The high cost of living in Portland is something myself and thousands of others struggle with on a weekly basis. If it wasn't for the help of my fiancé and her family there is a good chance I would be homeless and not have the opportunities that I so often take for granted. The median price for a 1 bed/1 bathroom house in Portland is around 400,000 dollars. To put this into perspective the median price of a 1 bed/1 bathroom house in West Virginia cost around 150,000 dollars. There are some unanswered variables such as we don't know the square footage of these average houses. However, there is a general consensus that housing and land property is cheaper out in the Midwest and East coast. The housing market here in Portland has been a demoralizing reality and a lot of young adults are holding out hope that the market will crash in hopes of one day owning our own house.
What this means for homelessness:
Unaffordable housing is a leading cause of the growing crisis. When the cost of even the most modest home is out of reach for the average working individual, it creates a system where only the privileged can thrive while others fall through the cracks. The gap between wages and housing costs continues to widen, leaving thousands vulnerable to displacement. Without significant policy changes to address housing affordability, more people—especially young adults and lower-income families—will be pushed to the margins. If we want to combat homelessness, we must start by making housing affordable, and not a luxury.
To learn more about how to help the homeless go here: https://ecopolproject.blogspot.com/
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