Document Type
Report
Publication Date
1-2024
Subjects
Homelessness -- United States -- Oregon, Homelessness -- Social aspects
Abstract
Executive Summary excerpt:
The Point-In-Time (PIT) count is a census of people experiencing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness on a single night in January. The federal government requires this as a condition of funding it distributes to Continuums of Care (CoCs), networks of government agencies and service providers that manage homelessness services and funding in specific regions. Oregon has eight CoCs, five of which manage their own PIT count, which leads to variation in methodology and completeness. The PIT count’s accuracy is further reduced because it only captures homelessness on a single night, missing changes throughout the year, and uses a fairly restrictive definition of homelessness limited to “sheltered” (people living in an emergency shelter or some forms of transitional housing) or “unsheltered” (“a place not meant for human habitation”1 such as a sidewalk, tent, car, etc.) Because of these issues with the count, the federal government recommends that it not be relied on as a definitive total and should be used with additional data sources.2 This report summarizes the 2023 PIT count data, as well as the Housing Inventory Count (HIC) data on shelter and housing bed totals for people experiencing or exiting homelessness, as reported by Oregon CoCs. The report also includes the number of children enrolled in Oregon schools who were reported by districts as experiencing homelessness under a definition that includes PIT count criteria as well as children doubled-up with other families by necessity rather than choice. While CoCs report only by Continuum, and schools only by district, here the totals are reported by CoC and county. The 2023 PIT count recorded 20,110 people experiencing homelessness across Oregon on a single night in January, of which 13,004 were unsheltered and 7,106 were sheltered. Homelessness increased by 8.5 percent overall from 2022, with unsheltered homelessness increasing 17.2 percent and sheltered homelessness increasing 4.2 percent. These increases mirror a national trend, with homelessness across the country rising 12 percent from 2022 to 2023, but Oregon had the second-highest rate of unsheltered homelessness (at 65% of all people experiencing homelessness) and the highest rates of family homelessness and unaccompanied, unsheltered youth homelessness.3 In Oregon, Clatsop and Sherman Counties had the highest rates of both overall homelessness and unsheltered homelessness per 1,000 residents (Map 1 and Table 2).4 Multnomah County had the highest total number of people experiencing homelessness (Table 1), but at a lower rate than some rural counties.5
Rights
© 2024 Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41098
Citation Details
Greene, J., Spurbeck, F. H., and Zapata, M. (2023). 2023 Oregon Statewide Homelessness Estimates. Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative.