Rising rents and homelessness

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it’s estimated that rents in Portland started to skyrocket 57% from 2010 to 2019, meaning it has grown twice as much compared to the national rate “median prices jumped from $838 to $1,312”. Also, a report from Oregon Community Foundation, ECONorthwest pointed to 2 crises that are troubling many communities across Oregon about the rising cost of rents which could put them at risk for homelessness. First, the rising rates of housing insecurity due to the limited supply of affordable housing has put 15,000 Oregon families at risk of homelessness. Secondly, the constant need for intensive social services and specialized housing for Oregon’s smaller homeless population that are growing more and more day by day.

In addition, it’s also reported that Oregon has been suffering from a disproportional homeless population compared to other states. According to the chart below, our population only consists about 1.3% of the national population, our homeless population takes up to 2.6% of the U.S. homeless population.

 

However, despite the plummet of cost in rents in 2020 during the pandemic, with most Oregonians being unemployed and laid-off from work, though, lower rents don’t generally just make housing more affordable as there are even more things residents have to worry about. In the end, it’s still good news for the high-risk of homelessness population but it remains a question whether urban rents will begin to “rebound” once the pandemic lessens. For more information about what ECONorthwest has to offer us about what we can and should do, visit the website to explore more solutions, https://oregoncf.org/.

-Thi Hoang-

Learn from Others Example

 Portland’s houseless population is growing each year due to financial disaster, trauma, abuse, addiction, injury, or illness. I’m sure many of us have walked around or driven through Portland seeing all the tents and small camps set up in places that are deemed unsafe. It’s hard to find a permanent solution to fix houselessness, I’m sure with enough helping hands and some help from the government there’s a possible solution that can be implemented sooner than later. I’ve written many essays on the topic of houselessness and come across some interesting articles and stories. 

The most intriguing one is PUʻUHONUA O WAIʻANAE a houseless community camp on Oahu, Hawaii. I heard about this camp from my older sister when I was in high school, never been to Hawaii before and never experienced its culture. Present-day, I’ve been to Hawaii about 4-5 times and found out how the culture in Hawaii works. The culture in Hawaii is very family orientated thus giving it a different houseless community than Portland would have. The houseless camp in Hawaii is run by a single person who appointed “managers” to help keep everyone accountable and help with community service around the camp. The camp approximately had 250 people living there, these are from single individuals to small families. In order for Portland’s houseless community to change for the better, we can learn from this houseless community and apply it to our own. The link here (-https://www.alohaliveshere.org/about-) will give you more information on PUʻUHONUA O WAIʻANAE if you wanna learn more. 

If we want to get rid of houselessness in Portland we’re gonna need to have a plan and make sure the basic necessities are met. The shelters should have access to water, waste, and sewage at least, make sure the community is safe from common illnesses. Get people off the streets, it’s safer and more organized. Shelters need to be able to survive through each season, we don’t want more people dying where it can be easily avoided with a shelter. With the involvement of the government, we can find empty lots of lands and be able to purchase them and build more houseless communities like the one in Hawaii. It will take time to fundraise the money, if the people in Hawaii can do it, so can we. 

-Brandon Braithwaite 

Safe Rest Villages in Portland

After briefly pausing their regular process of clearing out homeless camps during the pandemic, the city of Portland has resumed action in removing tent villages. This process has been criticized as being inhumane, with many homeless individuals now being displaced and forced to set up camp elsewhere—presumably only to be displaced once again during the city’s next tent sweep. After years of this cycle, Portland has finally begun to approach an alternative option: the implementation of Safe Rest Villages throughout the city.

Safe Rest Villages (SRVs) are small communities of outdoor shelters that provide privacy as well as access to showers and bathrooms. The city initially announced its plans to set up six SRVs before the end of 2021, however they only ever announced two locations as they have seemingly struggled to find safe and appropriate sites to establish more. Homeless individuals have gone on record (notably in the attached video) in stating that, while the privacy and shelter is valuable, it is no replacement for permanent housing.

The Street Roots article Safe Rest Villages and then what? offers firsthand accounts from homeless individuals who share their thoughts on SRVs, making it clear that it does little to ease their anxieties about the danger that comes from life on the streets. The article also explores how rapidly the cost of living in Portland has increased, to the point where housing has become even more unaffordable and thus the homeless population has continued to rise. As homelessness rises, Portland will continuously be forced to find more solutions to this issue. You can read more about Portland’s homelessness statistics, as well as explore proposed solutions, at http://www.pdxhfs.org.

- Seamus Coyle

The Impact of Covid-19 on Homelessness

 

As Covid-19 has impacted the state of our world, the homeless population has been hit harder than most. According to www.npr.org, not only is the homeless population continuously growing but is also being devastated by the various components of the virus. In January of 2020 there was an estimated 580,000 individuals who were experiencing homelessness. The main hardship Covid-19 is bringing is the difficulty in shelters. Not everyone has access to masks, vaccines, or general healthcare which leaves this population vulnerable to the virus and allows it to spread rapidly in environments such as a shelter or facility. Due to this, the number of individuals living on the street has exceeded the number in shelters. 

It was reported by www. katu.com in February, 2021 that Portland, in particular, lessened their steps to reduce the homeless crisis when the pandemic hit leaving shelters closing and those open without the space or resources to help the amount of people in need. In the Covid Relief package put in place under the Biden administration, there is almost 5 billion, out of the 1.9 trillion, going to supporting the homeless population during this time. 

