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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2012)
10 Street roots li IATA- D E A T H S , fro m p a g e 1 channels to determine a permanent residence. Paul Lewis is the deputy health officer for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. He notes that the 47 is a statistical subset, one that will include a higher portion of addiction and violent deaths, which are the medical examiner’s stock in trade. For example, it doesn’t include people who have a chronic illness, such as cancer, who may be receiving some care. “This is certainly an underestimate of deaths in Multnomah County because it is limited to the Medical Examiner’s jurisdiction,” Lewis said. “We feel like this is a solid base. We’re uncertain how much higher the number could go at this point.” Three years ago, Lewis joined others in the health community to conduct the city’s first and, to date, only vulnerability index. The survey of 650 people who were homeless produced a picture of a highly medically vulnerable population living without shelter. Half of them (47 percent) reported at least one at-risk indicator for death, including repeated hospital visitations, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, and exposure-related hypothermia. One-third of those surveyed were considered tri-morbid — having three or more at-risk factors such as psychiatric, substance abuse and a chronic medical condition. “You interview people on the streets and see a lot of underlying medical conditions, and often there is some care, but not necessarily good care,” Lewis said. “Or not necessarily the kind you can provide for yourself when you don’t have shelter.” The vulnerability index also revealed that nearly half of the people surveyed reported being the victim of a violent attack since becoming homeless. Deborah Kafoury Nick Fish direct resources toward preventing future deaths. For the city and county governments, now wrangling with budget cuts, the report’s recommendations support the argument that these services demand continued funding. “The city of Portland and the county are looking at cutting our budgets in the next couple of months,” Kafoury said. “I hope this data will continue to put housing at the forefront of those conversations.” City Commissioner Nick Fish, who oversees the city’s Portland Housing Bureau, said he would be content if the report helped the city hold the line on existing funding. Fish is hoping to secure $4.8 million in one-time funding for housing and homeless safety net programs. The mayor is expected to release his budget in early May. “What this report tells us is that almost every week, somebody in our community dies in our community needlessly,” Fish said. “It affirms the importance of funding programs and services upstream before people land on the streets; before people’s lives spiral out of control. In very stark terms, it reminds us of the human toll of homelessness.” Fish’s office this year convened a “reset committee” on the 10-year plan to end homelessness, now in its sixth year. Fish said that the plan is working^ and that the recommendations in the homeless deaths omicile Unknown” presents broad report echo the plan’s successful course to recommendations moving forward, including reaffirming the priorities of access date. The report gives additional urgency to the debate, he said. “Let’s remember that ‘ to housing, addiction services and increased efforts to provide information and referral to there is a human consequence to failure here and that is that people literally die.” services that can help people experiencing Street Roots Executive Director Israel homelessness. It also says the county needs Bayer said the organization had been to incorporate the health concerns of the covering deaths for years, but no one was high-risk uninsured as it complies with new keeping official records of who and how state health care reforms. The county is many were being lost. working with local providers to create a “For years we’ve seen many organizations coordinated care organization, or CCO, and groups honoring people who have died which this year will become the health care on the streets, including Street Roots,” delivery systems for low-income Oregonians. Bayer. “After doing several stories on people The report also calls for the creation of a who had died on the streets along with task force to broaden the scope of the looking at how King County was using the report, ensure annual data collection and numbers to leverage funds and perform make policy recommendations based on the targeted services, we felt like we should be data. The task force would include studying these numbers to better representatives from public safety, health understand how we can prevent people from care, public heath, homeless services, dying on the streets.” mental health and addictions treatment Bayer said he would like to see the report programs. Specifically, the report calls for spur a larger conversation about health care better understanding of why people are and housing equity, and the critical need for dying on the streets, and finding ways to D good, local, food. « ALBERTA COOPERATIVE GROCERY 1500 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211 503.287.4333 www. a I be rtag roce ry. coop open to everyone 9-10 daily April 27, 2012 reminder that even in a country of plentiful resources, people die on the streets. “I realize that just because someone has a place to live, all their problems don’t come