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FAQ: About Us

Here are some of the questions people often have about Home Forward.

Dahlke Manor

Home Forward is a public corporation. We contract with the federal government to administer housing programs. We operate independently with our Board of Commissioners, like the Port of Portland. 

While we are not part of the city’s government structure, we provide our services throughout the City of Portland, as well as Multnomah County, the City of Gresham, and other communities in east Multnomah County.  Portland, Multnomah County, and Gresham each appoint commissioners to our board, and we work very closely with our jurisdictional partners on housing policy and programs. We occasionally even take on responsibilities to administer programs on behalf of the State of Oregon.

We welcome you to browse our website to learn more about our apartment communities and our different rent assistance programs.

We are led by a nine-member volunteer citizen commission.  Members are appointed by the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the City of Gresham. Because we were incorporated by the City of Portland, the Portland City Council approves all appointments to our board.  Ultimately, however, we believe we are responsible to the citizens and taxpayers of our community to fulfill our mission.

Yes. We are considered a housing authority under the Oregon law that governs us and by our largest funding source, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. We operate the largest federally-funded housing programs in Oregon, which include Housing Choice Voucher, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and Veterans Assisted Supportive Housing (VASH). However, we work beyond what a traditional housing authority does.

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For Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Somali, and Arabic, this site uses Google Translate. Please contact us if any information provided in your language is incorrect or unclear. Vital forms are all translated by a specialized service. Read our Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Plan here.

Attention residents

As some of you may have heard, on August 20th 2023 the Portland Water Bureau’s regular testing of water quality detected small amounts of the bacteria Cryptosporidium. Since learning of this, Home Forward staff has been in contact with the Portland Water Bureau.

We have been assured that healthy individuals can and should continue using water as normal.

If you are immunocompromised or are taking an immunosuppressive drug, you can kill any potential cryptosporidium bacteria by boiling your water for 1 minute before consuming.

  • If you are boiling the water to drink, let the water cool.
  • Iodine and Chlorine do not kill this bacteria, and to treat for potential bacteria you should boil the water.
  • If you have questions please reach out to your property manager or resident services coordinator.

Please visit the Center for Disease Control website to get additional information.