Despite increasing capacity since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Multnomah County’s supply of publicly-supported shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness is insufficient to meet the need.
The County says it has just 1,614 shelter rooms and beds, including congregate shelters, family and domestic violence shelters, motel rooms, and sleeping pods. There are at least 4,015 people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County, which is likely a significant undercount according to the latest 2019 Point-In-Time Count.
The figures, which by the study’s own admission are an undercount of the true numbers of people experiencing homelessness, show the great discrepancy between the number of those needing shelter and the resources available.
Bed breakdown
The types of publicly-funded shelter beds fall into three categories: congregate shelter, family or domestic abuse survivor shelter and sleeping pods. There are 623 congregate beds, 104 family rooms, 620 motel and domestic violence shelter rooms, and 267 sleeping pods in Multnomah County.
According to Denis Theriault, communications director for Multnomah County, the county increased its shelter offerings over the past two years, and many of these “alternative” shelters can host more than one person per room.
“Before COVID, there were just a few alternative shelters and no motel shelters in the adult system,” he said.
However, this makes it difficult to determine the true number of people served in these shelters, according to the county.
“The minimum number served is the number of rooms/beds,” Theriault said, “But we’ve been saying in our public statements that the actual number is likely higher. That’s almost certainly true for the family system, where there are 104 rooms, but with each serving maybe three people on average.”
Most shelters have restrictions on who can use the space, meaning not every person experiencing homelessness can access every shelter space.
Theriault shared that an aggregate analysis of the shelter systems shows it runs between 90% and 95% occupancy during any given month. Even accounting for the potential of extra occupancy in some shelter rooms, Multnomah County is still unable to offer shelter to even half of people experiencing homelessness.
Congregate complications
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 1,350 shelter beds available, with the majority of those in congregate settings, according to a March 14 press release from the Joint Office of Homeless Services in Multnomah County.
Due to the pandemic, operators reduced capacity in congregate shelters to allow for social distancing. The county says it can eventually add up to 450 additional beds as shelters lift restrictions.
The county opened 15 new shelters since the pandemic began to make up for decreased capacity in congregate spaces, including nine motel shelters, one of which opened in February in Northeast Portland. A new congregate shelter for adult women will open this spring in Southeast Portland with space for 125 beds.
“Being unable to shelter with a loved one was a top barrier for respondents (including youth, multiple adults, and adults with one or more child) who typically seek shelter with others.”
Housing advocates and some unsheltered Portlanders express skepticism and discomfort with congregate settings. Concerns include worries about the spread of COVID-19, curfews, limits on personal belongings, substance use policies and a lack of personal safety and privacy.
Of 180 people experiencing homelessness surveyed in Oregon, personal safety concerns, personal privacy concerns, restrictive check-in and check-out times, overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions were the five primary concerns about crisis shelters, according to the 2019 Oregon Statewide Shelter Study by Oregon Housing and Community Services.
“It is important to note that for transgender and LGBTQ+ respondents, discrimination or barriers related to gender identity, sexual orientation, or LGBTQ+ status was a top barrier,” the study found. “Being unable to shelter with a loved one was a top barrier for respondents (including youth, multiple adults, and adults with one or more child) who typically seek shelter with others.”
Despite decreasing case numbers and the end of Oregon’s mask mandate this month, spread of the virus remains a major concern in homeless shelters. An average of four outbreaks per month occurs even with reduced occupancy, according to a March 14 press release from the joint office, with 13 outbreaks in January alone. Shelters continue to advise mask-wearing.
Star, an unhoused Portlander, said congregate shelters don’t seem like a viable option to her.
“I’ve been in this spot, like, a few months and I’ve got my dog,” Star said. “It feels safe. I don’t wanna leave him behind … he’s my best friend.”
She also has a male partner who she worries couldn’t come with her.
“I don’t want to go anywhere I can’t bring them with me,” she said.
Most congregate shelters no longer accept walk-ins and instead require a phone reservation or outside referral to obtain a space, and many shelters have a waitlist, according to the joint office.
Some emergency shelters in Portland, such as those run by one of Portland’s largest shelter operators, Transition Projects, allow residents to bring “well-behaved, housebroken” pets, smoking in designated outdoor areas and storage for some personal belongings.