to an end,” she said. “But I think we have learned that in order to solve other problems - drug and alcohol problems, mental health issues, the lack of a job - you need the basics of a place to call home. Unless you’re living somewhere that’s safe and secure, the other pieces just don t happen.” Ask Sister Cathie Boerboom about people who have died homeless on the streets, and a name quickly falls from her lips. She was a visitor to Rose Haven, the day shelter for homeless women, where Boerboom recently retired as executive director. Boerboom’s memories come back in a stream of consciousness. “A wonderful woman,” she begins. “A struggling family background, lots of alcohol in their family. Not being heard when she tried to do anything. Homelessness. Constantly trying to get on her feet. She’s a y local counts, the number of people strong woman. She had strong times of experiencing homeless in Multnomah County is on the rise, outpacing efforts to depression just because there was so much hopelessness in her get more people into life. I believe there housing. According to may have been a the 2011 one-night suicide attempt. And city and county "1 realm© that fast because then she really homeless count, there someowe has a place to l i w r bounced back. There were 2,727 people was hope again in all their problems ie ir t identified as either her life. She was out sleeping outdoors or come to ail end. But I think looking for a job. I in emergency shelter we have learned that 1» believe she died of situations (compared order to solve other problems heart attack.” to 2,542 in the She died on the — ttrwf and alcohol 2009/2010 counts). streets in late fall, Nearly 2,000 more problems^ mental health said Boerboom, who were in transitional, Issues^ the lack of a job — did not want the short-term housing. fo n need the basis of a place name of the women This winter, used for this article. seasonal and to call home. Unless year “It was that emergency shelter living somewhere that's sale constant struggle. It services managed by and secure, the other pieces was like being on a — Human Solutions ' slippery muddy just lo r/t happen." were overwhelmed slope. There are not — D EM ASTER with numbers never E X E C U T IV E : D IR E C T O R O E H U M A N enough resources. seen before. Jean S O L U T IO N S No housing. It get’s DeMaster, executive more and more director of Human depressing to Solutions, said the struggle with all that shelter usually is involved while not having a home. It’s receives around 40 to 50 people a night, exhausting. It’s lonely. It’s unsafe. It’s within their capacity for 62. “This year we depressing.” hit our capacity before Thanksgiving. By Boerboom bristles at the numbers, the New Year’s we were up over 100 people per statistical subsets, and the implication that night,” DeMaster said. marginalized people are somehow more All but the city’s family winter shelter disposable. closed at the end of March. The family “Our privilege doesn’t makes us more shelter will close April 30. valuable,” Boerboom said. “Every single “These are people who are in desperate person is important, and no matter what situations that have no place else to go,” happened to them or what choices they DeMaster said. “We will try to house were making, they impact the rest of us as a everybody we can before the family shelter person. The other piece is that this should closes. There will be new families coming in not be happening. Yes, people are going to May and June and July and there won’t be die. But not out there, sick and lonely and any new resources for them. When you’re outside or sleeping with your children, it’s struggling and trying — or having given up.” not a safe situation.” DeMaster said the report is a sobering preventive measures. “We know that if people have preventive care both from a health and housing perspective, we can not only save lives, but we can save millions of dollars in costs for both the public and private sector,” Bayer said. “We hope to be able to expand our ability to capture the entire homeless population who are dying on the streets, not only through the medical examiners office, but through hospitals as well. It’s an opportunity to bring both traditional and non-traditional partners to the table and create real change in our community. “In the short-term, this report provides an example of why important services at both the city and county can no longer be scaled back,” Bayer said. “We must do everything in our power to maintain the safety net, peoples lives are depending on it, literally.” B S a tu rd a y W R IT E ! write around M ay 5, 2 0 1 2 FREE two-hour community writing workshops! Journals, pens and light snacks provided. Pre-registration is required. To register: Call 503.796.9224 or email saturdaywrite@writearound.org 1 Eastminster Presbyterian Church 12505 NE Halsey, Bus #77 2 Mercy Corps Action Center 45 SW Ankeny St, MAX red & blue lines 3 Oregon Jewish Museum 1953 NW Kearney, two blocks from the streetcar 4 Miracle Theatre/Teatro Milagro 537 SE Stark, Buses #6, #15, #70 All workshops are from 10am —noon and are ADA-accessible. Adults welcome at all locations. Youth (grade 4 or higher) welcome at #3. Workshops 1-3 will be held In English, and workshop #4 will be held In Spanish. Location #2 will Include one workshop facilitated in American Sign Language (ASL). Saturday WRITE! is made possible with support from the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition and the Oregon Cultural Trust. www.writearound.org
