Shelter expansions lead to big rise in Oregonians with temporary roofs over their heads

A record rise in sheltered homelessness is, in a sense, good news.

That’s because, in spite of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek declaring a continuing of a state of emergency for an ongoing housing crisis, a growing supply of shelter space is bringing a record number of people experiencing homelessness indoors. The findings are from a Portland State University report released Wednesday, comparing point-in-time counts between Jan. 2023 and Jan. 2024. The PSU report found that shelter capacity increased statewide by 2,455 beds - or 32% more shelter beds than the year before. The increased capacity led to a 24% rise in the number of people using shelters - the biggest one-year increase in sheltered homelessness since counts began in 2007.

In a statement included with Portland State’s release of the report, Gov. Kotek applauded the state’s progress.

“With substantial state investment and new coordinated systems, we have expanded Oregon’s shelter capacity and blunted the crisis on our streets,” Kotek said, but she went on to say the effort was “only the beginning.”

Investing in shelter space is an ongoing priority at the state and local levels. On the same day the PSU report came out, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson unveiled a $28 million plan to move people camping on streets and in parks into sanctioned shelters in each of the city’s four council districts.

This year’s report doesn’t offer a comprehensive look at unsheltered homelessness - as several of Oregon’s most populous counties didn’t tally the number of people living outside in Jan. 2024. Since it’s more difficult to conduct unsheltered counts than it is to count people inside shelters, the federal government only requires them every other year. Counties that did perform unsheltered counts found the number of people living outdoors or in unsuitable situations went up 16%, according to the PSU report.

However, the report identifies large swaths of Oregon where inadequate shelter space means upwards of 90% of people experiencing homelessness are unsheltered. That includes Coos, Grant, Harney, Josephine, Malheur, Sherman, Wallowa and Wheeler counties. The report notes nine of the state’s 36 counties list no shelter beds at all.

People of color in Oregon are far more likely to experience homelessness than would be suggested by their share of the state population, according to U.S. Census numbers analyzed in the PSU report. It found people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native were nearly six times as likely to experience homelessness as their share of the population would predict. Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders in Oregon are more than four times as likely to experience homelessness and Black Oregonians experience homelessness at more than three times the rate suggested by their share of the state’s population.

The report emphasizes that shelter space is far from the only step toward ending homelessness. It estimates the need for around 100,000 additional housing units, half of which need to be available for people experiencing homelessness. Cost of housing continues to be a huge challenge, the report notes, with many renters paying a substantial chunk of their incomes on rent.