For those commuting and working downtown, it has been rather difficult to not notice the severe houseless problem currently facing the city of Portland Oregon. According to WorldpopulationReview.com, Oregon ranked the seventh state in the country for highest population of people without homes (15,876). While the number of houseless individuals has slowly but surely lowered for Vancouver during 2019 to 2020, it still remains a major problem for those still in need in other districts of Portland. As of 2021-2022 Portland is unclear of an exact estimate for people without homes as studies are still underway.
On January 10th of 2022, it was reported by KGW8news, “Vancouver City council approved more than $400,000 to build more safe
living spaces for homeless residents.” Vancouver opened its first “Safe Stay
Community,” and the living spaces provided shelter for an estimated 40 people. The
city has plans to expand small homes elsewhere and is currently planning to add
two more Safe Stay Communities.
While the city of Portland is doing a service for the houseless population, due to recent out breaks of COVID-19 and the slowing down of production, it is still unclear when exactly more community houses will be complete and provided for those without homes. For now, if you would like to help those in need of supplies and housing within the Portland community, you can donate or volunteer here, to the Portland Rescue Mission.
-Dustin Golden-Collum
