How Can 955 Home Forward Units Sit Empty When 7,500 People Are Sleeping Outside?

Home Forward, the housing authority serving Multnomah County, has 955 vacant affordable housing units—representing 14% of its portfolio and roughly half of all vacant affordable units in Portland—while 7,500 people sleep outside nightly, drawing criticism from affordable housing developers who question whether the agency should continue receiving public funding. The agency, led by CEO Ivory Mathews and working with Mayor Keith Wilson’s “Strike Team,” cites decreasing demand for 60% AMI workforce housing units as market rents drop, storm damage to buildings, and financial pressures including the Trump administration’s freeze on new Section 8 vouchers. Critics argue Home Forward’s vacancy rate should be 3-5% rather than 14%, and that the agency could simply lower rents to fill units, raising concerns about stewardship of public dollars as the organization continues building more developments despite struggling to fill existing ones.