Oregon has disproportionately large homeless populations, report says

(MARCH 17, 2019) A new report from ECONorthwest highlights the problem of homelessness in Oregon. It says, "Oregon has disproportionately large homeless populations." If something is disproportionate, then it is too large or too small in comparison to something else. For example: Oregon has 1.3% of the total U.S. population. However, Oregon has 2.6% of the total number of homeless people in the country. The report says "homelessness disproportionately affects many racial or ethnic minority groups."

Two of the causes of homelessness in Oregon are the lack of services for people who are homeless and the high costs of housing.

"Oregon's policy discussion might improve if homelessness were described as two, related crises. One crisis affects a population of individuals with highly challenging personal circumstances who will struggle to remain housed absent sustained, intensive support. A second crisis affects more than 150,000 households: the short-term homeless plus the growing numbers of severely cost-burdened renters on the verge of homelessness," the report says.

The report has suggestions for reducing the problem:

• increase housing supply at all price points
• increase affordable housing and strengthen connections to services
• study the problem further to make better, more effective choices
• increase the number of emergency shelter beds

"The state will not make progress on homelessness if the hard work is done only by those who directly serve the homeless on a daily basis. The problem is too big for that. Progress will require collective action by a range of actors: public and nonprofit agencies that work not only on homeless issues but also broader housing and land-use regulatory policies; federal partners willing to re-examine and invest in rental assistance; state policymakers who can chart new state roles in housing policy; business leaders who will provide leadership and support strategies; philanthropies willing to convene and invest in research and development; and universities that can lead in research and policy innovation," concludes the report.