Vulnerable People and Places Blog

  Portland has always been known for its independent, entrepreneurial spirit, with countless small businesses ranging from shops and service providers to food carts, restaurants, thrift stores, coffee shops, and corner stores that become central parts of their neighborhoods. It’s an ecosystem built on individuals, on community values, and on the idea of creating something of your own rather than serving distant corporate interests. All of this makes Portland the perfect place for a micro-income initiative that works directly with local communities and businesses. What makes this environment so powerful is that the money stays local. Every dollar spent at a small business recirculates into wages, local suppliers, and neighborhood development far more effectively than dollars spent at chain stores. Regional economic research shows that locally owned businesses return two to three times more money to the community than large corporations do. This means a micro income intuitive that pr...

Every morning looks completely different for someone who is unhoused, but the one thing that stays the same is how much effort it takes just to get their day started. Most people open their eyes and are comfortable in a warm bed, but many unhoused individuals wake up on a bench, in a doorway, or anywhere that felt safe enough to lie down the night before. Their first thought is usually about survival, like where they can clean up, where they can warm themselves, or where they can find breakfast. Some people spend their entire morning walking from place to place just trying to meet these basic needs. Even though homelessness is connected to bigger issues like high living costs, low wages, medical bills, and lack of support, those bigger ideas never fully capture what it feels like to wake up already tired and searching for somewhere safe to begin the day. As the day continues, the difficulties do not slow down. The afternoon can bring new obstacles because the streets are unpr...

         Just last week, on November 13, 2025, John Collins, a formerly unhoused individual, shared his testimony with the Portland City Council.         Six months ago, Collins was on the streets, living in a tent, getting swept off the block, only to move to the next street without any complications. One day, John was yet again swept off his street, but instead of just moving across the block, he was presented with an opportunity by an outreach worker to stay at the Multinoma safe rest village. This shelter not only allowed John to stay in a warm bed for months, but it also gave him access to amenities and help, allowing Collins to secure a full-time job and attend school as a result of this treatment.        Collin testified his approval of sweeps as long as there is an offer of help and recovery, which he says is possible because “every time I’ve called, there hasn’t been one day where they’ve said the...

Author: Abdel Elkasaby People often ask why people experiencing homelessness don’t “just get a job,” as if employment alone is a quick path back to stability. But in reality, most people living without housing want to work. What stands in their way are barriers most housed people never think about. One of the biggest obstacles is simply getting to work. Many unhoused people lose access to reliable transportation after losing housing, which makes job interviews or early-morning shifts difficult or impossible. Urban Institute researchers note that lack of transit, phone access, and consistent communication are some of the most common reasons people can’t secure or maintain work (Urban Institute, 2025). Another major barrier is documentation. Without stable housing, IDs, Social Security cards, and important paperwork are easily lost or stolen. But employers require them. No ID means no application, no paycheck, no job. The Oregon Statewide Homelessness Study found that...

                                                                                                  Are You Currently Experiencing Housefulness?  Help and Resources may be available... Author: Anna M. Rodriguez November 10th 2025 Ask Yourself... Is the majority of your income being spent on Rent, Mortgage Payments, or Property Taxes? When you’re at home, is most of your time spent recovering from the exhaustion of your employment? Do you often feel like you have missed out on experiences, opportunities, or social connections due to work obligations that are required to earn enough income? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be struggling with Housefulness! What is “Housefulne...

        source: https://www.wired.com/2009/11/portland-trimet-mass-transit/        An often overlooked factor for those experiencing homelessness is lack of transportation. A 2019 study by Erin Roark Murphy looked at the role transportation disadvantage can  play in the lives of people experiencing homelessness and found that "cost of transportation... has been found to prevent individuals' upward mobility out of homelessness" (Murphy, 2019).      Murphy argues that lack of transportation is an under studied yet demonstrably influential factor in homelessness in America. Furthermore it's not just those without homes who are impacted by access to transportation, other studies show that "individuals in the lowest income quintile spend about 36% of their annual budgets on transportation alone and this proportion is projected to continue increasing over the next ten years" (Murphy, 2019).       An ...

