The homelessness crisis in Multnomah County, Oregon, home to deep-blue Portland, is among the worst in the country. The county allocates public housing resources using a point-based system that gives preferential treatment to minorities, non-native English speakers, and those who are “LGBTQIA2S+,” the Free Beacon‘s Aaron Sibarium reports.
“Rolled out in October 2024, the Multnomah Services and Screening Tool awards up to 5 points to non-white, non-straight applicants who speak English as a second language—more than the 4 points it would award a domestic violence survivor with a six-year-old child who has been homeless for over a year,” Sibarium writes. “The rubric, obtained by the Washington Free Beacon through a public records request, is ‘designed to prioritize … BIPOC households, LGBTQIA2S+, [and] people with disabilities,’ according to a Frequently Asked Questions pamphlet. It awards 1 point for ‘interest in LGBTQ services,’ 2 points for ‘English as a second language,’ and another 2 points for ‘interest in culturally specific services,’ a catch-all term for Portland’s race-based housing program.”
The system, which American Civil Rights Project director Dan Morenoff described as “very unconstitutional,” might sound like a veritable kick-me sign for the Trump administration as it seeks to defund housing programs that use racial preferences. “But that has not stopped housing authorities in a host of Democratic jurisdictions from rolling out their own race-based systems—even in counties, like Multnomah, where the majority of homeless people are white.” The Free Beacon identified five states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Illinois, as well as several cities, that have incorporated racial preferences into their housing programs.
“In at least two states, Maryland and Minnesota, race appears to be the single largest factor in allocating rent relief,” writes Sibarium. “At a time when the Trump administration has promised to protect ‘the civil rights of all Americans,’ the programs are a stark indication that some people, including the poorest and most vulnerable, are falling through the cracks.”
Hellbound and Down 