Vulnerable People and Places Blog

The Daily Meal has a rather sobering stat, "In 2016, it was estimated that more than 41 million Americans lived in a food-insecure households." Google proposed solutions to end hunger in America, about 1,010,000 results pop in (0.68 seconds). A variety of solutions is offered make more donations to food pantries(food and money), volunteer for soup kitchens and volunteer your time for food drives. Increase money for school lunches for kids in low-income housing, open SNAP beneifits to more middle class families that struggle to get by such as paying bills and trying to feed their family. In Bill Ayres, "Ten Ways to End Hunger", number six on the list is to "Avocate for an increased minimum wage." "As the cost of living rises incomes are not keeping up and many people are finding they have to cut food costs to pay their other bills and expenses. Increasing the minimum page is a lasting way to reduce hunger and bring people out of poverty. He al...

Women are at a high risk for falling within or below the poverty income bracket during retirement. While the elderly are considered to be a highly vulnerable and at risk population, elderly women are especially likely to be impoverished.In an economic article titled "Women more likely than men to face poverty during retirement" PBS News Hour informs us that "The National Institute on Retirement Security... reports that women are 80 percent more likely than men to be impoverished at age 65 and older. Women age 75 to 79 are three times more likely".What does it mean to face impoverishment in old age? For "Jennifer Brown, manager of research at the National Institute on Retirement Security it means not having the "amount of money needed to actually exist". It means not having enough income to pay for the essentials of food, housing and transportation onto of rising medical costs. Jennifer Brown explains that women now ou...

Diabetes Collective Impact Initiative looking to improve diabetes care of patients in Portland On October 18th 2017, Providence St. Joseph Health launched the Providence Diabetes Collective Impact Initiative at three Portland-area clinics, an initiative designed to improve care of patients with chronic disease. Health care barriers such as lack of access to medical care, poor quality of care, employment instability, insufficient food, insufficient transportation, insufficient housing, and other resources for healthy living are likely to improve for vulnerable Portland patients with diabetes. Bringing together Providence Medical Groups at Gateway, Milwaukie, and Tanasbourne, the Providence Diabetes Collective Impact Initiative (PDCII) plans to address these barriers and make it easier for patients to access social services concurrently with receiving expert care. These interventions include: equipping primary care physicians to screen for needs such as food, housing, an...

Instead of deploying more officers, Portland is looking to address the roots of the homelessness crisis: systemic issues of long-term housing affordability and supportive services. The homelessness crisis in Portland is a complicated one. There are currently at least 4,177 homeless people living in Portland, with or without shelter. And while the concern for the lives of the thousands of homeless families and individuals needs to be addressed, there is also the concern of employees of businesses and organizations occupied by homeless people living without shelter. There is a perceived danger for the employees of these establishments when they must pass homeless people to get to their work. This perceived danger is not entirely unfounded when there are recent reports of assault, in which the attackers happen to be homeless. The dilemma is that homeless people need food and shelter to survive, but providing proper food and shelter could be costly, and the presence of homeless pe...

As it stands, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or most commonly known as the program that provides “food stamps,” is under scrutiny and on its way to reform. SNAP is intended for people with low income, part-time workers, the disabled, elderly, and other household needs, and is an essential program for tens of millions of United States’ citizens, but it is criticized for its seeming lack of restrictions towards applicants. There are many prejudices against SNAP that insinuate that it is used and abused by non-citizens, people addicted to drugs, and lazy people, and despite changes in recent years to revamp the standards and qualifications for SNAP applications, these sorts of accusations are still common. As more citizens apply each year SNAP, this belief that it is a service abused by people undeserving continues to thrive. Harsh criticism of the leniency that SNAP has on its applicants has caused SNAP to become more restrictive, and require more from its...

Being a volunteer for organizations like Meals On Wheels means that that you are a link to the outside world for the clients of that organization. In some cases, volunteers for Meals On Wheels are the only link a client has to the outside world, and that makes it the responsibility of each volunteer to act professionally, but also compassionately and wisely, which means that being able to correctly identify abuse and neglect, and being able to report abuse and neglect are both necessary qualities in a Meals On Wheels volunteer. It is the duty of every citizen to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and for that reason, all citizens should report abuse when witnessed or under suspicion. That being said, for many professions in Oregon, reporting abuse when witnessed is mandatory, and employees of organizations providing community services, such as Meals On Wheels, are required to report abuse when witnessed. In Oregon, there are multiple methods used to correctly...

     Meals on Wheels is doing great work amongst the aging populations of the greater Portland metro area. But there is hunger that is prevailing across all age groups and research within the last few years is showing that many college students in the Portland area, specifically at Portland State University, are barely able to afford a solid three meals a day. Studies conducted between the years of 2014 and 2016 show that 54-59% of students report being food insecure. In between the rising cost of tuition, rent, and other basic life staples, it can be very hard to afford three meals a day, much less nutritious, healthy meals. The food insecurity problem around Portland is apparent amongst not just student populations, but for all individuals. In Multnomah county specifically, the food insecurity rate is higher than other surrounding counties at 16.1%, with the average cost of a meal higher than other counties at $3.15 per meal. There are groups all across the area figh...

