The state of homelessness in Clatsop County

Published 5:23 pm Friday, January 30, 2026

County commissioners hear how services, housing, funding come together

By ABIGAIL JABLON

The Astorian

The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners was briefed on Wednesday, Jan. 14, on the coordinated approach to address local homelessness. 

Clatsop County Manager Don Bohn and Assistant County Manager Monica Steele presented on how services, housing and funding work together in Clatsop County. 

Bohn introduced the main issue surrounding local homelessness services. “This is a coordinated system but every element is not always calibrated and balanced,” he said “so the system does not always look as smooth from the outside in as it could be … .The main reason is funding, ultimately.”

Federal and state governments

Funding comes from the federal and state governments. The federal government typically funds healthcare, mental health, substance abuse treatment and workforce development, while the state is the primary funder of shelters and supportive housing. 

“If that state and federal funding went away,” said Bohn, “there is no capacity for the county to backfill those losses and there is no capacity for the cities.” 

Cities

The cities manage public spaces and local safety as the primary responders to local impacts. Bohn noted that different cities within the county have varying policies. 

For example, the City of Seaside does not allow camping on sidewalks but provides a designated space managed by Clatsop Community Action (CCA) for unhoused individuals to set up. Conversely, the city of Astoria does allow camping on sidewalks, though Bohn noted that the city council is actively considering other options. 

Providers and developers

The providers and developers, like CCA, Providence Seaside Hospital and The Harbor, are the ones building housing and delivering services. 

According to Bohn, Clatsop County has 202 shelter beds and over 200 other units “in the pipeline. … The story is, we are doing the work and we are making significant progress.”

Steele presented on social services, sharing several local programs addressing behavioral, physical and mental health. She highlighted the Deflection Program, which allows people found in possession of controlled substances to choose treatment instead of facing criminal charges. 

According to Steele, 49 individuals have entered the program and 21 have graduated. While not all participants are unhoused, many are. 

Steele said some service providers like the Behavioral Health Resources Network are experiencing losses after cuts to the federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, the leading source of federal justice funding to state and local jurisdictions. 

Clatsop County

The county convenes, administers contracts and advocates for coordinated systems, effective interventions and adequate funding. 

“This is a very tight-knit group that the county is helping coordinate, and I think Clatsop County has been recognized for how we do it so collaboratively,” Bohn said. 

Challenges

Near the end of the meeting, Bohn discussed what he sees as the system’s biggest challenge: “There is a certain element to the homeless population that does not want to receive services, and they have been in our facilities but they weren’t successful in the shelters. That’s the population that everyone is really trying to figure out how to serve. 

“We do have some additional room in our shelters … . Sometimes people think that’s indicative of the rest of the system not working or the rest of the system doesn’t have capacity. That’s not what the case is right now.”