Mobile Dental Clinics Fill Critical Needs
More Need, Fewer Resources
Every night, more than 7,480 adults and children in the Portland metro region sleep outside or in a homeless shelter. Thousands more are sleeping in their car, or doubled-up on a friend's couch.
As announced on Feb 21, 2025, Multnomah County’s homeless services have an expected $104 million shortfall this year, a 25% budget reduction. Multnomah is requesting an additional $55 million from the State of Oregon and $30 million from Portland to address this funding gap. Even if the county is successful in these fundraising efforts, there is still nearly 20 million fewer dollars to support an expanding unhoused population.
When funds are lacking, it's the other supports that get sidelined to make sure that shelter and critical basic needs are addressed for the most unhoused members of our community. Other needs, like oral health and dental care go unmet.
Spotlight: Medical Teams International
When there's fewer resources and more people in need, everyone needs to find opportunities to help the most vulnerable members of our community. In Rose City, there is one organization, Medical Teams International (MTI), that has been doing just that, providing mobile dental care to the impoverished and unhoused, for over 30 years.
MTI offers mobile dental clinics that provide the following services to those in need:
- Fillings and restoration of teeth
- Extractions of broken teeth
- Treatment of infections or abscesses in teeth or gums
- Basic exams and x-rays
In Need of Dental Services?
Take a look at their clinic calendar to find when and where they are next offering their services.
Please Help Today
Giving more of your time, talents, and financial support is essential with our community's budget shortfalls and ever-expanding needs.
You can help MTI's mobile clinics keep putting smiles on the faces of those in need through:
You can also contact your elected officials to advocate for spending to address this housing crisis and support the needs of our unhoused community members.
Lean in to help in whatever ways you can. Together, let's make sure no one in our community is left behind suffering and shelterless.
Sources
https://multco.us/news/news-release-chronic-homelessness-number-falls-across-tri-county-region-2023-point-time-count.
https://www.wweek.com/news/2024/12/28/oregons-homeless-population-is-8th-largest-in-the-nation-hud-count-shows/.
No comments:
Post a Comment