Housing Barrier Busting Fund
In January 2023, FUSE launched this pilot interagency program to support Central Oregonians building bridges to stable housing. FUSE mobilizes funding and stewards this regional resource with a commitment to equity, efficiency, and transparency.
The Barrier Busting Fund exists to pay for expenses that bar access to housing. Whether that means a security deposit, tenant application fees, replacement ID, ADA accessibility modifications, criminal record expungement, transportation assistance, & more.
We know that far too often, it’s these relatively small, one-time expenses that keep our neighbors trapped in homelessness when they otherwise could move into stable housing. This fund enables recipients to leverage their own resources as well as support from partner agencies to bust through barriers.
Read: Advocate’s Guide to the BBF (pdf)
The Barrier Busting Fund has already helped end homelessness for 110 households in 2023!
We’re addressing homelessness by targeting flexible financial assistance directly to where it has the biggest impact: busting barriers to housing.
Our established Partner Agencies can access the Barrier Busting Fund to support their clients.
Not on this list yet? If you represent a nonprofit or healthcare agency that provides services to households experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon, please email Colleen at csinsky@centraloregonfuse.org and read our Advocates Guide to the BBF. We’ll ask you to complete a brief Partner Agency Agreement to ensure that your services are accessible, well-documented, and collaborative, then do a training with your staff. While no financial match is required of our partner agencies, we encourage partners to consider how they can help support the sustainability of the Barrier Busting Fund.
Do you need housing assistance? At this time, FUSE does not work directly with individuals requesting funding support. We rely on our partner agencies to verify client eligibility and reasonable expenses. If you are in need of funding assistance for barriers to housing, you should ask your advocate at an agency that you are already connected to if they can submit an expense request. We’re happy to connect with you or your advocate to share information, just send us an email at admin@centraloregonfuse.org.
FUSE gets to work closely with the amazing front-line advocates on staff at these partner agencies to bust barriers with their clients. In order to be eligible, folks must meet this basic criteria:
Active client of an established partner agency,
Experiencing homelessness* in Central Oregon, whether in a shelter, couch-surfing, in a vehicle, or other places not meant for habitation,
Have a documented opportunity for safe and stable housing- even if that’s outside of our region.
(*While we recognize that eviction prevention and rental assistance are critical needs in our community, the Barrier Busting Fund exclusively serves households that have not yet moved into housing. We recommend reaching out to NeighborImpact and Thrive Central Oregon for information on rent and mortgage assistance.)
This program has exceeded our goals and expectations! We’re working hard to secure additional funding. Please consider supporting FUSE with a donation.
Thanks to our Partner Agencies, funders, and resilient clients themselves, the Barrier Busting Fund is making a real dent in homelessness in Central Oregon.