BEND, OR -- Results of Central Oregon’s annual Point In Time count were publicly released Monday, showing a 28% increase in homelessness over last year. Researchers looked at where people slept the night of January 24th and found 1,647 people experienced literal homelessness in our region; 72% were unsheltered and almost 80% have lived in Central Oregon for three years or more. They also say 196 children were included in this year’s PIT count; that's down 12% from 2022.
Individuals and families counted include people living in:
- Shelters or hotels/motels paid for by a voucher
- Transitional housing
- Camping, sleeping outdoors or in cars or in RV’s without full hookup
- Other places not meant for human habitation like a shed or storage unit
For more detailed information on the 2023 PIT count, click HERE.
"Central Oregon continues to see rising numbers of our community members experiencing homelessness, most of whom have called Central Oregon their home for many years," Chair of the Homeless Leadership Coalition Eliza Wilson said in a statement. "Following the financial hardship of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many of our neighbors are facing eviction. Upon the expiration of the ‘Eviction Moratorium’, we are seeing record numbers of Central Oregonians losing their housing; we believe this is why we are seeing an increase in people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time. Central Oregon’s high rent and low vacancies only further the difficulty of housing people who are already experiencing homelessness. Aside from a shortage in affordable and low-income housing, our community does not have the adequate number of available shelter beds to meet the need of people trying to access shelter services; this is a key factor in why our community continues to see a high number of people living unsheltered in our annual Point in Time Count. In the 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, Central Oregon is referenced for: the Highest Percentages of People Experiencing Family Homelessness who are Unsheltered and the Highest Percentages of Unaccompanied Youth Experiencing Homelessness Who are Unsheltered. Our community is facing this crisis together; Central Oregonians experiencing homelessness are oftentimes elderly, people who are medically vulnerable, veterans, families with children, and unaccompanied youth. Service providers in our region are working together with shared passion and goals to reduce occurrences of homelessness and to create a community where everyone has equal access to safe and stable housing."
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