Page 8
Street Roots • June 23-29, 2017
N ew s
HOMELESS
SNAPSHOT
I
g
Fewer without shelter
Unsheltered: 3,772
Overall: 13,819
4,145
2009
864 hhhh
x >
1,009
WHERE 0 0 YOU SLEEP MOST
OFTEN & WHY?
1,752
1,572
"Under lit© Mor
rison Bridge on
the East end.
... Shelters are
dirty, and there
are bed bags.
It's not a safe
place to g o ....
la s t tim e I was in a shelter, X
witnessed a stabbing over a
lig h t socket because they want
ed to p ing in their phone. When „
the weather Is bad, I w i ll go to
Xxnago Del."
1,668
1.04;
974
872 ^ « H H I
■
757 H I
........
Unsheltered with disabilities or chronic homelessness
People who report disabilities make up a larger share of this year’s unsheltered count in Multnomah County,
and the number of people considered chronically homeless in this year’s count also increased. People in
these categories often struggle with health issues that complicate efforts to bring them into housing.
PEOPLE WITH DISABLING CONDITIONS
CHRONICALLY HOMELESS ADULTS
2017
71.6%
201-5-
"For the first
three months, X
sle pt outside an
the woods, and
I had one camp»
itik fe I t just felt
like of places to
sleep outside,
it was the safest.... We tried to
stay blddeh by «using camonflage
sheets. Miter X got to the front of
the w a it Bst fo r a woman's shel
ter that's nicer than most of the
I stayed, there for. S ij W
months. When I first became
homeless, almost a ll the shelters
•were booked f u ll or had wait
lists, until X got to the front of the
w a ll lis t, w h ich to o k ab ou t 2 1 / 2
n ib n th fc "
52.1%
"W e 're In she lter, th e Hansen
Shelter.' Because ray j I f i f t le a l ,
fia n c e , Is d isa b le d , an d I d o n 't
w a n t I® see her on the street.
Been there since I t opened,
almost a year. (Before tha t? )
M o stly in s h e lte r."
BILL W ., SO
What ftey are doing about it
Racial disparities
"W e h a w an
S B We spe nt
$ 3 0 0 ®n h e rj
she Isas a > 4 4
magnnm en
g in e though,
s© Site « s .
w o rth It. She's
p ra c tic a lly
fallin g apart th o u g h . She's g o t
w ood ro t, dam age mold. But It's
h o m e .... I t's th e safest place-1
can be. We bav© camped. W ith ’
the PTSD we b o th have, ft does
not w o rk , an d we w ere staying
In a v illa g e , b a t the PTSD th a t
caused, d id n 't w o rk ."
AILEEN MCPHERSON, 42
Like Portland, Seattle has declared a state of housing
emergency and is struggling with providing adequate
housing.
People of color made up 40.5 percent of this year’s
homeless count, up from from 38.8 percent in 2015. By
contrast, people of color make up 29 percent of
Multnomah County’s population.
These data use HUD's definition o f homelessness, which
doesn't include people who are involuntarily doubled up or
sleeping on couches, in garages o r in overcrowded
situations. This definition reduces the visibility o f
communities o f color overall.
In 2016, Seattle passed a housing levy for $290 million.
The levy has been passed on five occasions since
1981 and has helped build 12,500 units of affordable
housing and has helpedt 900 households purchase their
first home. It has also helped prevent 6,500 individuals
and families from being evicted.
■
NATIVE-AMERICANS
Native Americans represented a substantial increase
within the overall homeless population. The count rose
from 82 in 2015 to 424 in 2017.
fin tlh a streets-«
■
... X d id n 't
know mach,
really, about
the shelters - I
buried m f only
c h ild and ha d a
ÉÉ
s lig h t h e r m s
bre akd ow n , an d I ended up on
th e streets« (ä I slept in fie n t of
TPX, under the bridge, u n til I got
r ä p Ö . H 1 Weht
fo t fÄ out
Unsheltered: 14,966
The 2015 count reported a low tally o f Native Americans.
This year’s surge is likely a correction o f an unexplained
issue with the 2015 count, rather than an actual four-fold in
crease in the number o f Native American people experienc
ing homelessness, according to the Point-In-Time report.
