Date: Thursday, Oct. 7
Time: 9:00 am – 10:00 am PDT (12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT)
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Moderator:
Kim Travis, Wildfire Recovery Manager, Oregon Housing and Community Services
Panelists:
Ryan Flynn, Assistant Director of Disaster Recovery and Resiliency, Oregon Housing and Community Services
Michael Morter, Wildfire Recovery Ombudsman, Office of Oregon Governor Kate Brown
Candace Jamison, Executive Director, Marion County Housing Authority
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Description:
In early fall of 2020, Oregon experienced a devastating series of wildfires, losing nearly 4,200 homes and forever changing the lives and landscapes in its varied pathways. The fires left thousands of residents homeless and economically vulnerable; the state was already reeling from a severe shortage of affordable housing, escalating costs for land and materials, a growing gap between rental rates and wages, and unprecedented levels of housing insecurity made worse by COVID-19. Panel participants will outline lessons learned and how we can be more prepared for future disasters, provide a status of new resources (HB 5006) to address the 2020 wildfires, and discuss the importance of modular construction to expedite recovery.