Item A: Workshop on Homelessness

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ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Workshop: City Council Priority Issue – Develop a Strategy to Help the Homeless in Eugene Meeting Date: May 17, 2006 Agenda Item Number: A Department: Library Recreation and Cultural Services Staff Contact: Angel Jones www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-6065 ISSUE STATEMENT The City Council is asked to review and provide guidance to staff on refining its Priority Initiative to “Develop a Strategy to Help the Homeless in Eugene.” BACKGROUND Understanding Homelessness: A Brief Synopsis Homelessness is a problem that, left unsolved, destroys families, deeply hurts individuals with long-term consequences, and has a significant, detrimental financial impact on the City and the community. Poverty is generally the most common and obvious reason for homelessness. According to the 2000 Census, housing costs are no longer affordable to 20,000 very low-income local households, and only about 4,000 subsidized housing units exist. Over 50% of renters in Eugene are paying more than 30% of their income for housing. A health care situation or emergency often pushes households over the edge financially, causing them to become homeless. A City of Eugene staff team, aided by professionals from the Lane County Human Services Commission, local service providers, members of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, and community stakeholders, including the homeless themselves, has identified numerous options to either assist the homeless population or address the local impacts of homelessness. Given the limited resources available, each option is only an incremental step toward ending homelessness in our community. It is a complex and expensive problem without a one-size-fits-all solution. Still, many in the community are working collaboratively and independently toward abolishing homelessness. Estimate of local homeless populations On any given night in Eugene, between 1,500 and 1,800 homeless people, one-third of whom are children, can be easily counted. This is unquestionably an underestimation of the entire homeless population and those at risk of homelessness. For instance, the number of doubled and tripled households is rising. One indicator of this phenomenon is that Food for Lane County reports serving a similar number of individuals with food boxes, while the number of households receiving these boxes is dropping. It also finds record numbers of people eating at the soup kitchen. The Lane County Human Services Commission collects and analyzes data on homelessness from 16 different service providers. It reported 1,506 homeless youth and children in 2005: 66% under the age of 12; 20% Hispanic; and 74% white. L:\CMO\2006 Council Agendas\M060517\S060517A.doc