Report: Number of homeless up slightly in Portland area

According to the 2016 Annual Homeless Assistance Report released Thursday, there are 3,914 homeless people in the area defined as Portland-Gresham-Multnomah County. That's an increase of 113 since the 2015 report.

The number of homeless people in the Portland area increased from 2015 to 2016 after falling steadily over the previous five years, according to the newest annual homeless count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

According to the 2016 Annual Homeless Assistance Report released Thursday, there were 3,914 homeless people in the area defined as Portland-Gresham-Multnomah County earlier this year. Thats an increase of 113 since the 2015 report.

The number of homeless people in shelters increased to 2,027 from 1,914 in 2015, the report says. The number of homeless veterans increase to 420 from 417 in 2015, the report said, while the number of homeless youth increased to 284 to 265.

Overall, the number of counted homeless people in Oregon increased .1 percent since 2015, the report says.

The 2016 total is far less than it was in 2010, however. That year the report said there were 4,235 homeless people in the area  32.1 percent more than now.

Nationally, the report found, homelessness has continued to decline in the U.S, specifically among families with children, veterans, and individuals with long-term disabling conditions. In making the announcement, HUD Secretary Julián Castro noted that though the nation is making significant progress in reducing homelessness, the number of doubled up or rent-burdened families remains a vexing problem.

Every person deserves a safe, stable place to call home, Castro said when the report was released. The Obama Administration has made unprecedented progress toward ending homelessness and today marks the seventh straight year of measureable progress. While we know that our work is far from finished, its clear were on the right track to prevent and end homelessness for good.

According to HUD, in 2010 the Obama Administration established as strategic plan to end homelessness known as Opening Doors that offers a roadmap for coordinates of the joint action by 19 federal member agencies of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Critical to the success of the plan are the efforts of local Continuums of Care that receive the bulk of the approximately $1.9 billion in annual funding to end and prevent homelessness awarded by HUD and that are comprised of local governments, social service providers and homeless organizations responsible for establishing the priorities of how the HUD funds they receive are most effectively used in their communities, HUD says.

In early November, Mayor Charlie Hales told the Portland Tribune he believed the number of homeless people in Portland had dropped from last year, in part because of a concerted effort by the city and Multnomah County to house all homeless veterans. The mayors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to HUD, in January of at least every odd-numbered year and, frequently, in even-numbered years Continuum volunteers conduct a one-night point-in-time count to identify individuals and families living on their streets as well as in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs. These snapshots serve as the basis of the report to the Congress.