HLC News Archive
Release of the 2010 One-Day Homeless Count Data
Thursday, March 18 from Noon to 1:00
The Barnes/Sawyer Conference Rooms at the Deschutes County Service Building
Located at 1300 NW Wall Street
The Central Oregon Homeless Leadership Coalition invites the media and community to a press
conference to release the results of the 2010 One-Day Homeless Count. The results were
compiled from data gathered on January 28, 2010. The conference will be held on Thursday,
March 18 at the Barnes/Sawyer conference rooms at the Deschutes County Service Building
located at 1300 NW Wall Street. The event will start at noon and last approximately one hour.
In addition to releasing the data collected from the count, there will be short presentations about
the impact these numbers have on Central Oregon’s senior citizens, students, and other sensitive
groups. Of particular interest this year will be the changing face of homeless in light of the
ongoing economic downturn.
We are happy to be joined by Deschutes County Commissioner Tammy Baney and Madras City
Councilman Dr. Walt Chamberlain. They will discuss the impact these numbers have on their
local communities and the tri-county strategic planning efforts to address homelessness.
Press packets will be distributed at the conference. They will provide more details about the
initial causes of homelessness, age ranges affected, single individual/family/or child, where
participants resided that night, individual county totals, and tri-county totals. After the formal
presentation, there will be time for the media to meet with and interview direct service providers
from the Homeless Leadership Collation who will be attending the event.
For additional questions about the event, please contact Don Senecal at
dons@bendbroadband.com or (541) 389-9739. Press packets will be made available for
people unable to attend this event on Friday, March 19 at noon. If you are unable to attend
this event, please contact Don Senecal to request a packet be emailed to you.
AFFORDABLE RENT PRIMARY CAUSE OF HOMELESSNESS IN CENTRAL OREGON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2007
CONTACTS: Racheal Egan Baker at (541) 385-6950 and Heather Voris at (541) 322-8768
BEND, OR – Today the Homeless Leadership Council announced the results of its annual point- in-time homeless count, which was conducted on January 25, 2007. The surveys showed that in Central Oregon there was an eight percent increase in self-identified homeless households who reported being unable to afford rent. In addition, 79 percent of homeless households reported that they were employed. Results of the surveys can be found at the Homeless Leadership Council website.
The ‘point in time’ homeless count provides a snapshot of Central Oregon’s homeless population. This year there were 2010 self identifying homeless individuals and the majority were families with children. While it is not a comprehensive count, it provides valuable information to those serving the homeless, helps to educate the public about the growing issue of homelessness in our region and helps direct public policy planning and development.
Homeless households overwhelmingly identified affordable rent as the leading cause of homelessness. Of the households surveyed, 56 percent reported they were homeless because they couldn’t afford rent and 79 percent reported they had employment. This represented an 8 percent increase from households surveyed in 2006.
“The increase in homelessness for both families and children in Deschutes County emphasizes the real need for emergency shelter, transitional housing, affordable housing and permanent supportive housing,” said Liz Hitt, Co-Chair of the Homeless Leadership Council. “On the day of our count, there was only shelter for 15 percent of the homeless people of our community. We must do more to provide support for these families.”
The Homeless Leadership Council highlighted that the majority of homeless in our area are families – they accounted for 78 percent of the homeless in the tri-county region. In Deschutes County, 80 percent of the homeless were families. Overall there were 712 children counted, which made 37 percent of the homeless population in the tri-counties.
During the count, volunteers met a man that came to Central Oregon in late December after hitchhiking across country. He’d grown-up in Oregon and returned after encountering numerous struggles. A veteran who lost his wife and children in a tragic accident, the man was injured on the job and as a result could not keep up with his debts. In an attempt to find employment he traveled to the Midwest, where he was assaulted. He decided it was time to return to Oregon and ended up at a local shelter. In February, after a two month stay, he moved to Southern, Oregon, after finding a job that also provided him with housing.
Volunteers also counted a 61-year-old disabled woman. She lost her mobile home in Bend and found herself homeless after she could no longer stay with family. In late January, she received a housing voucher, and is on the move to her new apartment.
“These individual’s stories help show us what transitional shelter and services can do,” said Corky Senecal, Housing and Emergency Services Director at NeighborImpact. “Only through supportive programming and affordable housing solutions are we going to solve the problem of homelessness in the tri-county area.”
 | 
