Oregon-based affordable housing developers, community associations, policy makers and other related businesses come together every year to share their knowledge and expertise with each other at the Housing Oregon Industry Support Conference.

The 2022 conference was held over two days in September and featured over 30 workshops and panel discussions. The OR-MEP team enjoyed meeting all those who attended the conference and stopped by our booth! It was great to see many partners in person.

OR-MEP’s participation at the conference included two panel presentations. One reviewed how stakeholder groups like the OR-MEP Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Coalition can increase equity in income-qualified housing programs. The other covered the urgent need to preserve and support Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing properties and how energy efficiency programs can help.

View the presentation recordings below by clicking on the link for each panel:

Inequity in Income-Qualified Programs: Empowering Stakeholders to Co-Create Solutions

Systemic inequities exist in the policies and procedures of many income-qualified programs, including OR-MEP. OR-MEP formed a DEI Coalition to help address these inequities within the program. The DEI Coalition consists of consultants with relevant lived experiences who co-create solutions to better serve Oregon communities through OR-MEP. This Housing Oregon panel outlined the process of creating the DEI Coalition, lessons learned, and the DEI Coalition’s achievements so far.

Preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing: Lessons Learned from the Oregon Multifamily Energy Program

Naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) is currently unsubsidized rental housing that is affordable to low-income residents who earn between 60-120% of the area median income. To help property owners make energy-efficient renovations without raising rent, programs like OR-MEP should spend more time identifying and serving NOAH. This OR-MEP presentation included a discussion between the program team and a representative from a NOAH property.