COIC provides convening and staff support to the Housing For All (H4A) project – a regional housing consortium dedicated to supporting the full spectrum of housing for Central Oregon citizens and communities. H4A members agree that the lack of safe and affordable housing in Central Oregon has become more than just a question of access and availability – it has become an economic development barrier, and in many instances, a public health crisis.

H4A has developed a cooperative, multi-organization work plan dedicated to achieving outcomes for all housing interests – from those working on homelessness to middle income/”missing middle” housing:

• Create a Regional Housing Needs Assessment – (Completed April 2019) Updated the Housing Needs Assessment, which was last conducted in 2006. The new assessment looks at the region’s current housing stock and distribution, and analyzes what types of housing is needed where and for what populations, as the region continues to grow.
• Research and Best Practices – Serving as a research hub for analyzing policies and best practices that regional and/or local government can implement to encourage housing provision across the income spectrum.
• Policy and resource development – Helping local governments develop and adopt housing-supportive ordinances that work in their community.
• Community education and outreach – Helping communities understand the necessity for housing, and encouraging community support for new housing projects and tools.
• Regional information clearinghouse – Serving as a resource for outside agencies and organizations who want to know what is happening in Central Oregon regarding housing.
• Group coordination and capacity building – providing critical staff support, materials, grant administration, etc. for groups working on housing issues in the region.

During the development of COIC’s 2017-2021 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), regional stakeholders listed housing as the region’s #1 economic development problem and asked for COIC to build a region-scale consortium to address this issue. In 2016, COIC staff began researching regional housing efforts and needs and convened discussions with a wide array of housing experts. These efforts led to the development of H4A.

For more information on Housing For All, contact: Housing@COIC.org

H4A Roster: 2023 Membership