Vulnerable People and Places Blog

          It is a given in Downtown Portland that at some point you will come across someone experiencing homelessness. If you live in downtown, you may interact with the same unhoused individuals on a daily basis and consider them part of your neighborhood. In my case, I talk briefly with a fellow named Greg and a lovely woman, June, every morning on my walk to work. Some of you may notice that areas that have been established as “camps” may have been cleared out during a sweep, or that there may be new camps popping up in different areas. This camp version of musical chairs is not due to curiosity of houseless individuals wondering if a different place is better, but biproduct of enactment of the city’s recent bill.           Bill 3115, also known as the “Time, Place, Manner Camping Ordinance” (Portland.gov), was passed in 2021 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Despite adopted in 2021, the actions proposed by the bill we...

  Transition Projects is an agency that has offered undisputed support for homeless Portland residents for over 55 years. With decades of experience, the team behind Transition Projects have supported those in need of a home from providing shelter for residents to set their sights on housing to offering online, affordable housing solutions. Everyone is welcome, from the low-income, veterans, women, those with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups. If you would like to learn more about Transition Projects and there story over the past 5 decades, their website is:  https://www.tprojects.org/ Transition Projects have developed a program called RentWell. The purpose of RentWell is to teach Oregon and Washington residents the knowledge and skills to rent successfully. It is a 15 hour tenant-education program covering budgeting, the application process, tenant laws, landlord expectations and much more, all for free. The program offers both an in-person and online version to reac...

(Photo credit: Fred Victor) Mental health conditions are highly prevalent in homeless populations. According to the 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, 21% of individuals experiencing homelessness reported having a serious mental illness. Homelessness and mental health are thus clearly related. Mental health can be the cause of homelessness. Individuals who have mental health conditions are at a much greater risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness in turn can trigger those conditions in homeless people due to perpetual safety worries.  According to a survey conducted by The Oregonians/OregonLive in late 2021, 63% of 300 unhoused Portlanders experienced some types of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorder. Despite the prevalence of this issue, not many homeless people have an opportunity to get full treatment and complete recovery as it is challenging for them to acc...

If you start a quick Google search and type in “soup kitchen near me” or “food pantries near me,” you will see that Portland has a wide variety of meal services available to anyone and everyone. There is often a misconception that food pantries and soup kitchens are only for homeless people, but in reality, they are for anyone who needs them, no questions asked. We’ll take a closer look at some of the options available to the public across the Portland metro area.  Let's start with Blanchet House -- Assisting the community since 1952, they offer three meals a day. Located in NW Portland, it is an easily accessible soup kitchen serving hot meals to anyone. Starting with breakfast at 6:30AM, lunch at 11:30AM and dinner at 5PM, they proudly state on their website that they never run out of any food. It is volunteer-run and guests can have more than serving if they wish. Vegetarian options are available, as well!  Clay Street Table -- SW Portland. Operating as both a food pantry...

If you’ve been in Portland over the past few years, you might have noticed tiny home villages popping up in various parts of the city. They all typically have one thing in common…an outlet serving as transitional housing for the homeless population. There are a few key factors regarding tiny homes and how they serve the community. Also known as Safe Rest Villages, data has been showing that they do show signs of success.  In an article from Axios Portland titled “Portland’s tiny home shelter program shows success”, it states that the Safe Rest Village program has assisted more than 53% of their residents ease into permanent housing. From when the article was posted in May 2023, it also stated three additional villages will be built due to their known success.  Safe Rest Villages allow a sense of structure, stability and they also provide numerous resources, as well. According to the Portland.Gov website, in order to get into a Safe Rest Village, you must be referred by agencie...

Misconceptions about Houselessness in Portland Spot Interview: https://youtu.be/m9EPB8DWk7k?si=NJBo_7hRT6_YUvTm      I interviewed a handful of people at Portland State University in downtown Portland asking them: "What are some misconceptions that you think people have about houseless people?" There was a handful of good answers. The second question was "what are some ways to combat this?" I had answers ranging from subsidized housing to programs to help people get up from their feet. With the power of video as another medium to reach out to people, I hope that this video gets a wide view and could possibly gain traction. Below I list some links to available affordable housing, along with links to potential programs that specialize in helping people in Portland. Multnomah County housing: https://www.multco.us/dd/affordablesubsidized-housing-resources Blanchet House: https://blanchethouse.org/resources/ Portland Rescue Mission: https://portlandrescuemission.org/news...

                 It’s no surprise to anyone that finding a job these days is enough of a struggle, despite the current unemployment rate being around the 4% mark (bls.gov). People in Gen Z can all relate to each other in the aspect of how hard it is to find a job that pays more than minimum wage and that can start careers. Hillary Hoffower says “…the Class of 2020 graduated into a crippled economy marked by a nearly century-high  unemployment rate of 14.7% .” (businessinsider.com, 2021). Though whatever struggles the young generation is facing currently, the struggles in finding a job are multiple times harder for the homeless community.             A few of the major components in getting a job these days requires a person to have some kind of internet connection for online applications and those applications require a home address. An address those in the homeless communi...

If you or someone you know has rented an apartment or house in Oregon in the last five years, you know how difficult it can be. With the cost of living skyrocketing, rent increasing, and rising inflation, many are being priced out of their current residences. Low income options such as section 8 housing have unreasonably low income requirements and are more than often unavailable. Waitlists just to apply to these units are generally full with only a few openings a year to even attempt to get into a waitlist, making them an incredibly non viable option for most. Homeless shelters are commonly full and generally only allow a single person to stay making it hard for couples, families, or people with pets. All of this coupled with the staggering lack of mental health resources makes it no surprise that the homeless population has grown steadily year over year reaching an all time high.   Let's dive a little deeper. Unlike most states, Oregon has no limit on what landlords can char...

Homelessness and Youth.   Did you know that Oregon has one of the highest rates of unaccompanied, unsheltered youth in the nation, according to a point in time count done by HUD in 2023?  When we think about people experiencing houselessness, how often do we think about the children affected by lack of suitable housing? Most folks (including myself) assume that adults are the ones hit the hardest with these experiences, without realizing so many youths are also living their day to day lives unhoused.  To make an already difficult situation even more treacherous, many of the houseless youth have no support systems in place, in addition to not having a safe residence to call home, which makes the transition up and out of poverty nearly impossible. The resources offered through government or nonprofit organizations are scarce if they’re even available. In the OPB article (Camhi, 2024) they discuss the lack of support services available for the houseless, including youth and ...

   Portland is a Homeless Hotspot:   A view through statistics      Through research for this as well as other classes, I have developed a story based on data and graphs to help illustrate the homeless epidemic in Portland as the worst city in terms of homeless population.                                                                                                                                                                 Figure 1.     It is no surprise to any American when it i...