A clearer look at Portland's homelessness
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Oregon has the second-highest rate of unsheltered people in the nation, according to the federal 2023 Point In Time count, but a Portland State University analysis provides a deeper dive into homelessness in Rose City.
Why it matters: The new report gives the clearest picture yet of who has housing and who doesn't, and PSU suggests how to help solve the problem.
The PSU report adds housing inventory and homeless students to the usual count of people in shelters and on the streets. It also breaks down groups by age, race, ethnicity and gender.
What they're saying: Here are the three key findings, according to Jacen Greene, assistant director at Portland State's Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative and the study's lead author:
- Homelessness is up, despite counties adding more shelter beds, because rising prices are pushing people out of their homes at a faster rate.
- Homelessness doesn't affect people equally, and people who face more barriers to housing — people of color, LGBTQ+ people and those with disabilities — are more likely to end up unhoused.
- Rural areas had the highest rates of homelessness in the state. "They're living in cars and tents, in parks and in the forest, they're just more out of view," said Greene.
By the numbers: Oregon has around 20,000 people experiencing homelessness, according to the January 2023 Point In Time count — 13,000 unsheltered (on the streets or in homeless shelters) and 7,000 sheltered.
- The PSU report, which took into account the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach project, found that Oregon's required hourly wage to afford a two-bedroom rental is $29.72 — or an 84-hour week at minimum wage.
The big idea: The long-term solution is to build more housing. Greene puts Oregon's statewide housing shortage at close to 140,000 units.
- He said Project Turnkey, where the state buys up a hotel and reopens it as a shelter run by nonprofits, has better outcomes than traditional mass shelters.
The bottom line: The unsheltered need more supportive housing, with aides nearby to help them reintegrate, according to Greene.
- A person living on the street can cost the taxpayer $40,000 per year because of emergency room visits and criminal justice interactions, he added.
- "You're not going to shut down a bunch of prisons and hospitals to pay for supportive housing. Since we know what works, how are we going to pay for it?"