Every state struggles with homelessness, but Oregon has it worse than others with it having the sixth highest rate out of the country.

For many years, homelessness has been an issue nearly every politician who gets elected in Oregon has considered pertinent to get solved and yet it keeps getting worse, with some sources like Axios Portland saying the number of Oregon families considered homeless increased by 16% from 2022 to 2023. Which means there are about 20,000 homeless in Oregon. 

People might ask, ‘Why don't they simply just get a job?’ or ‘Why not just get an apartment?’ when discussing the possible solutions to homelessness but those are simply not feasible to accomplish. For one, achieving a job beyond minimum wage is incredibly difficult if you don't own a home, but if you don't have money then it's incredibly difficult to find housing without relying on a program to help you which may already be hard due to the demand that it has.

One other humongous factor that harms making strides in a life of normalcy is the way being unhoused affects a person's psyche. Studies involving comparing unhoused people's mental state versus housed people’s mental state showed the sheer amount of detrimental effects being on the street may have on someone. In a 2015 study by the Oregonian, it was found that out of roughly 300 homeless people that were surveyed, 68% of them had some form of a severe mental illness.
With both the mental troubles being unhoused may give someone and the rampant defunding, altering or destruction of programs like the constant refusal to give funding to who assist unhoused individuals, it's no wonder people struggle on the streets. All in all, unhoused individuals are having a rough go of it, much rougher than many may think.