However, many of the issues with congregate shelters that advocates and houseless Oregonians fear continue to persist, such as a lack of privacy, personal safety and the spread of COVID-19.
Insufficient supply
Transitional housing offers service providers the opportunity to create a web of support around a person experiencing homelessness, called “wraparound services,” which can include assistance claiming government benefits, job training, drug counseling and mental health care.
Some congregate shelters lack the stability and support services advocates say are necessary to increase the potential success of a person seeking permanent housing.
“Shelters are part of a crisis response system that includes other components critical to preventing and ending homelessness including street outreach, diversion, rapid re-housing, coordinated entry, and permanent supportive housing,” according to the Oregon Statewide Shelter Study. “When each of these components is available and working effectively as part of the CoC (Continuum of Care), a greater number of households are prevented from becoming homeless, will have shorter stays in shelters, and are less likely to return to homelessness.”
Nearly 80% of unsheltered people in Multnomah County report at least one disabling condition: a physical disability, mental illness or substance abuse disorder, according to the 2019 Point-in-Time Count. The longer they are unsheltered, the more severe these conditions become. Yet those dealing with chronic homelessness and severe health conditions were the least likely to be housed or contacted by support service agencies, instead primarily engaging with police and emergency services according to a 2019 study by UCLA.
Star, who lives in a tent, says she hasn’t been offered shelter.
“I never heard from nobody about it … Life just gets harder,” she said.
Although there are existing plans to marginally expand Multnomah County’s shelter bed capacity in the coming months, the need for housing will continue to outstrip shelter space.
Point-in-Time problems
The latest available Point-in-Time Count, which is three years old at this point due to pandemic-related delays, showed that of 4,015 people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County, 2,037 people are unsheltered, 519 are in transitional housing and 1,459 are using emergency shelters.
The count is a “one-night snapshot” of how many people are experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County on a bi-annual basis. The count also grants the county access to $25 million in federal funding.
However, it offers merely a glimpse into the true scope of the homelessness issue, as the amount of people experiencing homelessness is in flux on a day-to-day basis.
Given the age of the data, it is likely even less accurate than it was two years ago, but according to Theriault, the county isn’t “running blind.” Instead, he says, it keeps running “by-name lists” of those accessing services and experiencing chronic homelessness.
Controversial Proposals
Former Portland Mayor Sam Adams, now an aide to current Mayor Ted Wheeler, drew ire last month for crafting a proposal instructing the city to build three massive congregate shelters, each housing 1,000 people, staffed by the Oregon National Guard and supervised by Portland State University social work graduate students.
The proposal alarmed housing advocates and some Portland politicians. Not a single shelter provider or housing advocacy group publicly supports the plan, but its supporters still argue it would help consolidate services.
City Commissioners Carmen Rubio and Jo Ann Hardesty shut down the idea, with Hardesty telling Willamette Week the proposal is “misguided and dangerous,” and Rubio saying it would “never fly.”
The dean of the school of social work at Portland State University, Jose Coll, also struck down the implication that PSU students would participate, telling KPTV the school hadn’t been consulted and that the proposal itself “contravenes social work values.”
Advocacy group People for Portland introduced a controversial measure that would dramatically change the current approach to addressing homelessness in Multnomah County on March 25. The measure, which People for Portland wants on Metro voters’ ballots this November, seeks to move 75% of tax funds earmarked for the Metro Homeless Services Measure, which funds supportive housing, into funding for building emergency shelters.
Once there are enough beds to shelter every person experiencing homelessness in the county, the measure, called “Everyone Deserves Safe Shelter,” would require enforcement of anti-urban camping rules to move unhoused people into the new shelters. Metro residents could sue the county if it is not enforcing the measure.
People for Portland, a nonprofit that began operating August 2021, is primarily funded anonymously, although Portland billionaires Jordan Schnitzer and Tim Boyle are known donors. Political strategists Kevin Looper and Dan Lavey spearhead the group’s efforts.
The proposed measure is People for Portland’s first action after months of coordinated email campaigns to city officials and conducting polls of Metro residents about homelessness.
There are grave concerns among housing advocates about the implications of the two proposals, fearing they signal an intent by local leaders and People for Portland to pivot away from funding permanent, supportive housing efforts and instead focus on building enough shelter space to circumvent the Martin v. Boise ruling and allow anti-urban camping enforcement.