Portland Metro Chamber

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News Release

MEDIA ADVISORY: MAY 14 BREAKFAST FORUM — THE STATE OF HOUSING IN THE PORTLAND REGION, RSVP NOW - 05/12/26

MEDIA ADVISORY: MAY 14 BREAKFAST FORUM — THE STATE OF HOUSING IN THE PORTLAND REGION, RSVP NOW 

 

The Portland Metro Chamber presents its monthly Breakfast Forum, which will focus on the state of housing in the Portland region with voices from across the housing ecosystem—finance, development, policy, and research. 

 

The event will open with a data-driven presentation on the economic forces shaping Portland's housing market, followed by a moderated conversation with the people working to build what comes next. Together, the panel will explore the choices ahead and what role the business community can play in creating a more attainable Portland.   

 

Media are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP with Monice Wong, Media Relations Manager, at mwong@portlandalliance.com.  

 

DETAILS:

  • WHAT: Breakfast Forum presentation and panel discussion on housing issues and trends in the Portland region. 
  • WHEN: Thursday, May 14th, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 
  • WHERE: Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, 921 SW 6th Avenue, Atrium Ballroom 
  • WHO: 
    • ​Moderator: Jonathan Bach, Housing & Commercial Real Estate Reporter, The Oregonian 
    • Speakers:   
  • ​MORE INFORMATION HERE

 

About the Portland Metro Chamber: The Portland Metro Chamber was founded in 1870 and represents the largest, most diverse business network in the region. The Chamber brings together more than 2,200 members represented by dynamic and varied employers from around the region. Grounded in its mission to create opportunity and advance well-being for all who live and work in the greater Portland and SW Washington region, the Chamber envisions a healthy and resilient business ecosystem where we work together to increase collaboration in governance; engage community; increase civic leadership; and advocate for a vibrant, livable place for all. Learn more at PortlandMetroChamber.com.     

MEDIA ADVISORY: MAY 14 BREAKFAST FORUM — THE STATE OF HOUSING IN THE PORTLAND REGION, RSVP NOW - 05/12/26

MEDIA ADVISORY: MAY 14 BREAKFAST FORUM — THE STATE OF HOUSING IN THE PORTLAND REGION, RSVP NOW 

 

The Portland Metro Chamber presents its monthly Breakfast Forum, which will focus on the state of housing in the Portland region with voices from across the housing ecosystem—finance, development, policy, and research. 

 

The event will open with a data-driven presentation on the economic forces shaping Portland's housing market, followed by a moderated conversation with the people working to build what comes next. Together, the panel will explore the choices ahead and what role the business community can play in creating a more attainable Portland.   

 

Media are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP with Monice Wong, Media Relations Manager, at mwong@portlandalliance.com.  

 

DETAILS:

  • WHAT: Breakfast Forum presentation and panel discussion on housing issues and trends in the Portland region. 
  • WHEN: Thursday, May 14th, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 
  • WHERE: Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, 921 SW 6th Avenue, Atrium Ballroom 
  • WHO: 
    • ​Moderator: Jonathan Bach, Housing & Commercial Real Estate Reporter, The Oregonian 
    • Speakers:   
  • ​MORE INFORMATION HERE

 

About the Portland Metro Chamber: The Portland Metro Chamber was founded in 1870 and represents the largest, most diverse business network in the region. The Chamber brings together more than 2,200 members represented by dynamic and varied employers from around the region. Grounded in its mission to create opportunity and advance well-being for all who live and work in the greater Portland and SW Washington region, the Chamber envisions a healthy and resilient business ecosystem where we work together to increase collaboration in governance; engage community; increase civic leadership; and advocate for a vibrant, livable place for all. Learn more at PortlandMetroChamber.com.     

MEDIA ADVISORY: APRIL 16 BREAKFAST FORUM — ADDRESSING ADDICTION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGES ON OUR STREETS, RSVP NOW - 04/14/26

Contact: 

Monice Wong, Manager of Media Relations 

mwong@portlandalliance.com

 

MEDIA ADVISORY:  APRIL 16 BREAKFAST FORUM — ADDRESSING ADDICTION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGES ON OUR STREETS, RSVP NOW 

 

The Portland Metro Chamber presents its monthly Breakfast Forum, which will focus on addressing addiction and behavioral health challenges on our streets. The event will begin with a data driven overview of addiction and recovery trends in the Portland region, followed by a moderated panel of frontline providers who will share their perspectives on what it takes to support recovery and what a more coordinated and effective response could look like. 

 

Additional details are below. Media are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP with Monice Wong, Media Relations Manager, at mwong@portlandalliance.com.  

 

WHAT: Presentation and panel discussion on addiction and recovery trends in the Portland region. 

