Last weekend I drove up to Portland to visit with family. Saturday afternoon we drove to Oak Park, an amusement center near the Willamette River to ride on the Oregon Pacific Railroad excursion train. The first thing that got my attention as we drove into the park were all the homeless camps along the road leading into the park. While on the train, there were homeless camps every where, including the riparian area of the river and the steep slopes leading up to highway 99E above the river going north and south through the city. These camps consisted of tents, all kinds of wooden structures, tarps and piles of debris, mostly garbage I suspect.
On Sunday we drove to the Portland Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in Forest Park, one of the largest city parks in the country. As we drove through the downtown section of Portland there were homeless camps along sidewalks, parking lots and any available open space. Once in the park I did not notice any homeless camps.
This lead me to do some research on the reasons for all the homeless camps in Portland and indeed for the country, where there is an estimated 760,000 homeless people nationwide. The number one cause is the lack of affordable housing in Portland, where the average rent for an apartment is $1633/month. Next, I learned the living expense in Portland is 34% higher than the national average. There may be 14,000 homeless people in Portland and 70% of them are individuals and the remaining 30% are families or single women with children. Many suffer from mental illness and substance abuse. Some homeless people do work, but unable to afford housing. In 2020 the average cost of a house was $344,200 and to live comfortably you need to make at least $60,000.
If I had to live in a Portland rental on my fixed retirement income, I would would have very little money left over for food, utilities and probably could not afford a vehicle. Having a mortgage there is out of the question.
There is a national housing shortage and a desperate need for low-income housing which is different from affordable housing. In-house HUD voucher units are in high demand which only take 30% of a persons gross income for rent. Affordable housing can be a lot more costly.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame this country allows for corporations, banks & sickening greedy so-called investors to monopolize this fragile market. New harding working first-time home buyers are often priced out of the market by greedy investors who overbid an asking price. Any hardship can drive any person unto the streets at any time.
Thank you for sharing!! I've watched a few episodes of Impossible Builds on PBS TV; I am heartbroken by the amount of money being spent on what I consider low priority projects. What a difference it would make if that money was invested in affordable housing, renewable energy, and preserving our natural resources. https://www.pbs.org/show/impossible-builds/
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