was sent by cab to various appointments all over the city. He figured he could judge what a fare should cost.

He had no inkling that, in the end, it would cost him nearly everything.

The driver told Jackson the fare for the 20-minute ride would be $70. Jackson didn’t have that much money and didn’t think it was a fair charge. He got angry.

Jackson later said in court that he’d thrown the first punch in what turned into a roadside brawl. Court records show that he also kicked the driver and took back the $30 he’d initially paid toward his fare. Police arrived.

Ultimately, Jackson pleaded guilty to robbery and assault, both felonies, and was sentenced to five years in prison. He got out early after completing a sentence reduction program and never had another run in with police, but the conviction changed his life irrevocably. He never finished his degree, almost no one would take a chance on hiring him for more than manual labor and he was routinely denied when he applied for apartments.

For those with a criminal record, physical labor is the easiest line of work to get hired in. But, S. Jackson has always wanted to do more. A former athlete and a foster kid, he’d like to coach or find some way to work with foster youth. With his 20-year-old felonies expunged, he hopes to finally pursue that dream.

Allison Barr/The Oregonian

Then, in 2024, he was connected with Adrienne Del Monte, an attorney with nonprofit law firm Metropolitan Public Defender whose work to expunge records of people who otherwise could not afford representation has been funded by Multnomah County.

“His sentence did not end when he finished post-prison supervision because of how impossible it is to move forward in your life with criminal convictions appearing on a background check,” Del Monte said.

Earlier this year, she filed a 21-page, single-spaced petition to the Lane County Circuit Court arguing that Jackson’s past conviction “no longer advances the interests of justice.” On May 14, a judge agreed. Jackson’s record was cleared.

“It means everything to me,” Jackson said. “I feel like I could be a productive citizen. Funding this program is crucial for citizens that deserve a second chance.”

The Oregonian/OregonLive is not using Jackson’s full name to protect his identity following the expungement of his record.

Problems cascade

Carl Macpherson, executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender, which operates four of the legal services programs funded by the county, said even relatively simple legal issues can cascade on each other, exacerbating or even causing the next.

For example, he said, unpaid fees and fines can prevent someone from securing a state identification card or driver’s license. Without that, it’s impossible to get a job. Without a job, it’s hard to pay rent.

But services that help address these issues are often out of reach for people living in poverty. Offering legal help as a public service is critical to stopping the cycle of poverty and recidivism, Macpherson said.

“That is true particularly when you help people get housing and employment, which is what these programs are doing,” he said.

Nathan Vasquez, Multnomah County’s District Attorney, said the county’s legal programs have made a positive difference.

“We recognize the value of programs that reduce (justice) system involvement by helping people clear eligible convictions, eliminate fines and fees that create barriers to housing access, and avoid unnecessary court proceedings,” said Vasquez, who has vocally criticized Vega Pederson for her proposed cuts to his own budget.

Cuts aren’t ‘easy’

Using the average cost per shelter bed in the county system, the $2.8 million savings from the legal services cuts could fund about 72 shelter beds for a year.

Comnes said budget negotiations could preserve some of the legal services, especially for eviction prevention. Those services initially were covered by pandemic relief funds and then with revenue from the regional homeless services tax. Pandemic relief funds are no longer available and the homeless services tax will bring in less than originally expected next year.

Vega Pederson said that some of the legal services depend on other funding that is also likely to be reduced. For example, decreased rent assistance means there will be less money available for eviction case settlements.

She said none of the trims in any budget area have been easy, especially in the Department of County Human Services or the Homeless Services Department.

“All of them represent a reduction in the services we would provide in an ideal system,” she wrote in an emailed statement for The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Adrienne Del Monte is an attorney who works for Metropolitan Public Defender in a Multnomah County-funded program focused on providing civil legal services for people who could not otherwise afford representation. “My role is to help clear legal barriers that hold people in poverty,” she said.

Allison Barr/The Oregonian

County Commissioner Vince Jones-Dixon is among the commissioners working on an amendment to preserve at least some of the county’s current legal services.

“I see tremendous value in investing in eviction prevention, expungement support, and the legal and wraparound services that help people rebuild their lives,” Jones-Dixon said. “These programs are critical for community members working to overcome past mistakes and reestablish themselves as stable, contributing members of society.”

Cost-effective solution

Del Monte, Jackson’s lawyer, often works to help people get convictions for misdemeanors like drug possession, identity theft and indecent exposure off their records.

She said the details surrounding many old convictions shed a different light on what happened. Indecent exposure, for example, is a charge she said often stems simply from living outside.

Jobs programs offer a path out of homelessness. Multnomah County could cut them

The chair’s proposed homeless services budget has fewer holes in it than expected.

And client testimonies provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive illustrate how an advocate can help people caught up in the legal system and cycles of mental illness and substance use change course.

One person, who asked that their name not be used, said they had been in and out of jail for 30 years. They credit their case manager at Metropolitan Public Defender with their current sobriety.

“She has managed to secure me housing that I desperately needed,” the client wrote. She took “me out of a tent on the streets and out of the ‘survival mode’ mentality that compels petty crime.”

Another client said that without their case manager, they may still be in jail, rather than free and sober, “because I’d feel lost in the world – like no one cared. I’ve never had an advocate in my life so passionately driven to support me and better my existence, whilst making me feel that I’m worthy and deserving of living a better life.”

While all of the legal services on the chopping block help people who are homeless or teetering on the edge of it, the county’s investments in eviction prevention have arguably had the most direct effect on keeping people housed.

Sonja Good Stefani, who leads Metropolitan Public Defender’s community law division, said 80% of evictions are for nonpayment of rent. And, since most people facing eviction can’t cover all they owe, she said, landlords often figure a negotiated settlement is better than nothing at all.

“It’s just people who can’t afford their rent,” Good Stefani said. “They’re not doing anything else but being poor.”

After getting help negotiating a lease despite his past criminal record, S. Jackson and his partner live with their one-year old son in a Northeast Portland apartment.

Allison Barr/The Oregonian

A drop-in program run by The Commons Law Center cost the county $580,000 this fiscal year and the attorneys there are on track to prevent more than 1,400 people from getting evicted by June 30, according to Kamron Graham, the center’s executive director.

“The cost for us to help one person avoid eviction is $396 per person,” Graham wrote. “Compare that to the $1,832 a month for the cost of a basic shelter bed with no support services.”

Pathways open again

Jackson said that after his conviction was expunged, he finally felt like he could make his way in the world. He now works as a line cook and, thanks to Del Monte’s help on a rental application last spring, lives with his partner and son in a Northeast Portland apartment with his name on the lease.

A former athlete, Jackson had been offered coaching jobs before, but couldn’t take them because of the assault conviction. For a time, he worked at a cannabis dispensary, making his way up the ladder to regional manager. But when he tried to start his own business, he couldn’t get a business license.

Now, all of those pathways seem open again. He’d like to do something to help foster kids. And he hopes to be able to see more of his two older kids, who live with their mother in California.

“Without the help of the community law department, I would still be living with these convictions and still have the barriers to all the housing,” Jackson said. “Cases like mine are just proof that the system works and they’re impactful. It’s not very smart or intelligent to cut something that works.”

The county’s next


public budget hearing


will be held virtually on Wednesday, May 28 at 6 p.m.

S. Jackson takes one-year old son to a park in the Parkrose neighborhood on Friday.

Allison Barr/The Oregonian

Lillian Mongeau Hughes covers homelessness and mental health for The Oregonian. Email her with tips or questions at


lmhughes@oregonian.com


. Or follow her on Bluesky

@lmonghughes.bsky.social

or X at


@lrmongeau


.

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