Untangling City-County Services. A Panel Discussion
Join the live panel discussion on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 7-8:30 p.m.
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 Joint Office of Homeless Services 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 will offer their thoughts and answer 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:
- Candace Avalos, Portland City Councilor and 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.
The program will be conducted on Zoom and videotaped for later viewing. At least half of the time will be given over to questions by the live audience. Register in advance.
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.