The need for the Swindell’s Housing Fund became evident in August 2023, when UWCW received overwhelming requests from the community for financial assistance during what was referred to at the time as the “Eviction Avalanche.” As the community began to emerge from the pandemic and local rent assistance resources were difficult, at best, to access, UWCW felt compelled to respond by utilizing this fund to help address some of the evictions.
Since August 2023, the Swindell’s Housing Fund (now called the Resilient Families Fund) has helped stabilize 168 households throughout the UWCW service area, which includes Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Clark counties and beyond. To date, we have utilized a total of $368,467.35 in financial assistance. The individuals helped ranged from single-person households to families with children. Overall, 384 individuals remained housed as a result of utilizing these funds.
Participants received an average of $2,193.26 in assistance, which was used to address various housing expenses, including rent, late fees, utilities, security deposits, and moving costs necessary to keep households stable. The uniqueness of this fund lies in the fact that the average amount spent per household is roughly half of the average assistance amount provided to clients of the Eviction Legal Defense (ELD) program.
In 2024, the UWCW Housing Team surveyed 15 random households that received Swindell funding and found that 87% of those households were still in the same apartment or home 6–9 months after the assistance ended. The two households that had moved to a new unit did so utilizing the assistance, as their previous units were either unsafe or unaffordable. The assistance from UWCW helped these clients remain stably housed in the place of their choosing.
This fund has enabled us to develop best practices for delivering funds to support housing stability. We have learned that the way in which help is offered is fundamental. We recognize that a cookie-cutter approach to providing services limits a person’s ability to move forward in the ways that best suit them. The success of this fund lies in its flexibility, which has allowed us to meet participants where they are and offer help in ways they feel are most effective, enabling them to remain stable in their homes. This fund has been, and will continue to be, a crucial tool for both community members and community partners.