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Homeless people are just as important as the homed and they deserve our respect and assistance when they need and want it. We do NOT believe that all homeless people are drug addicts or mentally ill.
At the same time, it is a statistical fact that the homeless population has a significantly higher rate of drug use and mental health issues than the general population. Additionally, the issue of homelessness innately brings with it more exposure. A housed person struggling with mental health issues and drug addiction will affect their neighbors much less than a person without a private dwelling experiencing similar issues.
The Addiction Center
"The National Coalition for the Homeless has found that 38% of homeless people are alcohol dependent, and 26% are dependent on other harmful chemicals." - www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/homelessness
American Addiction Centers
"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that over 50 percent of the individuals living in supportive housing programs had either a substance use disorder, a psychiatric disorder, or both." - sunrisehouse.com/addiction-demographics/homeless-population
Windward Way
"Drug abuse is both a cause and a result of homelessness." - https://windwardway.com
The National Coalition for the Homeless
"Most statistics prove that substance abuse is much more common among homeless people than in the general population" And that "Substance abuse often occurs simultaneously with mental illness. People with untreated mental illnesses frequently use street drugs as a form of self-medication. Homeless people with both substance disorders and mental illness experience additional obstacles to recovery, such as increased risk for violence and victimization and frequent cycling between the streets, jails and emergency rooms." - nationalhomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Substance-Abuse-and-Homelessness.pdf
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
"An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders." - https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers
Facts Against A Hard Walled Homeless Campsite At 9005. N. Richmond
PUBLIC HOUSING i.e. a class of housing defined as, Means Test (<=80%MFI) + Government Subsidy (any government any type) + rental agreement.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING is a mathematical construct defined as, Rent/Mortgage + Insurance + Taxes + Utilities <=30% Household Income.
MOST PUBLIC HOUSING is NOT AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Public Housing includes the homeless.
Metro has declared and the voters have confirmed that Public Housing is a regional issue.
10% of all households in Multnomah county are Public Housing. - Read more
4% of all households in Washington county are Public Housing. - Read more
3% of all households in Clackamas county are Public Housing. - Read more
Equitable Distribution of Public Housing Households, Parity, would require Washington county to increase its Public Housing households by 6% and Clackamas county by 7%.
15% of all households in the St. Johns neighborhood are Public Housing. - Read more
5% of all households in the Overlook neighborhood are Public Housing. - Read more
43% of all households in my Portsmouth neighborhood are Public Housing. - Read more
The St. Johns neighborhood has the 17th highest percentage of Public Housing Households of 109 neighborhoods in Multnomah county. - Read more
According to Section 8.2 of the Intergovernmental Agreement that created the Joint Office of Homeless Services, Marc Jolin, Director of the JOHS, appears to have singular authority to determine and execute contracts, location policy and expenditures without approval from any elected official.