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Shelters, severe weather networks and people giving people help are all necessary and needed approaches to homelessness.  

But these are NOT permanent solutions to homelessness.  

What is a permanent long term plan to end and prevent homelessness is first fully funding of 10 Year Plans to End Homelessness like we have in Washington County based on a "housing first" strategy.  

This strategy puts the homeless in permanent and safe rental housing while they can access wrap around services to deal with improving their education skills, deal with addictions or domestic abuse issues or health issues.  

The second strategy is to create a more robust economy which does a better job in preparing people with the skill set required in a hi tech, information age based economy.  

This requires re-schooling many workers who are currently unemployed or under-employed.  Community colleges will be the front-line resource for this part of the strategy.  

But in the current economy given the likelihood of reduced funding at the state and federal level - fully funding Washington County's 10 Year Plan and similar state wide plans will be very tough.  

But a society that spends $1 trillion dollars per year in two wars in the Middle East can afford to respond to this crisis on the home front, now not later...  

It's a matter of our values and priorities.  

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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The framing of suburban homelessness on this website creates a false impression of homelessness.  

Suburban homelessness is caused in part by families in economic crisis due to our "jobless" economic recovery in the Great Recession.  But homelessness in Oregon's richest county has existed for decades.  

Homelessness is caused by poverty not by drunks moving out to the suburbs from Portland because of MAX.  That is a stereotype of the homeless - everywhere.  

The faces of the homeless in Washington County are most likely families with children - often single moms - some of whom are victims of domestic abuse.

The homeless also include school aged children, vets who suffer from PTSD, the abandoned elderly, Latino farm workers, the long term unemployed and yes, some people with mental illness.  

The most significant cause of homelessness is a catastrophic illness which drains family resources.  Where are foreclosure most likely - the suburbs!  

50% of American families who lose their homes do so because of catastrophic illness.  

Homelessness in Washington County is a national phenomenon.  The primary cause is increasing poverty in sububia.  

The county has over 5000 individuals and families on its "waiting list" for low income housing.  

As a member of the Housing Authority's Advisory Committee for 9 years I learned the crisis exited in the boom years of the '90s and has gotten worse in the Great Recession.  

The County's 4 homeless shelters can only take 12 out of 100 people who ask for assistance.  That means 88 are turned away...  mostly families.  

Many Washington County residents are one job loss or major medical illness away from ending on the streets - as LostHope exemplifies.  

One night counts done annually estimate there are @ 1200 to 1400 homeless in Washington County.  The real number of homeless in our county is more likely triple that number!  

Oregon has one of the highest homeless rates in the USA as a % of the population - @ 16,000.  Given likely budget cuts at the federal and state level, the problem will get worse not better.  

The most enduring cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable low income housing for the working poor.  

What We Believe:

1. Hardworking people should be able to afford housing and still have enough money for groceries and other basic necessities.
2. Children deserve an opportunity to succeed in school and life, which is tied to having a stable home.

Russ Dondero

Member, Interfaith Committee on Homelessness & Oregon Housing Alliance  

Professor Emeritus, Department of Politics & Government, Pacific University

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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