C.O. homeless numbers steady, yearly count finds

January’s annual count of Central Oregon’s homeless population found little change in the total number, while the count of “precariously housed” people living temporarily with friends or relatives declined, the Homeless Leadership Coalition announced Friday.

They also said full details are due for release online next week and that they will be holding a series of meetings around the region in coming weeks to detail the situation in each community.

Here’s their news release, in full:

The Homeless Leadership Coalition, working with the Central Oregon Research Coalition, have complied additional information on the region’s Point in Time Homeless count that occurred in January.

They issued a news release Friday announcing more key findings from the count, and details about a series of community meetings beginning next week throughout Central Oregon.

This data also is based on a definition of homelessness that includes people who are in shelters, unsheltered (living in vehicles or outdoors) and who are “precariously housed,” which is defined as not being in stable housing (“couch surfing,” or living temporarily with friends or relatives).

Here are some key facts from the self-reported data collected by survey last January.

The number of precariously housed people declined while the total number of homeless remained nearly unchanged. Most homeless people are from Central Oregon (60% reported their last place of stable housing was in Central Oregon, and another 10% were from other places in Oregon). The number of homeless children and unaccompanied youth has increased, with a total count of 55 under 18 and 99 aged 18-24. 72% of school age children are enrolled and attending school. Many homeless women and men are survivors of domestic violence. The most common cause given for being homeless is economic: meaning inability to afford rent, loss of a job, or other financial reasons. Access to health care has improved slightly, but most still seek medical care through emergency rooms or urgent care centers. The ages of the homeless range from infants to 79, with an average of 32 years old. These statistics will be broken down further by county and for each city in Central Oregon at the community presentations starting next week. Each meeting will present specific localized data, have time for discussion and questions, and attendees will learn about the homeless in their community. All events are free, and open to the public.

Warm Springs: Point in Time information will be available at the HLC table at the 19th Annual Pi-Ume-Sha Health Fair.

When: June 20th. 9a.m. – 1p.m.

Where: Warm Springs Community Center

Prineville:

When: June 20th at 5p.m.

Where: Crook County Library – Broughton Room

Madras: Faith Based Network Meeting

When: June 21st. Noon-1:30p.m.

Where: Saint Charles – large conference room

La Pine:

When: June 21st at 5p.m.

Where: La Pine Community Health Center

Bend: Homeless Leadership Coalition Meeting

When: July 6th at 8a.m.

Where: Downtown Bend Public Library

Redmond: Redmond Service Provider Meeting

When: July 18th. 2:30 – 4p.m.

Where: Grace Gate Church

Sisters: To Be Determined

The complete survey results will be posted on the HLC website at cohomeless.org within a week. We are grateful for the assistance at researchers and interns from CORC who have helped create the presentations.

For more information, please contact the HLC Coordinator, George Myers, at 612-419-6408, Hope Browning, HMIS/PIT lead at 541.323.6507 or HLC Co-Chairpersons, Molly Taroli at 503-730-1280 and Colleen Thomas at 541-317-3153.

About the Central Oregon Homeless Leadership Coalition: The Homeless Leadership Coalition is a collaboration of community partners in Crook, Jefferson, and Deschutes counties engaging the community through education, advocacy, planning, prioritization and accountability for services to persons experiencing homelessness. HLC consists of more than 40 organizations including faith communities, shelter providers, public schools, public health, emergency services, veterans outreach, public safety, mental health, housing services, public services, private employers and community advocates. They represent a diverse group of interests, unified by a common focus: a Central Oregon where everyone has a safe, stable place to call home.

About Central Oregon Research Coalition: CORC is a research matchmaker – linking community leaders, researchers and clinicians to academic and industry partners at every stage of the research process. More information may be found at http://centraloregonresearch.org/