Research

Portland State University’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative worked with the Joint Office of Homeless Services, Shannon Singleton, and Street Roots to survey people who are living unsheltered to better understand what’s working and what’s not with a focus of people of color. Photo Credit: Street Roots.

HRAC faculty member Dr. Lisa Bates partnered with Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) in a survey on housing insecurity among Oregon renters during COVID-19. The results show that 56% of renters of color surveyed owe back rent that they are unable to pay and 35% of all renters owe back rent that they cannot pay.

HRAC conducted a survey of PSU students and employees to determine the scope of housing insecurity, food insecurity, and homelessness. This survey was one of the first of its kind in the nation to include university employees not just students. The highest rates of need were among students and employees of color. 

This 2019 report estimated about 38,000 people experienced homelessness in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties in 2017. It also showed that 107,039 households were housing insecure or at risk of homelessness. People of Color are disproportionately impacted by homelessness and risk of homelessness.

This report summarizes findings from a set of interviews designed to inform the design of Portland's proposed Street Response pilot in collaboration with Street Roots, Sisters of the Road, Right 2 Survive, Street Books, the Mapping Action Collective, Yellow Brick Road, and Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s staff.

Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative helps students hone their skills to become the next generation of thinkers to solve homelessness. Our students explore topics ranging from the history of housing policies to a case study in financing multi-family housing in urban areas with units prioritized for indigenous families.

FUSE studies examine the top 1% of those frequenting ER and jails, many of whom experience homelessness. This study, done in collaboration with Regional Research Institute for Housing, shows the costs and potential savings in Clackamas County to invest in more effective approaches such as intensive case management and housing.

The “village” model for people experiencing homelessness has emerged as an alternative approach to sheltering houseless community members. The next step? Better understand how they work and for whom in a study that includes a strong racial equity lens. 

Medically complex patients experiencing homelessness may be good candidates for interdisciplinary provider teams with low patient-staff ratios and additional resources such as case managers. This study will track health-care outcomes for those receiving these supports.

This project will build a new knowledge base for generating and advocating for community-driven solutions for renter stability. The project will accelerate and expand existing partnerships with the Community Alliance of Tenants to create a research justice framework as part of long-standing community organizing and education with...

Researchers will work with Street Roots advocacy newspaper for those experiencing homelessness to examine the impact language has to shape opinions. The ways in which we talk about issues greatly impacts the ways communities define problems, and the actions they think will make the best solutions.

Public transportation provides instrumental community connection, access to job and educational opportunities, and benefits individual’s health and well-being. However, there is a dearth of research assessing the connection between transportation and homelessness. This project will examine the broad impact of a city-wide reduced...

This collaborative storytelling project seeks to change the narrative around homelessness through ethnographic cartooning focused on the experiences of Portland State students. This project will result in a series of ten short comics created through collaborations between PSU students with lived experience of homelessness...

It is well known that influential homeowners block affordable housing projects that are proposed for their neighborhoods. The delays in building affordable housing that come from homeowner opposition is one important driver of homelessness. This project creates an extension of an existing multi-agent model of citizen opposition to...