The Catch-22 of Identity

 Image by Chris Stermitz from Pixabay

By Joselle Monyette

Do you remember growing up and being told you need a car to get a job, but you can’t buy a car without a job, and you can’t get to a job without a car? Now consider this: to get a job, you need an ID. To get an ID, you need a birth certificate. To get a birth certificate, you need an ID or prior stability in the form of bank accounts, rental agreements, or paychecks. What if you are experiencing homelessness and don’t have that stability or documentation? How can you “work harder” when the barrier is administrative?

Barriers and delays faced by individuals experiencing homelessness who need to replace important documentation include financial accumulation, verification requirements, geographic restrictions, and administrative uncertainty. The cost to replace a birth certificate in Oregon is $25–$54+, depending on the method of retrieval; for a state ID, it is $40–$70. Processing times can range from three business days to five weeks, not including mailing time, depending on the method of request. To request these documents, an individual must present a valid state ID or provide alternative documents that require prior stability, such as bank accounts, rental agreements, paychecks, insurance policies, or voter registration. Many of these forms of identification assume existing access to housing, employment, or financial systems. The fastest way to obtain replacement documents is to appear in person; otherwise, processing can take three days to five to seven weeks, plus mailing time. Even after submission, the state may request additional documentation before authorizing the request. This administrative loop delays identity restoration and contributes to a prolonged state of homelessness.

These requirements are often interpreted through a self-sufficiency lens, where the expectation is that individuals simply need to exert more effort to regain stability. The self-sufficiency narrative suggests that individuals experiencing homelessness need to “work harder” to escape prolonged homelessness. However, when the barrier is administrative, effort alone cannot resolve it, because individuals have no direct control over documentation processing requirements, timelines, or discretionary review.

When administrative delays reinforce homelessness, the impact does not remain isolated to the individual. Barriers to identification block access to housing, employment, healthcare, and public benefits, pushing individuals toward emergency systems and prolonging instability that affects the broader Portland community. What is often framed as a failure of effort is, in many cases, a failure of access. If identity restoration is the first step toward stability, then administrative obstacles do not just delay individuals; they delay community recovery. To understand how the loss of identification can sustain long-term homelessness, click here.