A house. A home. And what it means for all of us:

In the midst of a generational, era-defining pandemic, we must revisit all that's broken in our state and country. Because there's no better time to consider all the people living on the margins of society, how they're hurting right now, and what we can do to come out of this pandemic and put things back together in a more fair, equitable way.

I want to talk about all the people who call Portland's metro region home, but do so from the streets, from their cars — without houses or safe, warm places to sleep at night.

Now more than ever, we must stand with our neighbors experiencing houselessness to solve this problem together.

Oregon ranks #1 in the nation for homeless children; a hidden but critical problem. No child should be homeless. In the Portland metro region alone, there were over 21,000 K-12 children experiencing homelessness during the 2018-2019 school year; that number grows larger every year.

Which is why I'm supporting local Measure 26-210, and why I'm urging you to join me as we work to address the chronic houselessness problem in our metro region. Pledge to vote YES today!

A YES vote on Measure 26-210 provides critical funding for houseless services. This is critical because it's beyond time to ensure these lifesaving services in our region have the funding needed to match the scale of the problem without placing a burden on low-and middle-income families.

The measure provides for better outreach, better clinical services, income opportunities, prevention methods, and housing placement. It's a complete top-to-bottom effort to make sure each person gets the individual treatment and other supportive services they need to fit their specific situation.

I'm proud to join a massive slate of community leaders, businesses, friends, and neighbors in supporting this measure. Now, all we need is you.

When you sign the pledge to vote yes on Measure 26-210, it allows the campaign to remove your household from their paid persuasion efforts and instead to focus their limited resources on reaching those who really need to hear our message.

Please pledge to vote YES on Measure 26-210 today! Let's get it passed and make things better for people in our community experiencing houselessness.

Courage,

Earl