2 days Ago By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
New data released Wednesday by Multnomah County officials show a stunning local reality: 14,824 people living in the county were homeless as of February. Of those, 6,796 people were living outside, in a vehicle or in some other place considered unfit for human habitation. That’s more than double the homeless population recorded in the federally mandated point-in-time count conducted in January 2023.
And it is an increase of nearly 3,000 people over more granular estimates from the county in January 2024. Moreover, the new data make clear that homelessness is increasing every month in Multnomah County, even as leaders have in recent years sheltered and housed more people than ever before. “The good thing is that the data exists,” City Councilor Eric Zimmerman said.
“The rest of the report is as alarming as hell.” Zimmerman, who represents Portland’s west side and a small portion of Southeast, made his statement at a steering committee meeting for the county’s homelessness response task force Wednesday where the data was first unveiled. The new comprehensive list captures the size, demographics and housing status of the area’s constantly fluctuating homeless population for the first time.
“We can’t ignore this data,” County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said at the same meeting. “We really need to take up the challenge it presents us to do more and do better.” She said having more reliable data would allow elected leaders and city and county officials to do a better job making policy decisions about the best ways to direct money and respond to the area’s homeless crisis.
The newly published data comes from a federally mandated database that tracks by name people receiving any level of homeless services . That means if someone takes a shower at a day center, spends a night in a shelter or is placed in supportive housing with ongoing support for mental and physical health, they will be on the list. None of those names are public, but the numbers tell a stark story.
Among other points, the data shows: 7,485 people were chronically homeless in the county in February. More than half of them were living unsheltered. Black and Indigenous people are dramatically overrepresented within the region’s homeless population.
People younger than 25 make up 13% of Multnomah County’s homeless population. 7,608 people were in county-supported housing in February. The average nightly rate for shelter usage in February was 92%.
After two years, about 82% of people in county-supported housing were still housed, regardless of the exact type of housing The full database is available for the public here. County Commissioner Shannon Singleton thanked county officials for the new information, but said she still had more questions. Namely, how well are the county’s eviction prevention efforts working in the long-term? Do people who receive temporary assistance to stay in their homes generally remain housed two years later? Those questions and others raised by members of the steering committee could be answered as officials continue to analyze the new data.
An evaluation of rapid rehousing efforts, which move people quickly into low-barrier housing, an evaluation of how well the area’s outreach programs are working and one that looks at what triggers people to become homeless initially are among the half dozen analyses county officials plan to complete in the coming year. An evaluation of how well various types of shelter work for moving people into housing has already been completed and was presented by officials to the county board Tuesday. According to that analysis, only about 15% of people who sought refuge at one of the county’s congregate shelters moved into permanent housing from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Another 8.6% went into temporary housing, while 42% returned to homelessness. Over 50% of adults staying at one of the county’s alternative shelter sites, like its village-style shelters, moved into an apartment or home in the last fiscal year, data show.
Singleton said Wednesday that was the kind of information that could help leaders make informed policy decisions about where to invest limited funds. The new data will also trigger a reevaluation of the multi-agency homeless response plan goals, said Jillian Schoene, who leads that effort for the county. Rather than just basing success on services provided, the new goals will set targets for actually reducing the number of people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County, she said.
“We can’t solve what we can’t see - and that’s why this data work was so important,” Schoene said. “Through consistent outreach and better data practices, we are able to identify more people in real time - and that means we can better provide them the services they need to end their homelessness.” County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards has been one of the public officials who has repeatedly called for better data about the area’s homeless population.
Even though the new numbers are shocking, she said she’s glad to finally see them. “The ..
. data now available ..
. tells us that our shelter strategies work to get people connected to services and stabilized, but without more transitional and permanent housing options, people have a hard time moving on,” Brim-Edwards said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Brim-Edwards called on county and city officials to continue to work toward fulfilling their commitments for a significant increase in shelter beds while also working to drive increased housing production.
Oregon has the second most constrained housing market in the country with just 1.1 housing units available per household, according to a presentation Wednesday from ECONorthwest, an economic consulting firm with offices up and down the West Coast. And yet, in 2024, just 856 multifamily permits were issued in Portland, a low not seen since the Great Recession, according to ECONorthwest.
In the shorter term, the numbers are a blow to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s plans to end unsheltered homelessness this year by significantly increasing the number of overnight shelter beds. It is now apparent that Wilson’s detailed plan was based on an understanding of a much smaller homeless population than the city actually has. Nevertheless, Wilson said he and his team remain undaunted.
“These numbers are sobering because it means the goal post just got moved further away from us,” Wilson said. “We’re simply going to adjust to it because these are our neighbors.” Lillian Mongeau Hughes covers homelessness and mental health for The Oregonian.
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