Did you know that Oregon had the highest rate of unsheltered homeless families in the country in 2019? Oregon had a rate of 54%. The closest states to Oregon in this were Colorado and Tennessee at 30%. That is a 24% difference in rates, almost double the rates of Colorado and Tennessee. When I read this statistic, I found it very upsetting.
I feel like when the homeless population is brought up in media, they only focus on homeless individuals and not the families that are experiencing homelessness. I had figured that there were some homeless families as well but I didn't know it was to this extent. This is why I think that having low-income housing and available shelters are so important in our communities because we need to help those in need and especially help those who are struggling to provide for their families and young children. If we want to stop homelessness, we need to start focusing on the younger generations that are experiencing homeless so that they don't grow up homeless and have children who are then homeless and the trend continues for more generations to come.
One company that is trying to combat homelessness in Oregon (Portland specifically) is Portland Homeless Family Solutions. They provide housing for homeless people in Portland and you can help the fight by donating or volunteering with the company. Find out more at http://www.pdxhfs.org/.
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