Editorial

Homeless need even more help

Our Opinion

The Portland Tribune, Nov 19, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

JAIME VALDEZ / TRIBUNE PHOTO

Trynique Word, 3, and her family finally found housing at the Goose Hollow Family Shelter after three months of living in a car. Homeless services providers estimate that children now make up 30 percent of the homeless population in Portland.

As cold weather blows in, the trend looks dismal for homelessness in Portland. Jobs are scarce. Foreclosures are accelerating. And social service agencies report that more and more families – as opposed to single individuals – are being forced out of apartments and houses.

This community already does a lot – more than most, in fact – to stem the rising tide of homelessness. But in the face of these increasing needs, we also must ask if we can do even more – individually and collectively.

The gnawing problem of homeless families, in particular, must weigh on the sympathies of the public. People become homeless for a variety of reasons. They lose their jobs. They become ill and are hammered with medical bills they can’t afford to pay. They make mistakes or poor choices (haven’t we all?). Many homeless people, especially the single homeless, also suffer from mental illnesses.

Children, families losing homes

But whatever the precipitating causes of homelessness, there’s no getting around the fact that a growing number of children are being forced with their parents into cars, shelters and warming centers. People who provide services to the homeless estimate that children now make up 30 percent of the homeless population in Portland. On any given night, 1,266 children are without a home.

In the winter, these families are served by expanded shelters and warming centers that provide temporary relief. They also are eligible for programs that either help them remain in their homes to start with – or help them find permanent housing after they’ve gone through the wrenching experience of homelessness.

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