Houselessness in Portland and nationally is a challenging situation. It’s caused by a number of factors – some of which no one wants to discuss. The main one is population growth. Next up is capitalism. If we were serious about wanting to tackle houselessness we’d do things that would reduce our human population and stop the “growth at all costs” way that our economic system operates. But given that people don’t generally think at that level of change, there are some band-aids that we can apply that will make things better in the short term. Here’s an idea – stop AirBnB and other short-term rental companies from operating in our City until everyone is housed. Also, stop the use of apartment pricing software like this.
That would go a long way toward housing people who don’t have a place to live. Again, stopping AirBnB from operating probably wouldn’t be popular, but it would quickly ease the housing pressure in Portland. Also the quickly rising costs of apartment rentals in the area. Since we’re so far unwilling to really focus on the problems and solutions some of the band-aid solutions as outlined in the articles below are being proposed such as
- Creating homeless camps
- Turning office space into housing
- Working with apartment and hotel owners to temporarily house those living on the streets
It looks to me like we’ll have to increase our funding for behavioral and addiction services no matter what we do. That is what the County does and for the time being, will continue to be an important aspect of helping people get off the streets and into temporary or permanent housing. Part of the problem we’re experiencing is that Multnomah County and the City of Portland are not working in sync on these issues. So, that’s also something that I would be interested in helping improve.
For more solutions and more stories on this issue see below. I’m also open to your suggestions in the comments section below. This is not an easy issue and solving it will be challenging. We’ll need to keep thinking and keep trying. Hopefully, we’ll get there. I do believe the current chair of the County Council is moving in the right direction.
4.12.23 – My friend Rachel sent this video my way. How a Christian group is tackling the issue in Austin, TX.
April 2023 – Interesting series from SF on homelessness. A caring, slow-paced look at what peoples’ lives are actually like. Part 2 – in LA.
3.2.23 – Success Story from Houston, TX.
2.25.23 – WWeek Article about Commissioner Rubio’s Survey.
2.22.23 – The State’s planning to spend $200 Million.
2.17.23 – I was watching a Multnomah County hearing and one of the testifiers mentioned this “Lisbon publishes evidence of successful housing first programme” – https://world-habitat.org/news/news-updates/lisbon-publishes-evidence-of-successful-housing-first-programme/
2.10.23 – https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/can-downtown-portland-be-saved-by-redesign/
2.6.23 – Oregon Public Broadcasting: Multnomah County has a plan to move hundreds off of Portland streets and into apartments.
https://www.opb.org/article/2023/02/06/multnomah-county-housing-first-plan-apartments-portland-homeless/
2022 – present – Built for Zero Program
Article from 2022 – https://kpic.com/news/local/fashion-designer-creates-shelter-bags-for-homeless