Homeless In Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas Counties Rise In Pandemic

PORTLAND, OR — The number of homeless people in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties increased during the pandemic, according to a summary of the first full study since before the pandemic. The full report, done for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will be released over the summer.

The report, called a "Point in Time" survey, attempted to count all the homeless people in the region on one night – January 26.

Counters found 6,633 people across the region, an increase of around 1,200 people since 2019, according to the report. Of those, 3,611 were living on the streets, 2,222 were in shelters, and 800 in transitional housing.

Multnomah County had the largest number of homeless people with 5,228, of which 3,057 are on the street, 1,485 are in shelters and 686 are in transitional housing, according to the report.

The report found that Washington County had the second-largest homeless population with 808 people, of which 227 were on the streets, 496 in shelters, and 85 in transitional housing.

Clackamas County has 597 homeless people with 327 on the streets, 241 in shelters and 29 in transitional housing.

Officials said that the report does not examine how many people entered or exited homelessness, it just covers the one day or, as the title states, a "Point in Time."

The report states that it "should be considered an undercount of people experiencing homelessness," adding that it's "not possible to definitively find, survey and count every person experiencing homelessness."

Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury said the county has worked "to add hundreds of shelter beds, from villages to motels, before and during the pandemic."

Washington County Chairwoman Kathryn Harrington adds that the county's "response solutions have increased, yet there is much more to do. Homelessness should never be necessary in our region.

"We have seen the impact from increasing shelter options and expanded housing resources to support our most vulnerable community members."

In Clackamas County, they are working "to make homelessness and housing instability rare, short and non-recurring."