'Two converging crises': Low supply, rising rents
PORTLAND, Ore. - Affordable housing and homelessness together represents a statewide crisis that must be tackled by all levels of government, philanthropy, non-profits and businesses working together on collaborative solutions, says a new report by economic research firm ECONorthwest and commissioned by Oregon Community Foundation.
The report announced Wednesday shows that Oregon has a disproportionately large population of homeless people, when compared to other states. While Oregon’s population represents 1.3 percent of the total U.S. population, Oregon’s homeless population represents 2.6 percent of the total U.S. homeless population.
The report suggests that the state’s homelessness and housing dilemmas are the result of two converging crises. First, an inadequate housing supply and rising rents that is leaving tens of thousands of Oregon children and families at risk of becoming homeless, and second, the persistence of a smaller population of chronically homeless people in need of intensive social services as well as specialized housing.
“Communities across the state are experiencing dramatic impacts of homelessness. In Jackson County, the homeless population hit a seven-year high. In Central Oregon, the number of adults living on the streets, under bridges, or in cars increased by 25.8 percent in 2017 - 2018. Conditions faced by Lane County’s growing unsheltered homeless population triggered the threat of a lawsuit,” notes the report’s author, John Tapogna, President of ECONorthwest.
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