📷  Image from  iStock  illustrating economic stability. Imagine fighting poverty didn’t drain budgets but instead balanced them.  Across Oregon, many families are feeling the financial squeeze as the cost of everyday life rises exponentially. This financial strain isn’t just blowing out their wallets, it’s violating their sleep, health, and sense of security.  With nearly 15,000 Portlanders experiencing houselessness, it is no secret that the system that was meant to protect us is failing (Parfitt, 2025). 📷  Chart from the  Multnomah County Homelessness Services Data Dashboard  (2025). One promising solution to alleviate the financial strain is through a micro-income program. This program is essentially small, government issued cash allowances designed to provide economic stability for those with lower socioeconomic backgrounds. 📷  Image from the  SEED program website    An example of this kind of program comes from the SEED...

Finding Hope Between the Bookshelves By Miradi Tanzambi The mother in my first story eventually discovered a silent miracle in a location that many of us take for granted: her neighborhood library, after spending months sleeping in her car with two kids. It was more than a structure. Warmth, security, Wi-Fi, storytime for her kids, and a group of individuals who knew her name—possibly for the first time in years—were all present. Community hubs like libraries support families with stability, routine, and care. This is how Community Anchoring works. An homeless parent no longer feels invisible when they have access to a reliable, dependable place, such as a library. They acquire consistency, a sense of community, and nonjudgmental assistance. While she interacts with support personnel, charges her phone, or completes employment applications, the kids can read and play in safety.  Research shows this isn’t just emotional — it works. In The Guardian’s coverage of guaranteed income pr...

 By Arella D Ram     James Earley, “Violet and Blue Silence,”   The new “by-name list” unveiled in Multnomah County’s recent data release is not only far superior to the outdated point-in-time count—it exposes, almost uncomfortably, the government’s earlier posture toward Portland’s homelessness crisis. As OPB reported, the old model relied on a single night’s tally in select areas, producing numbers that vastly underestimated the scale of need. Meanwhile, this new system—tracking individuals across programs—immediately revealed more than 14,400 people experiencing homelessness , compared to the 11,000 previously cited. That jump did not reflect an overnight surge in human suffering, but the simple truth that our former method was never designed to see the whole picture. This forces a painful question: were leaders truly trying to understand the depth of the crisis, or simply meeting the minimum federal requirement to secure funding? When policymakers depend on a o...

Photo Credit: Atlanta Mission, 2025 When we think about solutions to the crisis of the unhoused, it’s easy to focus on the visible needs like tents, shelters, and emergency beds. But long-term recovery isn’t just about a roof, it’s about reconnection. The experience of losing stable housing often leads to isolation, the slow unraveling of community ties, and the loss of dignity. Without addressing these human needs, even the best policies fall short. A growing body of research shows that social connection is just as vital as housing itself. The National Alliance to End Homelessness emphasizes that successful housing programs must pair stable housing with wraparound support, noting that “supportive services are offered to maximize housing stability and prevent returns to homelessness” (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2022). In other words, providing stability means rebuilding belonging. Programs like Housing First illustrate this principle in action. Instead of making housing con...

  Houselessness is often associated with visible changes including lack of shelter and food insecurity, but there are hidden barriers that individuals endure. The digital divide is one of these overlooked factors, but greatly impacts one's ability to access resources such as jobs, communication, and access to digitally stored information.  In this modern era no person travels anywhere without their smartphone. Without access to these devices, we are heavily inconvenienced in our everyday lives as most of our information is stored digitally, whether that be online banking or digital communication. Noting this, without access to computers, smartphones, and reliable internet, houseless people are cut off from essential resources. This includes job boards, housing listings, vital communication channels, and access to health and wellness. The digital divide also contributes to social isolation, as the inability to connect with others can worsen feelings of loneliness and detachment...

Why This Matters Every day, we see how our current support systems are stretched thin. People who are houseless are often expected to navigate waitlists, eligibility screenings, and service requirements just to get access to basic needs. Meanwhile, survival cannot be paused. Someone needs to eat today, sleep somewhere safe tonight, and stay dry when it rains for months on end. The gap between what people need and what systems offer is where a lot of harm and exhaustion happens. But while institutions take time to act, communities move. Mutual aid shows us a different way of caring, one rooted in shared dignity, immediate action, and the belief that everyone deserves to have what they need. Mutual aid is not charity. It does not ask people to prove they are worthy of support. It simply recognizes that we are all connected, and that our survival is tied to one another. The Gaps in System Support People who are houseless often face barriers that feel impossible to navigate while also tryi...