 

WHEN: Thursday, April 16th, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

 

WHERE: Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, 921 SW 6th Avenue, Atrium Ballroom

 

WHO: 

  • Presenter: Amanda Risser, Chief Medical Officer, Central City Concern 
  • Panelists:   
    • Devarshi Bajpai, CEO, Fora Health
    • Beth Epps, Chief Access Officer, Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare
    • Andy Mendenhall, CEO & President, CCC 
    • Tony Vezina, Executive Director, 4D Recovery  

MORE INFORMATION: 

In recent years, addiction to illicit substances has become one of the most visible and complex challenges facing Portland. The impacts are playing out not only in treatment systems but also on the streets, in neighborhoods, and among the region’s unhoused population, where behavioral health needs and substance use disorders often intersect with housing instability. 

 

For years, Portland’s response to addiction has been shaped by competing impulses: compassion and treatment, harm reduction and accountability, public health and public safety. The result has been a system of policies and programs that has often struggled to keep pace with the scale and complexity of the crisis. 

 

Now the landscape is shifting. Rising public concern about visible drug use and street level behavioral health challenges has prompted a broader regional reckoning about how Portland responds to addiction, particularly among people living outside and struggling to access stable care. This moment calls for more than cataloging what services exist. It requires a clearer understanding of what recovery actually demands and whether our current systems are equipped to deliver it. 

 

ABOUT THE PORTLAND METRO CHAMBER:

The Portland Metro Chamber was founded in 1870 and represents the largest, most diverse business network in the region. The Chamber brings together more than 2,200 members represented by dynamic and varied employers from around the region. Grounded in its mission to create opportunity and advance well-being for all who live and work in the greater Portland and SW Washington region, the Chamber envisions a healthy and resilient business ecosystem where we work together to increase collaboration in governance; engage community; increase civic leadership; and advocate for a vibrant, livable place for all. Learn more at PortlandMetroChamber.com.     

MEDIA ADVISORY: APRIL 16 BREAKFAST FORUM — ADDRESSING ADDICTION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGES ON OUR STREETS, RSVP NOW - 04/14/26

Contact: 

Monice Wong, Manager of Media Relations 

mwong@portlandalliance.com

 

MEDIA ADVISORY:  APRIL 16 BREAKFAST FORUM — ADDRESSING ADDICTION AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGES ON OUR STREETS, RSVP NOW 

 

The Portland Metro Chamber presents its monthly Breakfast Forum, which will focus on addressing addiction and behavioral health challenges on our streets. The event will begin with a data driven overview of addiction and recovery trends in the Portland region, followed by a moderated panel of frontline providers who will share their perspectives on what it takes to support recovery and what a more coordinated and effective response could look like. 

 

Additional details are below. Media are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP with Monice Wong, Media Relations Manager, at mwong@portlandalliance.com.  

 

WHAT: Presentation and panel discussion on addiction and recovery trends in the Portland region. 

 

WHEN: Thursday, April 16th, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

 

WHERE: Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, 921 SW 6th Avenue, Atrium Ballroom

 

WHO: 

  • Presenter: Amanda Risser, Chief Medical Officer, Central City Concern 
  • Panelists:   
    • Devarshi Bajpai, CEO, Fora Health
    • Beth Epps, Chief Access Officer, Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare
    • Andy Mendenhall, CEO & President, CCC 
    • Tony Vezina, Executive Director, 4D Recovery  

MORE INFORMATION: 

In recent years, addiction to illicit substances has become one of the most visible and complex challenges facing Portland. The impacts are playing out not only in treatment systems but also on the streets, in neighborhoods, and among the region’s unhoused population, where behavioral health needs and substance use disorders often intersect with housing instability. 

 

For years, Portland’s response to addiction has been shaped by competing impulses: compassion and treatment, harm reduction and accountability, public health and public safety. The result has been a system of policies and programs that has often struggled to keep pace with the scale and complexity of the crisis. 

 

Now the landscape is shifting. Rising public concern about visible drug use and street level behavioral health challenges has prompted a broader regional reckoning about how Portland responds to addiction, particularly among people living outside and struggling to access stable care. This moment calls for more than cataloging what services exist. It requires a clearer understanding of what recovery actually demands and whether our current systems are equipped to deliver it. 

 

ABOUT THE PORTLAND METRO CHAMBER:

The Portland Metro Chamber was founded in 1870 and represents the largest, most diverse business network in the region. The Chamber brings together more than 2,200 members represented by dynamic and varied employers from around the region. Grounded in its mission to create opportunity and advance well-being for all who live and work in the greater Portland and SW Washington region, the Chamber envisions a healthy and resilient business ecosystem where we work together to increase collaboration in governance; engage community; increase civic leadership; and advocate for a vibrant, livable place for all. Learn more at PortlandMetroChamber.com.