Outside In, a nonprofit that assists young people experiencing homelessness in the Portland-metro area, is cutting jobs for the second time this year.
The organization plans to slash 22 jobs — through layoffs and eliminating unfilled positions — on top of eight positions cut last spring, according to the group’s development director. Outside In has about 200 employees.
“I acknowledge that this is our second workforce reduction this calendar year and the weight that carries, particularly as we enter the holiday season,” Kiku Johnson, the organization’s executive director, said in a Nov. 26 email to staff.
The organization’s financial problem comes as its growth has outpaced revenue, said Justine Ziegler, the nonprofit’s development director. Outside In runs multiple health care clinics and generates revenue by billing for clinic visits, but those have become less consistent since the COVID-19 pandemic. And grants and contracts the group relies on have remained “stagnant” as the demands for help addressing regional youth homelessness and the associated costs have increased.
In this undated photo provided by Outside In, staff and volunteers prepare meals at one of the nonprofit's youth drop-in centers, where employees often build rapport with young people experiencing homelessness. The organization is cutting jobs for the second time this year.
Courtesy of Outside In
“Although the need continues to persist and grow for the services that we provide, our sources of funding aren’t aren’t necessarily keeping pace with that either,” Ziegler said.
Outside In has focused on helping homeless young people since 1968. It serves about 10,000 patients each year.
The organization operates clinics and vans that travel around Portland, helping homeless young people with everything from a scratchy throat to chronic disease and wound care. Staff provide meals, counseling, housing assistance, substance use disorder treatment and an assortment of other programs aimed at helping people escape homelessness, including helping them get their GEDs.
But now some staff are concerned about the implications the layoffs could have for the consistency of support Outside In can provide across the Portland metro area.
“So many of the people that we work with have experienced loss throughout their lives in different ways,” Ziegler said. “How do we minimize the amount of harm on our clients who already have gone through and do go through so much?”
The organization is primarily funded through government contracts and grants. It’s the latest in a string of nonprofits that have faced financial struggles in Portland, which relies heavily on nonprofits to fill gaps in social services.
Despite a surge in funds generated by regional taxes and programs — including the regional Supportive Housing Services tax — group leaders say they have struggled to consistently fund the services necessary to address growing problems around homelessness, addiction and mental illness. Some groups have laid off staff, moved out of buildings, and waited months for funds promised through government contracts.
Porter Clements serves as the president of AFSCME Local 1790, which represents employees with multiple social services nonprofits. That includes Outside In, where Clements is an outreach and enrollment specialist who helps people navigate health insurance claims. Clements says the organization’s struggles mirror those of other nonprofit organizations that have seen pandemic funding evaporate as inflation increased costs.
“There’s a lot of strain right now across the industry,” Clements said. “It felt a little bit like the crutch was just kind of like being pulled out before they were ready to walk again.”
In this undated photo provided by Outside In, a substance use peer supervisor chats with an employee. The organization's peer mentors "bring lived experience with substances and an ability to understand what their clients are going through at a deeper level," according to Justine Ziegler, the organization's development director.
Courtesy of Outside In
Clements said the job cuts could result in burned out employees working with more clients than they are equipped to handle, harming the potential for patients to make progress and improve their lives.
“I feel like there is potential when we’re funding service providers to actually make a dent on things like addiction, and like rates of people being unhoused,” Clements said. “And yet, in the wealthiest country in the world, it feels like we’re kind of nickel and diming.”
And Clements said staff are disappointed in the timing of the layoffs, right before the holidays.
“That’s a time when people are already under a lot of strain,” Clements said. “A lot of my coworkers are already pretty housing insecure, or have precarious housing situations … This is always the most difficult time of year. It’s when it’s the coldest.”
Ziegler says the organization is looking closely at its expenses and added that its longevity will rely on revenue expected in the early part of the next calendar year.
“Outside In is not in a place where it should be closing its doors, especially in the political climate we’re in and the incoming administration and knowing what that might mean,” Ziegler said. “And so we’re committed to remaining open, consistently continuing to serve those that count on us.”
A Multnomah County spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