Sheltered/transitional housing: 42,828
Overall: 57,794
Overall homelessness, 2015-17
Unsheltered homelessness
■ugg Percent of Multnomah County population*
Hr
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-15 American
Community Survey five-year estimates)
What they are doing abort it
‘ Counts exceed 100% because respondents may choose
multiple categories
The numbers in Los Angeles are staggering. The
county has responded by passing a $1 billion affordable
housing bond in November, followed by a $3.5 billion
voter-approved sales tax for homeless services just
' months later. The sales tax will create $355 million
annually for the next 10 years.
■
* King County changed its street count
methodology in 2017
they opened up tie -
H
shelter, so I m ade I t la th e re ."
FBSMCINE RÄSA PARKS, 57
King County is currently exploring a sales tax to take to
voters in 2018 for $469 million for homeless services.
LOS AN6ELES COUNTY
Percentage of 2017 Point-In-Time results*
American Indian/
Alaska Native
Asian
Black/
Native Ha
African-American Pacific Islander
.
Hispanic/
Latino
Read more
About the count
PHEOBE Oi, 27
Percentage of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness, Multnomah County Point-In-Time count:
2017
3,801
We asked Street Roots vendors currently and
formerly experiencing homelessness where
they preferred to sleep.
Transitional housing
1,887
1,895
1 718
KING COUNTY
(Seattle)
Sheltered/transitional housing: 10,047
HI Unsheltered
1,928
1 , 6 9 0 1,59!
Beyond Multnomah County
4,655
l Emergency shelter
I l
For the first time since 2005, when Multnomah County began
counting people experiencing homelessness, more were
counted in emergency shelter than sleeping on the streets.
Page 9
From the Point-In-Time survey, conducted every two years
of dollars in rent assistance. Additional federal
housing cuts proposed under the Trump
administration would result in the loss of tens of
millions of dollars locally for both affordable housing
and re n t assistance.
Locally, however, investments are being made.
Portland voters passed an affordable housing bond
this past November, which will fund the construction
of more than a 1,000 units to support 3,000
individuals and families. Together, Portland and
Multnomah County governments are investing nearly
$50 million dollars annually to support giving people
access to housing in the region.
But proposed cuts meán these investments will go
toward filling a deepening hole.
Street Roots continues to pressure, local
government to provide a more sustainable ongoing
revenue tool to support giving people access to more
housing, including rent assistance, mental health
facilities and more.
The average one-bedroom apartment now rents
for more than $1,100 a month, according to data from
Multifamily NW.
That number has grown 20 times faster than the ,
median income since 2015.
More than 18,000 people in Multnomah County
rely on federal disability checks that top out at $735 a
month, according to the 2017 Homeless Point In
Time report. For minimum wage workers, rent
increases since 2005 have cost thousands of dollars
in real income and made it more difficult to tend to
other basic needs.
In 2016, there were 185,000 households in the. f
Portland-metro region eligible for affordable housing,
according to the Metro Equitable Housing Study.
But there are only about 30,000 affordable units in
the same area.
The State of Oregon has proposed cutting millions
New s
HOMELESS COUNT IN MULTNOMAH COUNTY
While more people were sleeping in shelters,
M ultnomah County's overall homeless population spiked,
according to the county's latest Point-In-Time count
t's not surprising Portland saw a 10 percent
increase in homelessness between 2016 and 2017.
Street Roots • June 23-29, 2017
"Mt Portland Rescue, then a t
le a n 's Place. But then X ran out -
of tim e , s© I went b a ck to the
B4s©s© Hiss©©©... Ì
it was
safer. They have a women's
p ro g ra m , s© the doors are
lo cked . I t's not safe outside."
The Point-In-Time count is a census of people sleeping in
shelters, transitional housing or places not fit for habitation,
conducted on a given night every two years. Starting next year,
the local count will occur once a year. This year's local count
occurred Feb. 22, with volunteers and workers asking people
where they slept that night. Communities must conduct the count
to remain eligible for federal housing grants.
DIRECTOR'S DESK
As Multnomah County reports an increase in people
experiencing homelessness, the state announces a huge
drop in funding for its most vulnerable residents. Page 3
H
ill
Read Street Roots' continuing coverage of the homeless
crisis and local housing issues: news.streetroots.org/
housing
K J., 52
S O U R C E : 2 0 1 7 M U L T N O M A H C O U N T Y P O IN T -IN -T IM E C O U N T