Untangling City-County Services. A Panel Discussion
The live panel discussion was held on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 7-8:30 p.m.
Watch or listen to the panel
Watch the recorded video of the discussion:
Listen to podcast of the discussion:
About the program
In the second of our two-part series on Multnomah County, we will take a critical look at the overlapping city-county services that regularly rank as the most confusing and frustrating to Portlanders: homelessness, housing, and behavioral health.
- How do the city’s and county’s approaches to these challenges differ?
- How is the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department funded and how does it work?
- What is the practical impact of this dual system on those experiencing homelessness or mental health problems?
- Most importantly, is there an effective shared pathway to resolving the human crisis that has overtaken our community?
Our expert panelists offered their thoughts and answered your questions.
Panel Speakers
Our speakers come from the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and local community providers, to get perspectives from across our community:
- Jamie Dunphy*, Portland City Councilor and Vice Chair of the Council’s Homelessness and Housing Committee
- Anna Plumb, Interim Director for the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department
- Scott Kerman, Executive Director of Blanchet House, a Portland nonprofit dedicated to serving individuals experiencing homelessness, hunger and poverty
- John Karp-Evans, Deputy Director of The Peer Company (formerly Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon), promoting self-directed recovery and wellness.
*Councilor Jamie Dunphy stepped in for Councilor Candace Avalos, who is dealing with the aftermath of a house fire. The League of Women Voters of Portland sends warm regards to Councilor Avalos.
About the League’s Community Education Programs
This webinar is one of the League’s community education programs, held free of charge and open to the public. All of our programs are recorded for rebroadcast by MetroEast Community Media and available by video and podcast from our website, lwvpdx.org.
View the recordings of the first part of our Fall 2025 series on Multnomah County, held on October 8 on the theme What Does Multnomah County Do for You?
Funding for production is provided by the League of Women Voters of Portland, Oregon and by the Carol and Velma Saling Foundation.