By Anna Kemper | 3-minute read
At 1000 Friends of Oregon, we believe that every Oregonian deserves a safe, affordable place to call home, and that it’s our responsibility to help our state build the conditions that make this possible.
Introducing Oregon for Everyone
We’re launching a housing-advocacy program: Oregon for Everyone. This initiative builds on the success of our Portland for Everyone program, expanding our housing-advocacy work to help cities across the state address the pressing housing crisis.
Oregon for Everyone will bring together a diverse coalition of individuals, community organizations, and local businesses to advocate for housing solutions that work for everyone. The program will promote zoning, financing, permitting, and planning decisions that allow for a range of housing options in every Oregon neighborhood, while ensuring that current residents can stay in their communities and welcome new neighbors.
The Oregon for Everyone Manager will build and nurture our statewide housing coalition, providing technical expertise, communications training, and advocacy support to local housing organizations, activists, and everyday Oregonians. When housing legislation is on the table – whether at the local or state level – this coalition will be ready to make their voices heard.
Oregon for Everyone is about more than just building homes. A thriving community requires affordable housing options close to schools, stores, transit, jobs, and other essential amenities. The program will also address the unique needs of Oregon’s growing senior population, helping more people age in place comfortably and affordably. By combining smart housing policy with comprehensive community-development solutions, we aim to create places where everyone can live, work, and thrive.
A legacy of housing advocacy
The collective power of our community helped make housing history in Portland with the passage of the Residential Infill Project (RIP) in 2020, which redirected housing policy away from exclusionist single-family-only zoning. This landmark policy opened the door to more affordable, diverse housing options in the city – and it’s clear that infill policies like RIP and 2019’s HB 2001 are only the beginning. Oregon is still short more than 95,000 homes for people who live here now and will need nearly 500,000 within the next 20 years, primarily for residents with middle and low incomes.
1000 Friends of Oregon has been a housing advocate since our founding in 1974, with Goal 10 of the statewide land use planning system as a guiding principle: providing housing choices for Oregonians of all income levels in every neighborhood. Now we are taking that commitment to the next level.
What’s next
We’re hiring! Are you interested in joining 1000 Friends of Oregon as the Oregon for Everyone Manager, or know someone who is? Check out the position description and apply. And we invite you to support our new program by sharing the Oregon for Everyone Manager position with anyone you think would be a strong fit!
View the Oregon for Everyone Manager position