October 2025

Cascadia CEO talks homelessness, mental health at City Club of Portland event

On Oct. 22, Cascadia Health CEO James Schroeder, alongside former Multnomah County commissioner Sharon Meieran, led one of largest City Club of Portland event crowds in recent years through a conversation about how mental health needs intersect with homelessness in Oregon.

The conversation and questions addressed a spectrum of issues faced by both providers and people experiencing homelessness. James highlighted the need for the organizations providing behavioral health care to coordinate and communicate differently in order to more effectively leverage the funding available to behavioral health providers in the state.

Noting that it’s vital to integrate services into our housing efforts, James shared many of the ways in which Cascadia provides care to meet the health needs and material circumstances of our unhoused neighbors, including our work to expand avenues of access and providing services even when there isn’t immediate interest in substance use or mental health treatment.

Toward the end of the event, James broadened the scope of the conversation briefly to note that we should all be considering the longevity of the solutions we pursue. “How do we build something that can outlast changes in political leadership?” he said.

This event was part of the It Takes a Village series, which brings together partners in the work to reduce homelessness and housing insecurity in the Portland metro area to share different service models tailored to the unique needs of the populations they serve, helping people across a range of circumstances get and stay housed.