James Ladd of Portland, Oregon, has years of experience in the fields of risk management and customer service. Away from his professional responsibilities, James Ladd supports efforts to assist people experiencing homelessness in Portland.
A recent biennial federal survey on homelessness in Oregon’s Multnomah County, which includes the city of Portland, has brought mixed results. The results of the survey, which were released in June of 2017 and reported by The Oregonian, revealed a 10-percent increase in the number of people without permanent homes in Multnomah County over the past two years.
According to housing officials, the jump has occurred due to rents in Portland rising at 20 times the rate of the area’s median income over the same period. Compounding this problem has been a lack of adequate cost-of-living increases in Social Security and federal disability payments.
The news was not all bad, however, as the survey showed the number of people sleeping outdoors in the county dropped by 12 percent. This marks the lowest level since 2009 and represents the only time since 2005 that more people are spending their nights in shelters or transitional housing than on the streets.
Local officials point to 2016 investments in fighting homelessness and a combined city and county effort at the Joint Office of Homeless Services as the reasons for the positive results. Officials also note that the survey gives them optimism that their ongoing strategy to reach and assist individuals experiencing homelessness is the right one.
