Homelessness is on the rise in Oregon and Linn County. Due to concerns about homelessness, representatives from around the county formed a steering committee and put together a 10-year plan. It was released May 27.

"We are in a county where the unemployment rate is 16 percent," County Commissioner Roger Nyquist said. "People are just hanging on - with the increase in use of food banks and other resources - folks are doing their best."

Felt statewide

Oregon has a higher percentage of homelessness than any other state, according to a press release from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

This is the third straight year Oregon has seen an increase in homeless.

Elisa Aguilera, co-director of the Community Alliance of Tenants, said in the HUD release that families are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population, making up one-third of the total.

Linn County's plan

The plan was accepted by the city of Lebanon at the Dec. 10, 2008, City Council meeting.

Lebanon was the last city to approve the plan, which does not commit cities to any financial obligation. Nor does it require the city to commit staff resources or to create housing for the homeless.

Joann Zimmer of Community Services Consortium said that was explicit.

"The city only supports the efforts of the 10-year planning committee," Zimmer said.

The No. 1 goal of the plan was to inventory the programs and services currently available, identify the gaps and draw a plan to move forward, she said.

Nyquist said the point of the plan is threefold.

First, he said, many grants, both private and federal, require a plan. Prior to the creation of this plan, Linn County had none.

"Folks applying for grant money to do good things in our county were at a disadvantage," Nyquist said.

Second, Nyquist said, the plan defines who does what, what resources are available and sets clear goals about what is still needed.

"And the third thing is, if money falls out of the sky, we'll be ready," he said.

Although he admits that sounds funny, he pointed out the federal stimulus plan.

"The federal government is trying to give money away and they can't because there's no plan," Nyquist said.

Linn County's homelessness plan will be combined later with similar documents from Lincoln and Benton counties, providing regional information and resources, Zimmer said.

Many groups are proposed partners, though none have been officially approached yet to help reach the plan's goals.

The 10-year plan steering committee soon will start contacting partners and getting commitments to work toward the plan's goals, Zimmer said.

Homeless numbers

The homeless population is put in two categories: chronically homeless and temporarily homeless.

The temporary homeless includes those who are close to it and at high risk of becoming homeless.

"While we were working on (the plan), the world has changed," Nyquist said. "If someone's a few hundred bucks short, they get evicted in any given month. Once you're homeless, the cost of getting back into housing is substantially more than that. The solution is to keep folks from being out on the street. These are tough times."

According to the National Homelessness Tally, 17,000 people statewide are living in shelters or on the street.

Out of the 109,320 people in Linn County, 269 individuals, or 157 households, were counted homeless on a single night in January, said Elizabeth Mazzara, public information officer for the Salem office of the Department of Human Services.

The count is taken annually and is known as a point-in-time count, offering a snapshot of homelessness, Mazzara said.

No numbers are available specific to Lebanon, except those counts done by the Lebanon Community School District.

One-hundred fifty students have been identified by the district as homeless, said Ryan Noss, student achievement administrator.

"When it comes to counting homeless, everyone works on a different definition," Zimmer said. "The 10-year planning committee chose to really narrow that down anybody who does not have a permanent address."

That includes people sleeping in cars, sleeping on other people's couches, or stacking up two or three generations in one house, she said.

Are you at risk of being homeless?

If you are, or if you were to become, unemployed or temporarily disabled, do you have enough savings to live on for at least three months?

If you were laid off today, could you find another job with comparable pay in your area?

Do you spend less than one-third of your income on rent or mortgage payments and utilities?

Do you have low credit card balances that would not default if not paid for a few months?

Could your extended family help you out for a few months should something happen to your income?

Are you covered by disability, car and/or medical insurance in case of catastrophic illness or accident?

If you answered NO to two or more of these questions, you are potentially at risk of homelessness, according to the Linn County 10-year plan to address homelessness.

Over the next several weeks the Lebanon Express will feature a series of articles about homelessness in Lebanon and Linn County, covering issues such as housing and shelter, homeless students, food boxes and soup kitchens, employment and employment help.