What Drives People into Homelessness

  

    Every year we notice an increase in rent that we can't do anything about. A lot of the time, most middle-class people are already struggling to find good-paying jobs, and now we have to deal with rent that is skyrocketing every year. According to the State of Oregon's Office of Economic Analysis, next year's rent increase should not exceed 14.6%, which is a jump from 2022, which was 9.9%. As we expect that much increase, we can also expect more people to lose their homes. 

    In the Supportive Housing Services Annual Report, the number of people experiencing homelessness rose during the covid time. And now that we are anticipating a much higher increase in rent cap, we will need to make sure that people know where to find help when they need it before it is too late. Prevention is always best for every situation and issue in the world. 

    With that being said, the Joint Office of Homeless Services has been established to help the community with homelessness prevention and solutions. There is only so much that we can do to help with homelessness prevention, but if more people realize that it is closer to them than they think and prepare themselves for what is to come, then it will be prevented effectively. 

Image sources:      https://www.multco.us/johs

https://www.johnhartrealestate.com/blog/2019/10/rent-control-is-a-new-reality-ab-1482-what-it-means-to-you/

Data Sources:       https://www.oregon.gov/das/OEA/pages/rent-stabilization.aspx  

https://multco-web7-psh-files-usw2.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/FY%2022%20Annual%20SHS%20Report%20-%20Final_0.pdf