Dear Friends of New Narrative,
As we begin a new year, I’m reflecting on a year that tested every part of New Narrative, our systems, our people, and our resolve, while reinforcing for me that our mission is more and commitment to our community is more important than ever. 2025 was a year of disruption across the nonprofit and behavioral health landscape. Funding delays, shifting state and county priorities, rising operational costs, and workforce pressures have created serious instability for providers statewide. Rapidly shifting federal funding priorities and policy signals have added another layer of uncertainty for providers working to plan responsibly and deliver consistent and high-quality care.
For organizations like New Narrative, serving people with the most complex mental health and housing needs, these pressures are not abstract. They manifest in funding delays, staffing challenges, cash flow constraints, and the constant need to adapt while continuing to show up strong for the people we serve.
And yet, despite all of this, New Narrative continues to move forward.
In 2025, we advanced major systems-level work alongside on-the-ground service delivery. We worked to open and stabilize high-acuity programs, including continued progress at Bridgeview Apartments and our new Henry Street Apartment project, while also navigating complex financing, licensing, and policy environments. We welcomed elected officials, agency partners, and community leaders into our spaces, most notably during the First Lady’s visit to Bridgeview, helping shift the narrative about what effective, humane mental health and housing solutions actually look like.
Advocacy remained a cornerstone of our work this year. From ongoing engagement and leadership with the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health, the Tri-County Behavioral Health Providers Association, and the Governor’s Behavioral Health Talent Council to active participation in Metro and county policy tables, New Narrative continued to advocate for funding models and regulatory pathways that reflect the realities of high-acuity care. These conversations are not always fast or easy, but they are essential, and they are increasingly informed by our real-world experience operating complex programs at scale.
You, our dedicated constituents, are the reason that New Narrative can stand strong and face challenges head-on. You remind us, again and again, of the importance of community. Through focused events, volunteer engagement, partnership and sponsor support, and donor conversations, we saw how deeply people care about New Narrative’s mission when they are invited in with clarity and honesty.
Looking ahead, I believe we are entering a critical moment, not just for New Narrative, but for the behavioral health and housing systems more broadly. Demand continues to rise. Public funding remains constrained. And yet, there is growing recognition that the status quo is no longer sufficient to meet the level of need we are seeing. This creates both urgency and opportunity.
Thank you for being part of this work. I look forward to what we will build together in 2026.
With gratitude,
Julie Ibrahim, CEO
New Narrative
