Healthcare for the Homeless

Healthcare is an essential part of living. It is especially a larger need for the homeless because they are more susceptible to illness due to to their living conditions, and might also be dealing with mental health issues or drug addiction. Individuals who are homeless or living in poverty often times don’t have the ability to access regular healthcare and preventive care, which leads to more serious health conditions in the future. Fortunately, there are resources in the Portland area such as Central City Concern that provide medical services to those in need.

Central City Concern first began in 1979 in hopes of helping people in the streets of Portland who were struggling with alcohol use disorder. Since then they have created a multitude of programs including housing, healthcare, recovery, and job training. The services that they provide include Primary Health Care, On-site Pharmacy, Recovery, Mental Health, Acupuncture, Hep C Treatment, and Recuperative Care over multiple locations in the Portland area. This includes two locations that provide culturally specific services: Puentes and the Imani Center.

Central City Concern locations are Federally Qualified Health Centers that don’t turn anyone away for not having insurance or not being able to pay, and they are able to do so through government funding, known as 330(H) funding. According to the article, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Homelessness in the United States, more of these government funded clinics are closing during the pandemic due to increased costs. This could be due to the increased need for low cost or free health care due to affects of COVID-19 on income and housing circumstances. 

Within the same article, Oregon was rated at number 5 in “The 10 States with the Highest Homelessness Rate Pre-COVID-19”. The pandemic has only increased this housing crisis, therefore it is important that clinics like those ran by Central City Concern are able to get the funding that they need in order to serve the demands of the community.

If you are interested in getting involved visit: https://centralcityconcern.org/how-to-help/

- Kalei Huber