Despite the deepening housing crisis in the Portland metro area, CareOregon officials say they didn’t fully anticipate the number of people who needed help and the urgency of their needs. Leslie Nelson, a longtime eviction prevention attorney with Metropolitan Public Defender, said her team had been excited when the new benefit became available. They knew many of their clients would qualify. And indeed, as happened to Herrick, many of them soon received letters from CareOregon confirming they had been approved. “But the money is taking forever to get to people and people get evicted before that money comes through,” Nelson said. “It’s been daily at the courts that people are having to pivot at the last minute because they have the (approval) letter, but the letter’s worth nothing.” Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: Lillian Mongeau Hughes #theoregonian #homelessness #eviction #rentalassistance #medicaid #oregon #portland #portlandoregon #careoregon #oregonhealthplan