Vulnerable People and Places Blog

The psychological health theory of people requiring a system of basic needs to be met in order to reach one's full potential was first introduced to modern psychology in 1943 by American psychologist, Abraham Harold Maslow. Although Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is usually depicted as a pyramid that ranks certain needs as more important than others, later studies have found that this ranking depends on each individual's background. However, one common thing that most success stories have is the support vulnerable people receive from local organizations to meet the physiological basic needs of having food/water, basic necessities, income, shelter, safety, and security. In this video, we explore how covering basic needs can psychologically benefit individuals to motivate themselves into living the life they want.                                      ...

  This video I made was inspired by topics we engaged with in the Winter 2025 Multimedia Capstone at Portland State University. For more reading, please check out Our class blog: vulnerablepeopleandplaces.blogspot.com Our community partner, Rent Well: rentwell.org

Approximately 26 states in the U.S. require proof of address in order to receive a state-issued ID. This requirement leads to many people without stable home addresses or the ability to afford the upkeep of a P.O. box from their local mail carrier unable to receive state IDs. From one proof of address problem, a person could potentially be denied the ability to vote, to drive, to receive federal aid, or to enter any area with an age requirement. While Oregon is not one of those 26 states, an ID isn't the only thing that proof of address can bar homeless people from. Most U.S. banks are mandated by federal law to require proof of address to let someone open a bank account with them. Without a bank account, many jobs will overlook a person without a second thought. Housing, even temporary housing, won't rent to a person without a bank account or a source of income. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle. Many government interactions also require proof of address, such as registering to vo...

The stigma around mental health in the United States has only served to harm individuals who should be met with compassion and care. Homeless populations in particular are met with this harsh treatment all too often. This harmful and pervasive attitude only makes things more difficult for lives that are already ostracized and excluded. These difficulties include both social and structural barriers in accessing the help they need.  A recent survey commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive, indicated roughly 63 percent of Portland’s homeless population suffers from mental health and substance abuse struggles. Mental health challenges only further the vulnerability of homeless individuals and limits their ability to seek help. Untreated mental health-related issues can lead to devastating consequences including difficulty maintaining employment, isolating behavior from friends and family, as well as impaired judgement and decision making. These difficulties combined with the risks and ...

  Portland's homeless population has been facing not only housing instability but also significant health challenges. In recent times, an outbreak concerning dysentery in the Oregon area has shed light on how vulnerable the homeless community is, which further emphasizes the urgent need for improving the public health infrastructure and support services set in place today. In January alone, at least 40 individuals were reported sick due to a highly contagious strain of dysentery, with experts suggesting that the actual number of cases is likely much higher among the homeless population. Multnomah County recorded 158 locally acquired cases in 2024, which is a concerning increase from previous years. The disease, which primarily spreads through fecal contamination, is made worse by the lack of public sanitation facilities. Dysentery is an awful disease that can include symptoms such as frequent diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. Treatment involves antibiotics, however, the strains ...

  Portland, Oregon, like many urban centers across the United States, has been dealing with an affordable housing crisis that has forced many residents to be perpetually homeless and not stable in their homes, which are hardly affordable. An original housing solution that, alongside the CLT model, the city of Portland, Oregon, is fighting with housing insecurity by the inclusion of the CLTs of the City of Portland is a measure of sky-high lands and sky-high rents The metro of Portland was struck by the disaster in the middle of a vision that this is what they must go through if they want to preserve all the nature. The utilization of the CLTs has been seen as the creation of a success story that the civil rights movements era would have been proud of and supportive of. Today they are used to combat more and more rising housing cost by the ownership of houses being separated from that of the land. CLTs do it by leasing people land at cheap rates while they retain ownership of the l...

    Image from New York Times      In the United States, roughly 38 million people are at or below the poverty line at any given time. That’s 38 million people who live on the streets, with no job to keep them afloat. 38 million people who barely scrape by every day. 38 million people who have never had anything, or at one point lost everything they had. And out of these 38 million people, around 5 million of them are senior citizens—people aged 65 years or older. Of all age groups in the United States that are at risk of experiencing homelessness at some point in their life, seniors are one of the fastest growing ones, projected to triple by 2030.      One of the reasons for this is the economic status of the vast majority of senior citizens. By the age of 65, many people are on a fixed income, like social security or welfare. The problem with this is that while the income is fixed, the price of living is very much not, and many senior citizens c...