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Home · Articles · News · News · How many homeless people are in local shelters?

April 23rd, 2008 COREY PEIN | News

How many homeless people are in local shelters?

WW’s weekly election feature—designed to scare the hell out of City Hall candidates.

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This week’s question to the candidates for ex-Commissioner Erik Sten’s seat: In the most recent one-night head count in the city auditor’s report, how many homeless people were in Portland and Multnomah County shelters?

Nick Fish, labor lawyer and former Housing Authority commissioner:“I’m going to say 800.”

Ed Garren, therapist:“I’ll tell you flat out I don’t know, so why should I try to lie to you?”

Jim Middaugh, Sten’s chief of staff:“In shelters…I know how many we got off the street. [Long pause.] This is where you type ‘long pause.’ Five hundred.”

Fred Stewart, former real-estate agent and bar owner:“I’ve heard this figure before, but I can’t remember. I’m going to take a guess: 1,100.”

Harold Williams Two, youth counselor:“A thousand.”

(Answer: Officials counted 3,018 people in Portland and Multnomah County shelters on Jan. 24, 2007.)

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04.23.2008 at 09:05 Reply

Corey Pein

Sally Erickson at Portland's Bureau of Housing and Community Development sends along a clarification regarding the one-night shelter count cited above, which we pulled from the City Auditor's annual "Service Efforts and Accomplishments Survey."

The Auditor's report says a Jan. 24, 2007 "one night shelter count of homeless" totaled 3,018 people. We should've gone to the primary source.

As Erikson notes, that number breaks down as follows:

"674 individuals in shelter

"37 people with motel vouchers

"697 people receiving rent/mortgage assistance (who, without it, would have been homeless; including rent assistance for people who recently exited homelessness)

"1,610 people in transitional housing (Examples include a clean & sober apartment building with services where people can live up to 2 years. Another is 'transition-in-place' rent assistance for families and individuals exiting homelessness. They are provided with services and linkage to employment so, when rent assistance ends, they're still able to pay the rent.)"

Thanks, Sally.

10.23.2008 at 12:21 Reply

Gloria

A friend and I recently visited Portland on a weeks vacation. We were really taken aback to see so many homeless people. Not just in parks/under overpasses, by bridges, railroad tracks, etc., but practically every street we walked - and we walked throughout Portland. I've been in many areas of New York, DC & SF and never encountered so many homeless or been approached by so many, and this happened in every area. We're curious -what is the percentage of homeless in your city of just over 550k and why?