       There's a constant need for big voices in the world of street activism, so, the appeal to people from all walks of life working for Street Roots is amazing. The Nick Gefroh Vendor Fund is fundamental in creating and distributing resources that help the underprivileged. There are over 70 vendors that work within the Portland metro area, Seattle, and surrounding areas to deliver goods and services to those most in need. Street Roots has a large viewership that extends beyond houselessness or homelessness, and features an advocacy group as well as a comprehensive resource guide. Street Roots is influential and far reaching, extending throughout the Greater Portland Metro Area. Thankfully, with such a great backing and financial support, Street Roots is able to serve those in need. There are many people who donate, but, two who stand out are: old-school liberals, as well as conservatives who love the business model. Many of Street Roots members sleep on the...

The amount of American college students that go hungry is around 20-40 percent, but researchers do not quite know when they started to go hungry. By the time serious research into the issue began in 2014 it was a much more serious problem than anyone had anticipated. These percentages seemed to have shocked administrators, but it comes at no surprise to some students. For example, Rachel Sumekh has been working with student hunger since 2009 when she was getting her Bachelor's degree at UCLA and created a nonprofit that helps to alleviate those hunger issues. Sumekh noticed that after the new data came out regarding that between 20-40 percent of students go hungry, more administrators began to become active in what her work was trying to accomplish.   Locally Portland State University has the COMMITTEE FOR IMPROVING STUDENT FOOD SECURITY which reports that the U.S. has a food insecurity rate of 15.4% and Multnomah county has a rate of 16.1%. The committee is described as “...

As you drive down Broadway, and through the Portland State University Campus, you can’t help but noticed the bridge that is emblazoned with the University’s motto: “Let Knowledge Serve the City.” At Portland State, this motto goes beyond mere words, but is at the heart of the Senior Capstone Program at Portland State. The goal of the Capstone program, is to have a group of PSU Seniors, from multiple disciplines come together, and work on a project for the benefit of the community. Portland State through the years has partnered with many different groups for these Capstone courses. The topics are as diverse as the students that make up the individual courses, ranging from Social Justice and Immigration, to the environment, education, and in our case, food insecurity amongst senior citizens. Our course, the Multimedia Production Capstone, has the added challenge of not only letting ‘...Knowledge Serve the City’, but having it serve the world as our course in online based. Th...

      Food insecurity for seniors is a tragedy that is widely recognized during the holidays, despite the fact that is occurs throughout the year. On their webpage, Oregonhunger.org, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon state that "Between 2013 and 2015, Oregon was the only state to see an increase in food insecurity and hunger, even as the national rate declined and Oregon’s economy grew." Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon explain that there are "interconnected factors influence [ones] food security status". These factors can include but are not limited to physical mobility, stable/permanent housing, housing location, and access to services such as SNAP benefits, food pantries and transportation systems. Unfortunately, these interconnected factors that drive food insecurity persist year round, though they can seem especially unfortunate during the season of joy. The persistence of these factors is partly due to their ties to a st...

According to a 2006 report by the U.S. census bureau, an astonishing 12% of Americans are struggling to live on a day to day basis due to poverty or lack of food. This may initially seem like a low statistic, but think of it this way: over one in ten of your friends are likely suffering, and potentially doing so in silence. I grew up in a suburban town in New Jersey about forty-five minutes from Manhattan, where I spent a good amount of my childhood. My mother occasionally worked, and my father had a new job every other month. There were periods of stability, but they were few and far between. From the outside, we looked like a "privileged" family, but we were anything but. There were many weeks where we struggled to put food on the table or water in the refrigerator and had to ration it between us. We were threatened with homelessness more than once when I was in middle and high school. I was extremely embarrassed of  my situation, and rarely told any of my friends what ...

In college, food can be the last thing on a student’s mind. Between working, studying, all while trying to get enough sleep, life can get busy. Not only can it be hard to remember to feed yourself, there can be other obstacles like not being able to afford the right food, and not knowing what types of food can keep you healthy, but aren’t too time consuming either. Thankfully, Portland State University has a good food security program, with multiple resources for those who might be struggling. Every month, they hold a harvest share, where students have access to free fruits and vegetables. Another great resource is the PSU food pantry located in Smith Memorial Student Union. I used to work on campus at Helen Gordon Child Development center, where the leftovers from the daily meal service to children were always offered to student teachers/workers. Oregon has programs like Meals on Wheels, Oregon Food Bank, and soup kitchens to help those in need, but that doesn’t mean that all pla...

The Growing Population of Seniors and the Programs That Support Them  In each community, the reality of aging members facing gaps in social services is severe and only getting worse as state and federal resources shrink. Multnomah County is no exception to this financial trend and the risk it poses to senior populations. The truth of the matter is that relying on state and federal resources for funding and support is always risky business.  Many seniors are faced with the same challenges concentrating around finances, isolation, affordable housing, food scarcity, transportation needs, in-home services and elder abuse. These issues can increase in severity and become life threatening for seniors when they are also suffering from a range of health issues. Seniors are vulnerable and the risks that they face are reality for every county and community.  Here in Multnomah County, 11% percent of the population is older than sixty-four. Of that portion, 23% o...