Oregon’s Homeless Crisis: Why Current Strategies are Failing - Part 3
We’re now halfway through our four-part series, "Oregon’s Homeless Crisis: Why Current Strategies Are Failing." This series takes a deep dive into why current approaches are falling short and highlights potential solutions to address this pressing issue. Here’s a quick recap of the series:
Part 1: Oregon’s 2023 Homeless Report Card: Assessing Five Key Metrics
Part 2: The Misguided Link Between Housing and Homelessness
Part 3: The Overabundance of Compassionate Care Organizations
Part 4: The Lack of Accountability in Funding and Spending
In Part 1, we explored two critical questions:
“After all this spending, how does Oregon compare to other states?”
“Are we making measurable progress in reducing homelessness?”
Sadly, the answers revealed significant shortcomings. (Read the full post here.)
In Part 2, we examined the Housing First philosophy, its widespread influence, and the reasons for its failure to effectively address the homeless crisis. (Read the full post here.)
Today, in Part 3, we shift our focus to the overwhelming number of Compassionate Care Organizations. While well-intentioned, these organizations often unintentionally perpetuate the crisis. But there’s hope. Holistic Recovery Organizations are taking a different approach—one that addresses the root causes of homelessness and helps individuals achieve stability and housing, one person at a time.
Reason #2 – Over Abundance of Compassionate Care Organizations
Portland has a well-earned reputation for compassion. Its residents have repeatedly demonstrated generosity, approving five affordable housing bond measures in recent years and supporting over 325 nonprofits dedicated to addressing homelessness. While these efforts are admirable and reflective of our community's heart, they reveal a critical imbalance in our approach to homelessness—an imbalance that demands urgent attention.
Nonprofits addressing homelessness fall into two broad categories:
1. Compassionate Care Organizations
Compassionate Care Organizations focus on immediate relief, providing food, clothing, medical treatment, and temporary shelter to those in need. These services are indispensable for alleviating short-term suffering and are often the first line of support for those in crisis. However, they are not designed to address the underlying causes of homelessness. Without tackling these root issues, we risk perpetuating the cycle of poverty and despair.
2. Holistic Recovery Organizations
In contrast, Holistic Recovery Organizations aim to address the root causes of homelessness. These organizations equip individuals with the tools and skills needed to achieve stability, secure permanent housing, and reintegrate into society. These organizations don’t just offer a temporary fix—they empower individuals to reclaim their independence and dignity, whereas Compassionate Care merely mitigates its symptoms and keeps the homeless in their current situation resulting in hopelessness.
Holistic Recovery Business Model
Each Holistic Recovery Organization has its own unique approach to helping the homeless. That said, they almost all follow a three-step business model:
1. Provide Transitional Housing
The first step in the process is to get the homeless person off the street and into transitional housing where they are in a safe and structured environment. Rules of behavior are made known and routines for daily living are established.
2. Address Underlying Causes of Homelessness
Individual case management services are provided where the underlying causes of a person's homelessness are identified, and a plan is developed to mitigate their issues.
3. Once Stabilized, Assist in Securing Permanent Housing
It takes a minimum of six months and possibly up to two years to successfully stabilize the individual. Once stable, the case manager helps in securing permanent housing.
This model works. Unfortunately, 90 percent of the 325 organizations13 aiding the homeless in Portland are Compassionate Care Organizations, while only 10% focus on Holistic Recovery. This imbalance reflects a well-meaning but ultimately counterproductive approach. By prioritizing immediate relief over sustainable solutions, we risk perpetuating homelessness rather than alleviating it. This phenomenon is known as enabling—helping someone in a way that, rather than solving their problem, prolongs it.
The Problem of Enabling
Consider the example of Multnomah County distributing 22,000 tents and over 69,000 tarps over two years at a cost of $2 million.14 While these items provide temporary shelter, they do nothing to resolve the crisis. Instead, they allow individuals to remain on the streets, perpetuating their hardships.
Another example is a 2023 bill proposed in the Oregon State Legislature to provide $1,000 monthly stipends to homeless individuals.15 While well-intentioned, such a measure could have unintended consequences, such as exacerbating substance abuse issues and increasing overdose deaths. Thankfully, the bill did not pass, but it illustrates the risk of initiatives that prioritize immediate relief over long-term recovery.
A Compassionate Path Forward
True compassion means empowering individuals to build a better future. It means investing in solutions that address root causes—mental health, addiction, and unemployment—and provide a pathway to stability and independence. It requires reallocating resources to Holistic Recovery Organizations, which are uniquely positioned to achieve lasting results.
By asking difficult but necessary questions—when does compassion become enabling? How can we ensure our efforts truly empower?—we can transform our approach to homelessness.
Summary: Support Holistic Recovery Organizations
True compassion is more than a gesture; it is a commitment to meaningful change. The delicate balance between compassion and enabling requires courage, discernment, and action. Justice Potter Stewart’s words about identifying obscenity resonate here: “I know it when I see it.” Similarly, enabling becomes evident when it traps individuals into cycles of dependence rather than empowering them toward freedom.
Portland’s unparalleled generosity is a beacon of hope—but that hope must be strategically directed. By shifting our focus from merely alleviating symptoms to addressing root causes, we can transform lives and build a community where stability is achievable for all. Holistic Recovery Organizations embody this transformative vision. They go beyond temporary relief, offering pathways to independence, dignity, and a renewed sense of purpose. Through these efforts, we can create a city that doesn’t just care but also empowers.
Footnotes:
13 Rose City Resource, a Street Roots publication, 2020
14 “Multnomah County purchased more than 22,000 tents for homeless in recent years,” Jim Redden, Portland Tribune, December 8, 2022, https://www.opb.org/article/2022/12/08/multnomah-county-purchased-more-than-22000-tents-for-homeless-in-recent-years/
