PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — Homelessness continues to rise in Oregon with the biggest cause being a lack of affordable and available housing, Portland State University reports.
PSU released their statewide homelessness report for 2023 on Friday, which was completed by PSU’s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative .
It detailed homelessness count data at certain points in time (PIT) as well as housing and shelter bed totals acquired by the Housing Inventory Count.
The PIT data includes people experiencing homelessness, either sheltered or unsheltered. The count for 2023 found 20,100 people experiencing homelessness in Oregon on a single night.
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Key takeaways from the report are that homelessness continues to rise in Oregon, increasing by 8.5% from 2022. Additionally, the gap between shelter capacity and people experiencing homelessness continues to grow. People of color also experience homelessness at a disproportionally higher rate than white people. Furthermore, while the number of Oregonians experiencing homelessness are highest in Multnomah, Lane and Deschutes counties, the rates are also notably high in several rural and semi-rural counties.