A new report released today by the City of
Portland and Multnomah County shows a 10 percent increase in street
homelessness since 2011.
The latest 2013 Point-in-time count conducted
by the city and county showed 2,869 individuals who were homeless — meaning
sleeping in emergency shelter, vouchered into motels or sleeping outdoors. Of
those literally sleeping outdoors on the night of the count were 1,895
individuals.
An additional 1,572 people were sleeping in
transitional housing on the night of the count, bringing the total number of
individuals and families above 4,000 people.
The quick and dirty according to the report:
- Half of
those sleeping outdoors have been homeless for less than a year. - Chronic homelessness (a focus of the 10-year plan to
end homelessness), increased by
27% since 2011 among individuals sleeping outdoors. - The
number of literally homeless persons in families with children increased by 72
individuals, or 18%, since 2011. There are 749 homeless children in Multnomah
County, 264 of whom are under the age of five. - The
number of literally homeless women increased by 171 individuals, or 22%, since
2011. - More
than half of the homeless population has a disabling condition. - Nineteen percent of the overall homeless population and 41% of homeless females were affected by
domestic violence - The
number of people of color who are unsheltered was 38% higher in 2013 than in
2011; the number of people of color in emergency shelter was 16% higher, people
of color experiencing homelessness are more likely to be families with children
than the overall homeless population.
“The numbers are consistent with what we’ve been seeing on the streets,” says Executive Director Marc Jolin with JOIN. “We know as a system we’ve helped thousands of people avoid eviction and homelessness, while housing thousands more.”
Jolin goes on to praise local government for prioritizing the safety net, but says since the beginning of the recession it’s been an uphill battle. “There’s a lot more we need to do as a community and society if we’re going to end the tragedy of thousands of vulnerable people who have no place to call home.”
The report
notes the reason for the continued increase in homelessness is due to
unemployment, and extremely low vacancy rates, which the U.S. Census Bureau
places at 3.4% in the Portland metro area.
The low
vacancy rates have contributed to higher housing costs and limited rental
availability. This has been especially challenging for low- income households,
who must compete for a limited number of affordable units. The current fair
market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Portland metro area is $912,
which is 64% of the monthly income for a full-time minimum wage worker.
The report
also notes that the death of 56 people on the streets in 2012 could have been
prevented with housing.
Nationally,
it’s unclear if homelessness has increased or decreased overall.
According to
the National Alliance to End Homelessness overall homelessness has decreased
since 2005 in Oregon. This conflicts with local and state data that shows on
overall increase in homelessness.
Many
insiders believe homelessness has overwhelmingly increased nationally due to
the recession and the lack of state and federal funding for housing and
homeless services.
It’s also
thought the number of homeless in Portland and Multnomah County will only continue
to increase without new resources due to the lack of affordable housing units and
dwindling resources.
This article appears in 2013-06-07.