Portland's Homeless Population Declines

"City Commissioner Erik Sten, who spearheaded the plan in December 2004, said last month's unduplicated count of people sleeping outside in Multnomah County and the cities of Portland and Gresham came to 1,438. In 2005, the number was 2,355. That's a drop of 917 people, or 39 percent."

"Both counts were taken during the last week of January. Fifty-seven outreach agencies took part in the count two years ago, tallying everyone who slept on the street, in a vehicle or an abandoned building."

"About 200 agencies took the most recent count, so if anything, city officials expected to see a much higher number of people identified as homeless this time around."

"Sten said he's pleasantly surprised by the results, and credits the work of outreach agencies and the city's new 'housing first' strategy – which shifts the focus from shelters to permanent housing, where people can stabilize their lives before they are connected with jobs and other services."