Without a Map: A Lived Experience Study of the Paths People Create Through Homelessness

Authors

• Kathleen P. Conte, Portland State UniversityFollow
• Susan Avila, Portland State University
• Desiree' J. DuBoise, Portland State UniversityFollow
• Carlton Bone, Portland State UniversityFollow
• Marisa A. Zapata, Portland State UniversityFollow
• Transformational Research for Equity and Experience in Shelter (TREES) Committee

Sponsor

This report was funded by the Homeless Services Department, Multnomah County with support from the Institute of Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University and the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

9-10-2026

Subjects

Homelessness -- United States -- Oregon, Homelessness -- Oregon -- Statistics, Homeless persons -- Oregon -- Multnomah County, Homelessness -- Government policy -- United States

Abstract

The Pathways to Housing Study examines how people experience and navigate homelessness and the systems intended to help them move toward stable housing. Conducted in Multnomah County, Oregon, the study used a participatory mixed-methods design co-led with the TREES lived experience committee. The first phase was reported in April 2026 included surveys with 541 people with current or recent experience of homelessness. The second phase, reported here, used in-depth interviews and journey mapping with 29 participants to explore how pathways through homelessness unfold over time and across service systems.

Findings demonstrate that homelessness pathways are rarely linear. Participants described entering homelessness through combinations of housing unaffordability, income loss, health challenges, family disruption, and other intersecting circumstances. Once homeless, many encountered a “churn” of long waits, fragmented services, eligibility barriers, lost documents, inconsistent communication, and repeated setbacks. At the same time, participants identified relationships, timely opportunities, financial assistance, peer support, and responsive service providers as important factors that could help create movement toward housing. Quantitative findings reinforced these patterns across the broader survey sample, while interviews provided greater insight into how these barriers and enabling factors were experienced in everyday life.

The report also identifies several pathway typologies to illustrate how homelessness intersects with systems beyond the homelessness sector, including health care, behavioral health, the criminal legal system, employment, and other services. Together, the findings underscore that there is no single pathway through homelessness and that more effective responses require affordable housing, accessible and coordinated services, stronger cross-sector connections, and systems designed around the realities of people’s lives.

Rights

Copyright 2026 PSU Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Description

The second report in the Pathway Study.

Detailed illustration included as additional file below. 

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/45123

Citation Details

Conte, K., Avila, S., DuBoise, D.J., Bone, C., Zapata, M., The TREES Committee (2026). Without a Map: A Lived Experience Study of the Paths People Create Through Homelessness Portland State University Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative