Exploring Homelessness Among People Living in Encampments and Associated Cost: City Approaches to Encampments and What They Cost - January 2021
Last Updated on July 23, 2021
Exploring Homelessness Among People Living in Encampments and Associated Cost: City Approaches to Encampments and What They Cost
As of 2019, homeless encampments were appearing in numbers not seen in almost a century. The growth of encampments mirrored the increase in unsheltered homelessness overall and seemed to reflect a complex set of societal factors, including a lack of affordable housing and the persistence of deep poverty and chronic homelessness. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nationwide, communities were struggling to respond to public pressure to relocate people living in encampments and prevent the formation of new encampments with only a weak knowledge base on which to structure that response.
This study lays out a novel framework for approaches to encampments in cities around the country: clearance with support, clearance with little or no support, tacit acceptance, and formal sanctioning. Local officials in the four cities that were the main focus of this study – Chicago, Houston, Tacoma, and San Jose – generally converged on a common strategy for responding to their most visible encampments “clearance and closure with support.” In this approach, clearance (removing structures and personal belongings from the encampment) and closure (preventing people from returning to the encampment) have followed resource-intensive outreach to help connect encampment residents with needed services to try to ensure that every resident has somewhere to go at the point of encampment closure….
Read the HUD report here.
Clatsop County Housing Strategies - January 2019
Clatsop County and its five local incorporated cities undertook an in-depth study of the current and projected housing conditions across the county, as well as recommended strategies to better align the housing supply with local needs, now and into the future. To this end, a consultant team, guided by local advisory committees and stakeholders, has helped to prepare a set of findings on the housing conditions in the county, and a resulting set of strategies and tools to help address the identified opportunities and challenges. This work is summarized in this report and the technical appendices that accompany it. The Housing Strategies Report provides an overview of key findings, but its main purpose is to provide a set of specific strategies and tools to consider in addressing housing in Clatsop County moving forward.
Clatsop County Housing Strategies Report
Appendix A Housing Trends and Needs Report
Appendix B Residential Land Analysis Report
Appendix C Code and Policy Revisions
Oregon Housing and Community Services: 2019 Point in Time Count: Understanding homelessness in Oregon - 2019
Read the report here.
HOMELESSNESS IN OREGON A Review of Trends, Causes, and Policy Options - March 2019
Oregon’s homeless crisis stretches across the state. Jackson County’s homeless population recently hit a seven-year high. During 2017-2018, the number of adults living on the streets, under bridges, or in cars increased by 25.8 percent in Central Oregon. Conditions faced by Lane County’s growing unsheltered homeless population triggered the threat of a lawsuit. And news reports have profiled challenges from Astoria to Ontario.
Read the report 2019-03 OregonHomelessness.
OREGON STATEWIDE SHELTER STUDY - August 2019
In the fall of 2018, Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) contracted with the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) to conduct a statewide shelter study. Among the goals of the study, OHCS hoped to better understand how to strengthen shelter policies and services in order to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. As part of the study, TAC conducted focus groups in five different parts of the state, an online stakeholder survey, a webinar focused on rural/frontier areas, individual interviews with key stakeholders, a survey of winter/warming shelters, as well as analyzing over seven different sets of data.
Nationally, Hawaii, California, and Oregon had the highest rates of individuals experiencing homelessness, with 50 or more individuals experiencing homelessness per 10,000 individuals. According to HUD’s 2018 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Oregon is one of four states in which more than half (61 percent) of all people experiencing homelessness were found in unsheltered locations….
Read the report 2019 Oregon-Statewide-Shelter-Study.
Oregon Health Authority: Estimates of the homeless population by county - 2017
Read the Report here.
Astoria Affordable Housing Study - July 2015
Affordable housing is a policy goal of the Astoria City Council as well as a requirement of the Statewide Land Use Planning Program (Goal 10 – Housing). The City of Astoria Comprehensive Plan, originally adopted in 1979, describes in detail the need, policies, and implementation strategies for affordable housing in Chapter 215-230. In 2014, the City Council adopted as a Council Goal: “Develop an affordable housing survey working with community partners.” In addition, on May 18, 2015, the City Council adopted this goal: “Promote housing that Astorians can afford.”
Read the report here.