Since 2016, homeless rates across Oregon have gone up rapidly. Oregon is one of the leading states in homeless rates and continues to grow. Every two years in January, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates a count of all the homeless people outside of shelters and living on the street to calculate homeless rates. In 2018, the number rose by 6.8%. With a 2020 count approaching, many expect the rate to increase. A lot of this is due to the rising price of housing:
“We need more inventory across all types of housing. We need more emergency shelters and transitional homes, we need more subsidized housing, we need more affordable housing and we need more market rate housing. Salem does not have the inventory to property address our neighbors in need” said T.J Putman, Executive Director of the Mid-Willamette Valley’s Family Promise chapter.
Also, there aren’t many job opportunities for homeless people with criminal background. Homeless people are also viewed as people who are lazy and drug addicts.
“…having a home is a basic need,” said Putnam. “The truth is, homelessness is a symptom of a much larger, systemic problem within our economy—incomes have not kept pace with housing costs. Since 1960, rents nationwide have risen 61% while renters’ average incomes have only increased by 5%.”
