This important tool is still an undercount, according to the Oregonian/OregonLive’s coverage of the Point-in-Time count (the federal census of homeless persons in the Portland area is scheduled for this week, January 22). The effects are particularly felt by families with children.
The reason for this is that the PIT count only includes individuals who are in emergency shelters or who are not sheltered on a single night. Many families that usually experience homelessness in less obvious ways—such as hiding in the woods, living in a vehicle, or sleeping on a relative’s couch—are left out of this.
The U.S. Department of Education reports that during the 2022–2023 school year, over 1.4 million students—including around 22,000 in Oregon—were homeless, which is far more than what the PIT count indicates.
The majority of funding for assistance for the homeless is derived from PIT count data. Our community lacks the resources necessary to assist families with children in relocating and ending cycles of trauma, poverty, and housing instability when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the PIT count, undercounts these families. Long waitlists for shelters and transitional housing, understaffed case management, child care, and mental health services, and a lack of prevention programs that assist families in avoiding homelessness in the first place are all direct consequences of inaccurate statistics.
In order for future counts to include families residing in hotels and other types of hidden homelessness, let’s push for HUD to implement criteria akin to those of the education department. These families are deserving of attention and assistance. Their access to the resources they require to succeed shouldn’t be restricted by the PIT count’s constraints.
Portland’s Brandi Tuck
Tuck is the executive director of the charity organization Path Home, which assists children and families experiencing homelessness.
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