In Portland, organizations such as Portland Street Medicine are making a positive impact during this time. They are a group of volunteer health care professionals who provide on-site medical care for individuals experiencing homelessness. Although there is still an expected increase in the homeless population nation-wide, organizations like Portland Street Medicine and those similar to the volunteers presented in the video above are helping to support the community through this time. If you want to donate to Portland Street Medicine click here to support the cause. 

- Gabby Jones

Portland Oregon's "Safe Stay Communities" (How You can Help)

 

For those commuting and working downtown, it has been rather difficult to not notice the severe houseless problem currently facing the city of Portland Oregon. According to WorldpopulationReview.com, Oregon ranked the seventh state in the country for highest population of people without homes (15,876). While the number of houseless individuals has slowly but surely lowered for Vancouver during 2019 to 2020, it still remains a major problem for those still in need in other districts of Portland. As of 2021-2022 Portland is unclear of an exact estimate for people without homes as studies are still underway.

On January 10^th of 2022, it was reported by KGW8news, “Vancouver City council approved more than $400,000 to build more safe living spaces for homeless residents.” Vancouver opened its first “Safe Stay Community,” and the living spaces provided shelter for an estimated 40 people. The city has plans to expand small homes elsewhere and is currently planning to add two more Safe Stay Communities.

While the city of Portland is doing a service for the houseless population, due to recent out breaks of COVID-19 and the slowing down of production, it is still unclear when exactly more community houses will be complete and provided for those without homes. For now, if you would like to help those in need of supplies and housing within the Portland community, you can donate or volunteer here, to the Portland Rescue Mission.  

-Dustin Golden-Collum

Housing Crisis and Possible Future

 

 

 

 

    The rising tide of awareness of the housing crisis is not without warrant, there is a growing level of houselessness plus ever-growing research about the best methods to handle housing shortages. According to CNBC (“America is short more than 5 million homes, and builders can’t make up the difference” Olick), America has over 5 million single-family houses less than needed. This is not due to a lack of demand for housing, but rather, as Bokat-Lindell proposes in a NY Times article, a conflict between those in a position to continue making money from property and those who are trying to build more. 

    With rising housing prices, the gap is furthering between those capable of obtaining property and those who are experiencing the consequences of a lack of action. This brings up the importance of policies and implementations of eviction bans and affordable pricing in whatever plan or policy that would be enacted to aid houselessness. Studies have looked at rent increases across the world and the US continues to see the highest percentage raises of rent, even when compared with one of the most population-dense cities in the world (Tokyo). Such increases only worsen the housing crisis that the US sees itself in now, a rather horrifying loop of unavailability and unaffordability. 

    While the arguability for what exactly started the housing crisis is significant, and many could probably argue the cause of the continuation of it, the point remains that it exists. There are several projects pushing for a solution or aid to the crisis, some are pushing for more housing (with several taking into account the climate crisis and arguing for sustainable housing being our only construction from here on out) and other programs are pushing for tenant aid in the face of a lack of buyable property. Both are extremely important in the long run, as renting will never go extinct, but there are also not enough houses on the market that everyone can afford.

 

Begin here to learn a bit more about the arguments for and against building more houses -click here->

Take a glance at the overview of what may be going on with America’s housing crisis -click here->

 

The housing crisis does not simply start at a lack of houses and a lack of affordability. Some of those who were able to witness the housing bubble in 2007 are beginning to worry, but not everyone has the same opinion. Isidore writes in a CNN article that there are patterns of what occurred with housing predictions in 2005 and what is occurring now, including many contradicting studies and opinions regarding whether America is in for another housing bubble. 

One expert even has the opinion that our current housing increases are higher than what we may need, a clear contradiction with what many articles and studies have been noticing (as briefly summarized above). One of the particularly saddening statistics is that the year-by-year increases in housing costs increased to 19.9%, a clear and significant increase compared to the 14.4% in 2005. The housing crisis has already begun a massive swell that has caused worry, yet there are still the continued patterns of optimism that the housing economy in America will level out and stabilize.

Whether there is a housing bubble in the near future is practically impossible to accurately predict, the signs that are already present are worrying enough to warrant a call to action. Manual input must occur for there to be the hope of stability as well as fair housing for everyone, but how it will be handled remains to be seen.

  

Isidore’s CNN article, summarizing the current opinions of a housing bubble -click here->

Experts believe the housing situation is a good increase, rather than a bubble

-click here->

 

 

    RentWell

    Transition Projects

    For COVID-19 related renting assistance (Oregon specifically):

    Veteran-focused shelters and long term housing programs (creators of header image)

 

 

Houseless Shelter Increase

One of the reasons we see so many houseless individuals all over the community on the streets, in parks, random parking lots of commercial spaces, is because there isn’t adequate space available for them to spend the night. 

According to this link, Project Homeless Connect has partnered with the city of Hillsboro to open an emergency shelter to provide a safe space to sleep and have a daily meal for up to 35 individuals. The situation of the pandemic has increased the prevalence of homelessness and impacted every day people to be put into a houseless situation. With more emergency shelters such as this, we can make an impact to better treat the homeless and provide a clean and safe community for all. 

To learn more about this project click here.