Information is coming out that every night several hundred shelter beds for the Portland homeless aren’t being used. In June, publicly supported shelters in Multnomah County had an occupancy rate of 81%, according to data from the Joint Office of Homeless Services. The county has a total of 1,402 shelter units, which means on any given night, roughly 264 spaces are vacant.
Advocates have pushed to increase the supply of shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness in Portland. Existing shelters aren’t full. Despite a record number of people living in tents and RVs throughout Portland, hundreds of the city’s shelter rooms and beds aren’t being used.
Publicly funded shelter beds can include both traditional congregated sleeping spaces and alternative unit styles such as tiny homes or converted motel rooms. In June, thirteen shelters in Multnomah County had occupancy rates below 75%. Walnut Park had an occupancy of 55%. This means on average 27 of 60 available beds were not used on any given night at the Northeast Portland shelter.
Arbor Lodge Shelter, operating out of a former Rite Aid in North Portland, had an occupancy rate of 64%, meaning 25 of 70 units weren’t used. For many years, homeless shelters required people to line up for a bed each night on a first come, first served basis. That system has been phased out because it was deemed inequitable and unfair.
There are a number of people experiencing homelessness have expressed skepticism about the shelters. A 2019 survey of 180 people experiencing homelessness in Oregon, conducted as part of an Oregon Statewide Shelter Study by Oregon Housing and Community Services, found that the top barriers for using shelters were personal safety and privacy concerns, restrictive check-in and check-out times and overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.
Looking at June, publicly supported shelters in Multnomah County had an occupancy rate of 81%, according to data from the Joint Office of Homeless Services. The county has a total of 1,402 shelter units, which means on any given night, roughly 264 spaces are vacant.
Publicly funded shelter beds can include both traditional congregated sleeping spaces and alternative unit styles such as tiny homes or converted motel rooms. The Kenton Women’s Village offers small sleeping pods — each is roughly the size of a household shed — for 20 women. The village offers a kitchen and shower facilities, water delivery and garbage pick-up, access to legal and financial services, along with mental health and physical healthcare.
In June, Kenton Women’s Village had 4 of 16 units utilized, or 25% occupancy. Housing advocates agree that shelters are only a piece of the puzzle in helping to curb homelessness.
