Vulnerable People and Places Blog

  At 22 years old my uncle’s world crumbled. At the time he and his 13-year-old brother had been living with their aunt. Their mother was in Mexico and they had never met their dad. Imagine having only one person as your support and then suddenly losing it all. Their aunt had kicked them out of their home and they had nowhere else to go. With no family support or resources, they ended up having to live in my uncle's car — a beat-up sedan that was their only source of safety. Life was tough for both of them, but it was more so for my uncle’s brother who had a disability and depended on my uncle for almost everything. The car was more than just a shelter; it was where my uncle took the dual role of a caregiver and guardian. At night they would park the car in quiet areas, hoping to stay out of sight. My uncle would let his brother sleep in the back seat so he'd have a little more room to lie down but the tight space made it difficult to feel comfortable. Meanwhile, my uncle s

By: Ian McMeekan There are many people in Portland who have just been denied their only source of shelter. Imagine yourself in this scenario,  you don’t have a house and different problems from your past are keeping you from getting an apartment. Now imagine your only source of shelter is your tent and all of the sudden the city is making it illegal for you to set up this last source of sanctuary. This is the reality for so many people in the houseless community in Portland as of July first 2024. This is because of a new law passed early last summer. This is problematic because it forces the houseless to find some other way to have shelter in the cold wet climate of the pacific northwest and more specifically in the city of Portland. Yet there are laws that assist the houseless in serarios like this. One such law is the “ Martin v. Boise decision, which ruled cities cannot outlaw camping unless they have enough shelter beds available for the homeless population.” reports Sophie Peel of

With temperatures dropping, it is important to care for our homeless population as they are most vulnerable to the severe weather conditions. Oregon winters can be dangerous with temperatures dropping below freezing at night. These low temperatures can put those outside at risk of health conditions such as hypothermia and frostbite.  Last year shelters in Multnomah County closed due to “severe weather” which put many people without stable housing at risk. While warming shelters were still accessible during the day, having safe shelter at night is essential during these harsh weather conditions. Many houseless individuals were kicked out of the shelters and forced to sleep outside on the ice covered streets following the freezing rain. The county has “thresholds” that must be reached in order for them to open their severe weather shelters. These thresholds include temperatures of 25 ℉ or below, snow accumulation of one inch or more, and temperatures of 32 ℉ or below with one inch of rai

  Mental Health and Homelessness: The Effects, Obstacles in overcoming, and Potential of Stability Society’s view of the homeless has historically been filled with blame and short on compassion with true understanding. The many obstacles in achieving financial security are not unknown, but it seems that when some achieve stability it becomes harder to understand why others can not. Many different factors are in play leading a person to homelessness and the challenges can seem to feed off of one another, creating cyclical homelessness. In working towards eliminating as much homelessness as possible it will be necessary to reshape the way the houseless are perceived. One of the most important matters to consider in understanding what leads to and contributes to homelessness is the effect of such instability on mental health. PREVALENCE of mental health issues among homeless community Not only have people with mental health disorders been found disproportionately more likely to strugg

Stable housing is the foundation of living safely, but for many people living across Oregon, the barriers to this stability include past evictions, credit challenges, or homelessness. That is where Rent Well comes in. Created in 2009 out of a coalition of housing advocates in the Portland metro area, Rent Well has grown into one of the premier sources of tenant education throughout the state. Through teaching key skills and providing actionable tools, Rent Well has equipped renters to overcome hurdles to obtain housing and build a pathway to stability. A Lifeline for Renters Facing Challenges Rent Well was designed for and taught to tenants who have been faced with several barriers to obtaining stable housing. This 15-hour course focuses on critical issues that will allow renters to learn their rights, to understand and negotiate complicated rental screening applications, and to effectively disclose issues in their past to their landlords. Due to a very valued partnership with Pacific

  In recent years, the cost of living has increased dramatically. For those renting an apartment or home, this means that the rental prices have only increased overtime, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. This steady increase in rental prices could mean the difference between having shelter, experiencing housing insecurity, or even experiencing homelessness. The homelessness crisis in Portland, Oregon has become a prevalent topic recently, and the increasing rental prices not only affects the general population, but also disproportionately affects the homeless population by raising the barrier for entry considerably. To understand how these increases in rental prices affect them, we need to visualize just how much impact these rent hikes have, and how they can impact their affordability for the average Portlander. Portland’s Increasing Rent Rent costs in Portland are expected to rise within the next year, potentially impacting those with low income and increasing th

Public space is defined as an area that is open and accessible to the general public. In Portland, places like the Waterfront, the International Test Rose Garden, and various parks and gardens breathe life into the city. These public spaces are intended for all people to meet, connect, and simply exist beside one another. So, what happens when the key component of accessibility begins to be stripped away and a public space becomes privatized? The term hostile architecture has been around for many years. Hostile architecture is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as a “design of public spaces in a way that stops unwanted behavior”. Examples of hostile architecture include; benches with dividers to prevent people from lying down, uncomfortable seating, fencing, etc. The design of this urban architecture limits accessibility for many people, creating an exclusive environment in public spaces. In reality, all this architecture is achieving is deterring the presence of unhoused people and movin