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
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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
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to
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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