100 signatures reached
To: Washington County Commissioners
Keep Woodspring Affordable! Save Senior Housing!
Woodspring Apartments in Tigard, Oregon has been home to hundreds of low-income seniors over the last 30 years. However, the new owners have decided to end the over-55 age restrictions and convert the building from affordable to market rate. Many of these senior-age residents are unable to afford even their "affordable" yearly rent increases, and will be forced out of their homes with no where to go when their rent jumps to market rate at the end of the grace period.
Our public officials MUST take swift and bold action to prevent and mitigage the displacement and severe economic hardship for this valuable and vulnerable community. Use the metro bond funds to buy this building and restore it as an affordable senior complex in perpetuity.
Our public officials MUST take swift and bold action to prevent and mitigage the displacement and severe economic hardship for this valuable and vulnerable community. Use the metro bond funds to buy this building and restore it as an affordable senior complex in perpetuity.
Why is this important?
As Ghandi said, "The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members." It is incumbent upon our local elected officials to keep the residents of Woodspring Apartments stably housed.
Washington County is the fastest growing county in Oregon, and is also suffering from a housing crisis that has plagued the region for the last decade. There is simply not enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it. The loss of affordable housing due to expiring contracts only compounds an already serious shortage of housing for Washington County's most vulnerable residents.
But it's not just a numbers game, inside every "unit" of affordable housing is a person who calls it home. At Woodspring, residents are low-income widows and widowers, grandparents and great-grandparents, people with disabilities and health issues; their average age is 72, and some of have lived there for over 10 years. While some are confined to their homes and receive meal delivery services, others are working well into their twilight years, some even with second jobs, just to afford their current rent. Many will certainly become among the region's homeless population if the county doesn't act.
It is critical that we invest the funds needed to preserve the affordable housing we already have, in perpetuity. We cannot afford to lose those homes, and we can't afford NOT to protect the people who live there. The impact will be devastating, long lasting, and cost much more than taking action now.
Washington County is the fastest growing county in Oregon, and is also suffering from a housing crisis that has plagued the region for the last decade. There is simply not enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it. The loss of affordable housing due to expiring contracts only compounds an already serious shortage of housing for Washington County's most vulnerable residents.
But it's not just a numbers game, inside every "unit" of affordable housing is a person who calls it home. At Woodspring, residents are low-income widows and widowers, grandparents and great-grandparents, people with disabilities and health issues; their average age is 72, and some of have lived there for over 10 years. While some are confined to their homes and receive meal delivery services, others are working well into their twilight years, some even with second jobs, just to afford their current rent. Many will certainly become among the region's homeless population if the county doesn't act.
It is critical that we invest the funds needed to preserve the affordable housing we already have, in perpetuity. We cannot afford to lose those homes, and we can't afford NOT to protect the people who live there. The impact will be devastating, long lasting, and cost much more than taking action now.