NEW DEADLINE: March 17! Do you want to provide alternative shelter in Multnomah County? Could partnership with the Joint Office help make it happen? Submit your proposals for funding, support!

Construction on the Joint Office of Homeless Services-supported St. Johns Village in December 2020.

Construction on the Joint Office of Homeless Services-supported St. Johns Village in December 2020.

The Joint Office of Homeless Services, on behalf of the City of Portland and Multnomah County, wants to hear proposals from community-based organizations who want to create new shelter options for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Multnomah County.

These new options would add to the housing-focused response system built by the Joint Office since 2016. That system includes more than 1,300 year-round, 24-hour shelter beds; supportive housing to help people end homelessness by not just gaining housing but keeping it; and new models of street outreach.

As a first step, the Joint Office is launching a Request for Programmatic Qualifications, or RFPQ, process. The RFPQ opened Feb. 17, and proposals must be submitted by March 17. Your proposal can be fully developed or relatively preliminary at this stage.

We don’t want the process to be a barrier to getting your ideas, so if you run into technical challenges, please contact Kathi Braeme-Burr, senior procurement analyst at Multnomah County, at [email protected] or 503-988-7550.

What kinds of alternative services are being sought?

Proposers may offer to provide a wide range of alternative shelter options (e.g. “villages,” safe parking programs, modular shelters, etc.). Shelter options can be indoor or outdoor. Proposers are encouraged to identify a site, but that’s not required.

Any proposal that shows an improvement for participants vs. sleeping unsheltered in unsanctioned public spaces will be considered.

But proposals will be evaluated through an equity lens and on a range of factors, including the population served, geographic equity, readiness to proceed and the amount of support for program participants offered relative to program cost.

How much funding is available in total?

The Joint Office is proposing $3 million to support alternative shelter projects. Up to $1 million is anticipated to cover ongoing operations costs, while the balance will likely support one-time start-up costs.

These sums will make a meaningful impact only if, as intended, they leverage substantial community-level investments of space, materials, labor and funding.

How can an interested organization start the process?

Read the PDF attached above, or at the County’s Multco Marketplace procurement platform. Then use Marketplace to submit your proposal.

Organizations should detail the program they would like to operate. Those details will help determine which proposals advance to a second round of consideration, or lead to additional requests for information. Questions to consider include:

  • Tell us about your organization. Do you have experience with the kind of shelter proposed, or with the population the program would serve?

  • Tell us how the program would operate. Which populations would it serve? Would it offer culturally responsive/specific services? How many people? Which services will be offered? Will it have barriers to access? What size staff?

  • How the program would look and where it would be located. Is there a site? What kinds of pods/buildings would it need? Are any site improvements needed?

  • Budget and costs. How much would it cost to staff and operate? How much would it cost to set up? Would it leverage other community support?

  • Community engagement. What nearby stakeholders will engage around support?

Gathering submissions like yours is the first stage of our two-stage process.

Following Stage I, we will review responses, develop additional requirements and determine next steps. That will lead to Stage II, where we will score and qualify proposers to contract with us. Proposers will learn more about Stage II before it begins.

Finally, a separate allocation process will determine any contracts for specific projects.

How can I learn to navigate the Marketplace platform?

If you’ve never used Multco Marketplace before, you’ll need to go to Marketplace’s “supplier portal” and create/register an account. It’s a mandatory step. The link is at solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SupplierLogin?CustOrg=Multnomah.

Marketplace can be a dauntingly technical platform – especially for organizations that provide services like shelter and outreach, as opposed to basic manufactured materials.

We strongly urge you to attend an upcoming virtual walk-through of this RFPQ where you can ask questions and walk step by step through the process with experts. That conference is currently set for 10 a.m., Feb. 26. But please consult the RFPQ directly for updated information, in case the event shifts to a later date/time.