In every corner of Northwest Oregon, I hear compelling stories about how housing is out of reach and how the lack of affordable housing can devastate individuals and families.
I’ve also heard stories of hope from Oregonians who have found a second chance at stability through Oregon’s Project Turnkey program, which the state launched in the depths of the pandemic to quickly convert vacant buildings like hotels and motels into affordable housing and emergency shelters.
These stories are powerful. A mother and her toddler found refuge at a Project Turnkey site in a rural coastal community after leaving a domestic violence shelter that had a strict time limit. She said the Turnkey site was a safe place for her young son to make friends, and it gave her the time and support she needed to find a job and her first apartment away from her abuser.
A man with stage three cancer found supportive care at a Project Turnkey site in a Portland suburb after the hospital released him to live in his car. A woman in her late 80s found safety after being scammed by someone she thought was a friend. And a student living in a car found a place to pursue a business degree and land long-term housing, which they previously didn’t think was possible.
Project Turnkey has the power to help people overcome a wide variety of challenges, and it shouldn’t be limited to a lucky few. Building on the success we’ve seen in Oregon, I introduced the Project Turnkey Act to create a federal Project Turnkey program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The need is urgent and more people in my home state and across the country should be able to access shelter and support services to get them back on their feet and into stable housing.
The lack of affordable housing is an emergency and it should be treated as such. We have many unused buildings that could be converted rapidly into housing while revitalizing urban and rural communities. There are vacant motels and hotels, and even buildings like offices and hospitals that have pipes and other infrastructure that would be costly and time-consuming to develop from scratch.
Federal funding in these transformational projects would be a good investment. As a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Homelessness, I know that housing is the best solution to ending the homelessness crisis — especially when paired with supportive programs. In Oregon, Project Turnkey sites have been tailored to meet local needs with impressive results. These examples include Casa Amparo, which provides culturally responsive housing to Latino families and others in need, and River Haven, which provides transitional housing to people recovering from substance use disorders.
Each person’s situation is unique, and in my meetings with the people who run existing Project Turnkey sites I have repeatedly heard about the need for flexibility. Based on this feedback I designed the Project Turnkey Act to go beyond just conversions and be one of the most adaptable federal housing assistance programs to date. Its funding can be used to provide critical services like child care, transportation, employment assistance, and mental health counseling. It can also be used to help keep people at risk of experiencing homelessness in their homes by providing direct support through rental, security deposit, and utility bill assistance. And it can contribute to expanding homeownership opportunities with downpayment assistance and housing counseling for homebuyers.
For many people in Oregon, Project Turnkey has already helped unlock the door to long-term stability. Oregon developed 32 Project Turnkey sites across the state between 2020 and 2023, creating 1,382 new housing units that have served more than 2,000 children and adults to date. We can — and we must — do more. In Congress I’ll continue to advocate for making this innovative and effective program available across the country. Providing safe housing is at the heart of addressing the toughest challenges our country faces, and leveraging the resources of the federal government to convert unused buildings into homes will change lives and reshape communities for the better.
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici serves Oregon Congressional District 1, which stretches from the Columbia River to the north and the Oregon Coast to the west, including Washington, Yamhill, Columbia and Tillamook counties and portions of Portland. She is a Beaverton resident.
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