The Homeless Leadership Coalition released results this week for the 2023 Point In-Time Count, a survey seeking to gather data about people experiencing homelessness in a community. Central Oregon continues a trend toward more homelessness, one that’s continued since the data program started in Central Oregon in 2015. There were 1,647 people experiencing homelessness in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties at the time the count took place, 28% more than the 1,286 counted last year. Eliza Wilson, chair of the HLC, said the homeless crisis is exacerbated by the scarcity and cost of housing in Central Oregon.
“Following the financial hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our neighbors are facing eviction. Upon the expiration of the ‘Eviction Moratorium,’ we are seeing record numbers of Central Oregonians losing their housing; we believe this is why we are seeing an increase in people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time,” Wilson said in a press release.
Wilson called for more services for people experiencing homelessness and pointed to the 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report where Central Oregon was referred to as the area with the highest percentages of families living unsheltered — such as in a car, outdoors or an abandoned building — and the highest percentage of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. Some 98 families were counted in the 2023 count, down from 105 the year before. The number of unaccompanied youth rose from 104 to 133 in the same time.
About 72% of respondents were unsheltered, 79% have lived in Central Oregon for at least three years and more than 80% have been homeless for more than a year. Redmond and Warm Springs experienced the sharpest increases in people experiencing homelessness, with Redmond’s homeless population more than doubling from 127 to 262 and Warm Springs’ homeless population tripling from 22 to 73. In Bend the number rose by almost 30%, from 785 to 1,012. The only Central Oregon community with fewer homeless people than last year is Sunriver, where the numbers dropped from 42 to nine.
The count also noted racial disparities among people experiencing homelessness, with American Indian, Black and Latino people having higher per-capita rates of homelessness than white people.
“Our community is facing this crisis together; Central Oregonians experiencing homelessness are oftentimes elderly, people who are medically vulnerable, veterans, families with children, and unaccompanied youth,” said Lindsey Stailing, secretary of the Homeless Leadership Coalition.
The PITC is flawed, however, and likely undercounts the actual number of people experiencing homelessness. The HLC acknowledged that there are limitations to counting unsheltered homeless people, noting that seasonal emergency shelters, street outreach services and school-based advocates report higher rates of homelessness than is represented in the PITC. The HLC said better data could be incorporated through the Homeless Management Information System, which tracks individuals experiencing homelessness in real time. However, not all partnering service providers use the system.
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This article appears in Source Weekly April 27, 2023.
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as pointed out numerous time to the city and the HLC, the data presented is useless for development of strategies to actually help the the 1k + experiencing homelessness in Bend. what would be helpful is to know how many are working but can’t afford rent? then put it a subsidy plan to help those folks. how many are substance abusers? then get these folks the care they need ANYWHERE in the country so they can detox and re-enter society clean. how many are Vet’s who do not have the above issues, but don’t want any help either and actually prefer to live on the street because they don’t like shelters. how many are “nomads” whose lifestyle includes living in a trailer or a car and going from place to place as their chosen liefstyle. how many are transients who do much the same as ‘nomads” bur are without transportation.
without actionable data, to continuously cite raw numbers is a fools game and the homeless industrial complex play it well. in the meantime people are suffering for lack of appropriate intervention and support and our city is suffering from degradation and lawlessness. reporting that does not advocate for real solutions doesn’t do any of us any good either.
Paul200417, you make a few astute observations. Unfortunately, we are currently short on funding for the very wise ideas you are proposing. For example, we critically need service providers–the people who would make the needed assessments you mention.
With prudent spending of available funds, the City of Bend has already made significant strides in partnering to build facilities that seem to be successful in getting people into housing.
From Bend City Councilor Megan Perkins: “Whats working? Our Safe Parking program has moved 48% into stable housing. The Navigation Center has already graduated 70 guests into permanent housing and 75 into transitional housing. Our Stepping Stone shelter has had 50% of their guests transition to permanent housing.”
forestfell….. thank for your compliment. i’ll be brief as possible…..lot’s of money 15+ mil at least coming from gov and feds, so it’s a matter of allocating those dollars appropriately. don’t really need service providers to do a census, folks from camps and cars and RV’s and on corners can be recruited and paid to do it. once the census is done there are oodles of service providers. as for Perkins et al, they’ve lied before about successes, and yet!.. they’ve moved 48% of the 1000 into transitional housing? that’s 480 people still without a home but a least not on the street or in a camp per se. the 70 into perm and 75 into trans, that’s another 150, so 630 out of 1000 or so helped?. leaving 380 on the street or in camps? way too many. the city needs to re-prioritize their resources and make eradicating homelessness the #1 priority and with incoming funds, it can be done.