Letter from the director

Hello Washington County,

Summer is quickly coming to a close. While I am ready to say goodbye to the heat emergencies, this summer has been a time for me to connect with the kids in our housing, partners in this work with us like Nathan Teske of Bienestar, and our incredibly dedicated staff.

I was elated to join Camp Rosenbaum for a day and visit our two staff volunteers: Aaron Babbie and Bonnie-Jo Barnaby. The Camp is open to kids (ages 9-11) whose parents live in housing authority properties or who participate in a rental assistance program in Oregon. Housing Authorities send staff as volunteers, enabling us to allow kids to go to camp for free. We are a proud partner of Camp Rosenbaum and were excited to send 27 kids this year from Washington County.

It was also wonderful to connect with staff from all parts of our department at our annual summer all staff meeting and picnic. This is a moment to thank our teams working hard each and every day to realize our vision of a Washington County where everyone has an affordable home with the supports and opportunities each of us needs to thrive. From helping provide rental assistance payments for around 5,000 low-income households annually to processing over 3,000 invoices from our service provider partners annually, our staff go above and beyond for our community.

Summer is also a time when many families in affordable housing move to a new home, making sure they are settled in before school starts. As we prepare to welcome kids back to school, I have one final update to share. In case you missed it, the department recently launched a resident newsletter to share resources and tips. If you're a resident and want to receive this newsletter, please email us. The end-of-summer newsletter included resources for free food markets, tools to deal with the heat, and timely back-to-school tips. I am wishing you and yours a successful start to the school year!

Best,

Molly

Department of Housing Services sets annual work plan

The Washington County Department of Housing Services creates pathways out of homelessness, promotes housing stability, and invests in affordable communities. This fiscal year 2025-26, we are setting important goals to advance our mission and make meaningful progress towards operational excellence. Our goals fall under four main objectives: Community Impact, People and Culture, Process and Technology, and Fiscal Stewardship.

The first and most important is our Community Impact goals. They describe our efforts to prevent homelessness, advance housing stability, and create a community where each of us have affordable housing and the supports each of us need to thrive. We will:

House or prevent homelessness for 725 households;
Sustain stable housing for 5,200 households with ongoing rental assistance;
Sell 30 single-family homes to raise funds for future affordable housing developments;
Begin construction on 120 units of transitional housing for people with behavioralhealth and substance abuse needs; and
Deepen our understanding of the demographics of those we serve to ensure access and opportunity for all.

Fiscal Stewardship is also a crucial objective for the department’s leadership. A key goal this year is to increase controls to steward limited public funds while strategically aligning revenue sources to optimize our community impact.

Third, People and Culture, consists of goals that will support our staff who make our work possible, with professional development and organizational improvements to ensure teammates have a clear sense of role and purpose connected to our mission.

Lastly, the department’s Process and Technology goals are to improve well-documented processes and thoughtfully implemented systems that find synergies across teams and improve business operations for partners.

Interested in waitlist openings?

Keep up to date with the department's affordable housing and vouchers' waitlist openings by easily creating a profile on our portal to receive notifications. You can also check out our dedicated waitlists' webpage that includes non-county operated properties. Share with family, friends, and colleagues.

From public housing to homeownership – five families get their new keys

As a follow-up to our director’s June and February 2025 letters, there has been some exciting news to our Section 18 Disposition, i.e. sale of single-family homes from our Public Housing portfolio. But first, a bit of a recap on the project.

The disposition entails selling 60 units, which will raise funds to increase and/or preserve the supply of affordable housing and provide the opportunity for wealth creation to low and moderate-income households. Our key focus is selling these homes to current residents renting their homes through the public housing program, and as of today, five families have purchased their own homes!

Transitioning from renting your home to becoming a first-time homeowner an accomplishment many of us can appreciate. Some families have been in their homes as far back as 1999, and others moved in as recently as 2016. Homeownership is part of the American dream, and we’re excited for what comes next for these families. A big shout-out to our local non-profit partner Bienestar who helped some of our families along the way with their homeownership program!

For more information on the sale in general, visit our dedicated webpage, and read one family’s story of tenant-turned-homeowner below!

Do you have a story to share?

Do you know of someone who may want to share their housing story with us? Or perhaps you work in housing and want to inform others of a specific experience? We want to hear from you and share positive impactful stories with our community.

Barbara’s story: Turning their rental into a forever home of their own

With the rising cost of living, high interest rates, and a lack of affordable homes, the “American Dream” is falling farther out of reach for more people every day. The Department of Housing Services recognizes these challenges and has been working to make homeownership a reality for families who couldn’t otherwise reach this goal.

One such family is Barbara's. "We are a family of six, three boys and a girl, and me and my husband,” she shares. “We have always been united, in both the good times and bad times. We support one another.” Barbara currently works in housekeeping as her husband is a welder. The couple’s boys are all grown up and married, and the daughter is attending high school.

Barbara first visited the department fourteen years ago, in 2011. “When we applied for public housing, we were in a tough position because my husband could not find a job, and the rent for an apartment was a lot,” she said. During that difficult time, a family member recommended that she apply to the Housing Choice Voucher program (also known as Section 8). Barbara says that she was hesitant at first; the waiting list was long, but she went ahead and applied.

One day, the department called to notify her of other opportunities in the public housing program while she continued to wait for a voucher. Barbara seized the moment. Three months later, they were able to move into a three-bedroom home they not only could afford, but they also really liked. Barbara describes how they took care of the home as if it were their own, the home their children grew up in.

Their lives changed again when the department announced the future sale of their home, and a real chance at homeownership was at their doorstep for the first time. Continue reading Barbara’s journey towards homeownership here.

A spectrum of jobs in housing are available from entry level to upper management with a competitive benefits package and a dynamic hardworking environment. Click here to view available positions and check back often as our positions' list continue to be updated.

The Department of Housing Services creates pathways out of homelessness, promotes housing stability, and invests in affordable communities for Washington County and our residents.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, OR | washingtoncountyor.gov/housing