Vulnerable People and Places Blog

  Psychotic disorders are a type of mental illness that cause people to lose touch with reality, and experience symptoms like hallucinations, paranoia, and incoherent speech. Disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar, and full on psychosis fall into this category. Treatment usually looks like the life-long use of antipsychotic medications from a psychiatrist. A meta-analysis looking at psychotic disorder prevalence among homeless populations around the globe found shocking results. According to their analysis, 21% of the homeless population met the criteria for psychosis, and 10% met the criteria for schizophrenia, which is over 10X higher than prevalence in the housed population (Ayano, 2019).            This presents a possible lack of options and success in the treatment of psychotic disorder that must be brought to attention. Solutions to disproportionate treatment failures in the case of these types of disorders means that both legislature and th...

Rates of homelessness are increasing across America, but especially in Portland, OR. According to the Portland.gov website, homelessness has increased in the city by a striking 65% between 2015 and 2023. Despite increased budgets and city efforts, homelessness is only getting worse. Something is missing from the equation and people are experiencing it and paying for it.  It takes a lot of resources to fix what's already been damaged, but what if we put resources into making sure it never got broken in the first place? One of the most overlooked aspects of the homeless problem in America is prevention, but what does that look like? Does it even work? The average cost of a chronically homeless person costs taxpayers $36,000 a year, while in comparison someone in supportive affordable housing reduces that to only $12,800 a year (National League of Cities, 2024). The first step is simple: rapidly increase affordable housing so people don't get on the streets in the first place, and...

  As I watch the city go by on my commutes around downtown I often see fellow Portlanders speak about the homeless community with disdain. Perhaps the tents don’t match the aesthetics of the city or the encampments make them feel unsafe. Whatever the reason, people on the street deserve to live in dignity without sweeps disrupting their living situations and without people harassing them. What the average middle-class person may not realize is how they have much more in common with a homeless person than they do with the 1%. The cost of living in the United States is only climbing higher as the years go on whilst the minimum wage slowly crawls along to match it leaving Americans across the nation to strategize their spending habits to avoid being financially vulnerable or even on the streets themselves. The causes of homelessness are a myriad of factors, some may be because of vices turned addictions, some may be from the lack of support systems, and for a lot of people, it's the c...

  A sense of hopelessness can be felt around the topic of Portland's homeless population as one may feel nothing is being done to mediate the issues homeless people face. As the winter weather approaches and colder than usual temperatures appear due to La Niña, the concern for those on the street only grows. Although Portland's housing crisis can't be fixed overnight there are programs and services that are in place to help alleviate the strains of homelessness. These services are often provided at the hands of volunteers from the community. Said services are often made to meet people where they're at. This aid can range from personal care to veterinary care to housing! Every Thursday underneath the Hawthorn bridge an organization called "Night Strike" operates and offers a plethora of services for homeless people for a limited time. According to their website Night Strike has been an ongoing organization for 20 years serving the city's homeless people. Du...

Why Sweeps are not the answer to Portland’s Homelessness Crisis As a Portlander who no longer lives in the city, but will always consider it home it can be relieving to return and feel a difference. Feeling safe in areas that before were not walkable, seeing other people out and about able to enjoy the city, and noticing efforts made to ‘clean up’ our downtown. As beneficial as these changes can seem, the question inevitably rises of, ‘but where did all the people living here go?’. The benefits surround those in a place of privilege, as I am blessed to have always had a house with four walls, a family to support me, and a safe place to sleep. What may seem like progress for the city is crucially affecting many of our residents, and faces are too often turned the other way.  In 2023, after years of political movement and uproar following 2020, the city of Portland made a statement and drastically increased encampment sweeps. The city, particularly downtown, took a major hit with rec...

By: Ian McMeekan   Portland has been viewed as dangerous and unsafe for a long time because of the houseless population. In fact “Residents of the Portland metro area have once again said homelessness is a significant negative for the region, with 78% calling it a “very serious problem,” according to a new poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive.”reports Nicole Hayden of  The Oregonian . Yet this raises the question of what is being done about it and what programs are available to help with this problem. One such resource is a Program called Rent Well which was founded in 2009 and has educated the houseless population on how to be good tenants before pairing them with a landlord. Despite this, the Rent Well program has not gotten much funding as of late. This is a shame because, without the Rent Well program, this means that there is one less program to aid the houseless, and thus more houseless are on the street. Furthermore with more houseless on the street that means ...

  Divorce is often a life-altering event that brings emotional turmoil and significant changes to daily life. While it marks the end of a chapter, it can also open the door to unexpected struggles, including the risk of homelessness. Divorce, as a social and economic disruptor, intersects with housing instability in profound ways that go unnoticed.  Consider how divorce can lead to financial instability for someone. The separation of shared incomes and the division of assets often leave both parties with fewer resources to manage their own expenses. Legal fees, alimony, child support, and the cost of securing new housing can stretch finances to the breaking point. For families already living paycheck to paycheck, this shift can be devastating.  Loss of Support Systems Depending on the situation at hand, divorce can disrupt support systems that could otherwise provide a safety net. Family, friends, or shared networks may feel divided after the separation, leaving one or bo...