Local officials counted 4,015 people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County in January. And while that number is slightly lower than just two years before, the ones who remain are older, sicker and more vulnerable than ever.
The policy implications from the 2019 Point in Time count are still to be determined. The Multnomah County and city of Portland Joint Office of Homeless Services released the figures Thursday. The 2019 count, conducted Jan. 23, seeks to tally the number of county residents on the streets, in shelter and in transitional housing – all included in the federal definition of homelessness.
But while the overall figure was down by about 150 people, more of those counted this year were unsheltered, sleeping out on the streets rather than in a shelter. This year, 2,037 people were counted unsheltered, up from 1,668 only two years before. The 2017 count was actually the first year surveyors counted more people sleeping in Multnomah County shelters than outside.
FURTHER READING: 2017 snapshot of Multnomah County homelessness: Up 10%
And even more disturbing is the dramatic rise in the number of people considered chronically homeless – people who have at least one disabling condition and have been homeless for more than a year. Approximately two-thirds of more than 2,000 people sleeping outdoors qualified as chronically homeless, a 37% increase from the count two years ago.
It is important to note that the Point in Time tally is always an undercount. People need to be found in the first place in order to be counted, and then voluntarily take the survey. They need the wherewithal to commit to the conversations.
And some reductions in numbers demand discernment. A significant reduction in the count came from the Latinx community. While people of color make up 38% of those in the county – even though they comprise only 29.5% of Multnomah County’s population, the number of Latinx counted this year was lower. The lower count isn’t thought to reflect fewer Latinx residents experiencing homelessness, but greater numbers of people who fear speaking about themselves under the federal anti-immigration climate. People tallied in this count must express a willingness to participate, or they are not included in the figures, regardless of all or any appearances to being homeless.
“We have made investments in culturally specific and responsive services. But we know that racism in all its forms continues to push disproportionate numbers of people of color into homelessness and is a major obstacle to their efforts to return to permanent housing,” Joint Office Director Marc Jolin said in a statement to the press. “Our work to end homelessness must continue to address this by expanding access to services that meet the unique challenges faced by each community of color.”
Portland and Multnomah County have been aggressive in recent years addressing the homeless and housing crisis. More than 600 units of affordable, service-connected apartments have been created or are in the pipeline, and more than 2,000 are anticipated for completion by 2028. Residents in Portland and within the Metro regional government have passed massive bonds earmarked to support an expansion in affordable housing, and slowly, shelter space is returning to our neighborhoods.
There’s no question that without the efforts of the city and the county, as well as the state, these figures would be much worse. The Joint Office says its efforts have helped 12,480 people return to or stay in permanent housing in the past two years, a 50% increase from 2017.
But the conditions of people left on the street after these efforts indicate a more complicated and challenging need: How do we help people struggling with homelessness compounded by mental illness and addiction? It’s not a new question, but the figures from this count indicate we’re not keeping up with these destructive forces.
Also disturbing is this: The number of people reporting first-time homelessness rose faster among those without shelter, compared to the overall homeless population. More people losing their homes are going straight to the streets. The Joint Office’s initial release on the report makes it clear: People living with fixed incomes and who face disabilities continue to bear the brunt of the region’s housing crisis.
“Disability checks and other fixed incomes just can’t cover rising rents, and this is exactly why we are prioritizing not just affordable housing, but the type of affordable housing that comes with a case worker for people to stay housed,” Deborah Kafoury said in Thursday’s announcement. “We know it works, and we need to do a lot more of it.”
Regardless of all these efforts, the machinery – the high rents, stagnant wages, and the ravages of addiction and mental illness – is still chugging away. People are sick and getting sicker on our streets.
Today, according to federal housing figures compiled by ECONorthwest, the Portland metro region has approximately 125,000 households with very low incomes. Only about 1 in 4 actually receives any federal housing assistance. Of those left, approximately 56,000 households are paying more than half of their incomes toward rent and utilities, living in inadequate housing or both, putting them at a clear risk of homelessness.
Today, more than 21,000 people with disabilities in Multnomah County rely on federal Supplemental Security Income benefits, which are capped at $771 a month. The average rent of a one-bedroom apartment, according to the county, is $1,200. The chasm is overwhelming.
Today, we continue to grapple with chronic heroin and methamphetamine addictions among people unable to see a way out. There will never be an easy solution, but we can’t expect people to play with a deck we’ve stacked with misunderstanding, condemnation and dismissal. We all need to listen and learn, or the damage will only get worse.
This much is clear. No one should expect this to be easy. There’s no quick-fix, no snapping fingers to clear up homelessness. Systemic oppression, extreme wealth inequality, highly sick and traumatized people – this is what we are facing. It takes all of us in the region to be committed for the long haul.