Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Believe Our Stories & Listen: Portland Street Response Survey Report, Greg Townley, Kaia Sand, Thea Kindschuh

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many advocates, local officials, and people experiencing homelessness agree that Portland needs a better way to respond to low-priority calls for service involving those experiencing homelessness and behavioral health crises. This report examines efforts to address homelessness in Portland through the development of a plan to dispatch the Portland Street Response unit rather than police.

A team of community partners spread out across the city July 16 and 18 to interview people experiencing homelessness to help inform the design of the Portland Street Response pilot project (PSR). An additional team went out on Sept. 6.

Members of Street Roots, Sisters …

Governance, Costs, And Revenue Raising To Address And Prevent Homelessness In The Portland Tri-County Region, Marisa Zapata, Jenny H. Liu, Lauren Elizabeth Morrow Everett, Peter Hulseman, Thomas Potiowsky, Emma Willingham

Northwest Economic Research Center Publications and Reports

In the Portland, Oregon metropolitan region, homelessness has become increasingly visible on our streets and in our media headlines. Conflicting rates of who is experiencing homelessness, differing definitions of who is at risk, and varying cost estimates to help those without a stable place to live leave community members confused about the scale and scope of the challenge that we face. Our overarching goal in this report is to provide information that helps the public deliberate about how to support people experiencing homelessness, and prevent future homelessness. We thread together three areas of work - governance, costs, and revenue - …

2019 Point-In-Time: Count Of Homelessness In Portland/Gresham/Multnomah County, Oregon, City Of Portland, Home Forward, A Home For Everyone, Multnomah County, City Of Gresham, Tiffany Renée Conklin, Cameron Mulder, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

The Count provides important information on the people who were counted living unsheltered, in emergency shelter, and in transitional housing (collectively the “HUD homeless” or “literally homeless” population) the night of Jan. 23, 2019. As always, the date of the Count and the definition of homelessness that determines who is counted were set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Regional Research Institute of Human Services at Portland State University (PSU) led the unsheltered portion of the Count, which is referred to as the unsheltered count. At our request, PSU staff also conducted a separate count …

Familial Homelessness & Trauma, Holly Brott

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This review provides an overview of the relationship between familial homelessness and the following sources of trauma: domestic violence, substance use, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), mental health, and poverty. Following this review, stressors often experienced by homeless families (stigma, parenting while homeless, and child-specific) will be discussed.

Housing And Food Insecurity At Portland State Study, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Students helped develop the Housing and Food Insecurity at Portland State study to better understand the scope of homelessness, housing and food insecurity on campus. The survey went out to approximately 3,000 employees and 23,400 students at Portland State University in fall of 2019. The center will develop a set of recommendations for the university based on the results. It is the first step to help students and employees overcome challenges and meet their basic needs.

Useful Waste, Rebecca Taylor

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

The Useful Waste Initiative is an alternative and more sustainable way of thinking about construction waste. It encourages material diversion and aims to reframe views on waste management during the design and construction process. It guides the process to repurpose and utilize an overlooked material resource- envelope construction mock-ups. It also provides the opportunity to contribute to and support efforts to address pressing social needs with local communities, including shelter for the homeless.

Youth Homelessness, Katricia Stewart

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Youth experiencing homelessness face numerous challenges to maintaining their health while homeless and as they exit homelessness. This includes their physical health, mental health, and well-being. Further, research on the efficacy of various interventions that aim to positively impact the health of homeless youth is limited. The following paper summarizes what is currently understood about the health and well-being of youth experiencing homelessness and concludes with recommendations for interventions, prevention programs, and future research.

Kenton Women’S Village Update And Survey, Marta Petteni, Emily Leickly

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Homeless shelters can be chaotic and sometimes not much better than living on the streets. Sleeping pod villages, such as Kenton Women’s Village, provide opportunities for community development while still allowing privacy and security. The village model provides a more incremental transition into permanent housing from the streets rather than a sudden transition. This report provides an update on the village and results of a survey that explored physical health, mental health, demographic information, and level of satisfaction with village living.

Urban Care Stations, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Hygiene, waste and sanitation in the Portland metropolitan region is a broad and complex topic that relates to homelessness as a primary field, but stretches to other scenarios. The need for improving and increasing access to restrooms, showers and laundry facilities in Portland has been documented and proven through interviews and research. Due to its complex nature, multiple potential solutions to address accessibility have been explored (and some are already in place). These solutions lay at different scales (from neighborhood level to region level), include different hygiene services (from toilets to storage), and involve different stakeholders for their creation and …

Safe Parking - Psu, Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

A national study done to collect data on homelessness rates in universities says that between 11% - 14% of students are experiencing homelessness. A study has not been done on specific data at PSU, however, there are students and staff experiencing homelessness at PSU, and some of those individuals are sleeping in their vehicles. Some of the individuals living in their vehicles purchase quarterly parking passes for the PSU parking garages. These individuals would benefit from a Safe Parking Program. There are existing infrastructures, systems and services that could be made available or utilized immediately. The purpose of this proposal …

Homelessness Count Methodologies Literature Review, Jennifer Lee-Anderson

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

This literature review on homeless count methods provides a brief history of homelessness in the U.S., an account of count efforts, and an overview of methods used. It illustrates that no method is capable of providing a comprehensive count of the homeless, and all methods have inherent disadvantages that often rely upon flawed assumptions. The practical impact of these counts on policy is substantial. Therefore, this review should encourage discussion as to what data communities need for policy and program development and implementation, and whether homeless counts actually fulfill this need.

Exploring Narratives And Concerns: Applied Linguistics In Homelessness Research, Wendy Nuttelman

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative Publications and Presentations

Understanding and addressing problematic narratives surrounding homelessness is one of the primary objectives of the Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative. We began to do this by mapping out different stakeholders and identifying texts such as social media posts, policy documents, and local news articles which reflect the language used by various groups to discuss and promote their concerns and beliefs about homelessness. Over 11,000 reports were analyzed.