Rent Burden Community Discussion Recap

Published on November 22, 2024

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The City of Medford recently hosted an in-person community forum to address critical housing issues, including rent burden, fair housing, landlord-tenant relationships, and rental assistance opportunities.

Feedback from the meeting will help guide the City’s housing initiatives to address rent burden. The feedback, along with meeting minutes and attendance records, will be shared with Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS).

Additionally, the City recently conducted a housing survey. The results, including the number of permitted and completed residential units across various categories, will be submitted to both OHCS and the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD).

The forum featured a diverse panel of experts, including:

  • Sheila Giorgetti, Grants Manager
  • Bill Ihle, Executive Director & CEO, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Oregon
  • Jamie Gatewood, Education & Outreach Assistant Director, Fair Housing Council of Oregon
  • Jacob Ghena, Broker, Team Jacob.Realtor Coaching
  • Kathy Keesee, Program Coordinator, Unete
  • Jennifer Jennings, Housing Choice Voucher Program Director, Housing Authority of Jackson County
  • Noah Werthaiser, SSD Program Compliance Manager, ACCESS
  • Cole Smith, Housing Partnership Manager, ACCESS

Panelists provided valuable insights on:

  • The current state of housing in Medford
  • Free financial and credit counseling services
  • Fair Housing laws and rights
  • Coaching services to secure grants, vouchers, and subsidized interest rates
  • The impact of housing challenges on farm and migrant workers
  • The Housing Authority of Jackson County’s Housing Choice Voucher Program
  • The Jackson County Continuum of Care
  • Housing stability programs offered by ACCESS

This forum was held in compliance with HB 4006, which mandates that cities with populations over 10,000, where more than 25% of renter households spend over 50% of their income on rent, host public meetings to discuss the causes of rent burden and potential solutions.

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