Inequality In the Housing Crisis – who is vulnerable?

Vulnerable demographics are disproportionately facing homelessness, and it provides a clearly visible example of fundamental equality issues. Homelessness is intrinsically tied to other forms of diversity issues, as it is a depressingly common end result of them. This seems verified by the disproportion of homeless demographics to national demographics, in which particular vulnerable populations are dramatically more likely to face homelessness.

I argue the trends in homelessness serve as a reflection for our societies' continual base difficulties in this area, like a test result. By comparing homeless demographics to state/city/nation demographics, we can determine who the system is failing.

Demographics for Portland homeless:

Description	%	#
Homeless people who are in shelter	51%	1,914
Homeless people who are unsheltered	49%	1,887
Families with children who are homeless	17%	653
Single adults who are homeless	83%	3,143
Adult women who are homeless	30%	1,161
Adult men who are homeless	58%	2,208
Youth younger than 24 who are homeless	6%	266**
Homeless people who are older than 55	19%	704
Homeless people who are chronically homeless	28%	1,033
Homeless people who are disabled	57%	2,177
People of color who are homeless	39%	1,477
Veterans who are homeless	11%	422
Those who were homeless for less than 6 months	33%	-
Those who were homeless for more than 2 years

 

In addition:

Nearly half of the women surveyed reported having been victims of domestic violence, and 67% reported having a disability. 

The percentage of people surveyed who report being disabled has not changed significantly but it remains very high (57%) and it is even higher for certain groups (for example, 67% of women report being disabled)

Link : https://www.portlandoregon.gov/toolkit/article/56220

Compare these numbers to a demographics survey of Portland:

Race and Hispanic Origin              

White alone, percent     -    75.3%

Black or African American alone, percent  -  5.9%

American Indian and Alaska Native alone, percent   -  0.8%

Asian alone, percent  -  8.7%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, percent  -  0.7%

Two or More Races, percent  -  6.4%

Hispanic or Latino, percent  -  9.8%

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino, percent  -  69.5%

Link : https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/portlandcityoregon

A simple comparison means people of color are 6 times more likely to be homeless than whites, and Over half our homeless population is disabled. This trend show no sign of slowing down. Government surveys reveal:

 3 fastest growing unsheltered populations: African-American adults; women; people older than 55

3 fastest growing HUD homeless populations: African-American adults; women; people older than 55

This is important, as  demographics of homelessness provide an exemplary and clear reflection of the result of diversity issues, and clear proof of their presence. I would argue that the demographics of homelessness serve as a kind of test result for who we, as a society, have chronically failed to provide for, and a target for whom we should focus our efforts on going into the future.

-James Guthrie