State sees significant rise in homeless people

One-night count could be skewed by weather and agency improvements

The Portland Tribune, May 29, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (11 Reader comments)

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Oregon’s sagging economy could be behind a large increase in the number of homeless people across the state.

Information released Friday by the Oregon Housing and Community Services found a 37 percent jump from a year ago in the number of homeless people counted during a January one-night statewide census.

The count found 17,122 people who were homeless, up from 12,529 people in January 2008.

Skyrocketing unemployment numbers and some wage reductions during the recession could have contributed to the number of people who live on the streets.

“The numbers confirm what we already knew, families and individuals can’t afford to pay for one of their most basic needs – a place to live,” said Rick Crager, Oregon Housing and Community Services deputy director.

“It’s a new face of homelessness that we’ve not seen before,” said Corky Senecal, director of Housing and Emergency Services at Neighbor Impact in Central Oregon, an area hard hit by unemployment and resulting homelessness. “Last year these people would have read the stories in the paper, watched them on the evening news – and very possibly would have written a check to an organization that helps the homeless. Today, they are homeless.”

Among the state’s most dramatic differences discovered from last year:

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