Posted on 07/12/2025 4:55:16 PM PDT by NoLibZone
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A new report puts a price tag on just how much money is being spent on the homeless in the Portland metro area, and it isn’t small.
A report by ECOnorthwest found more than $724 million was spent in 2024, with that money going to safety, supportive housing and housing placement — along with administrative costs.
The funding comes from local, regional, state, and federal resources to serve the tri-county area of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties.
According to the report, 43% came from a regional homeless services tax and 14% came from federal dollars. Additionally, the City of Portland contributed the most for the 9% in city contributions, the state offered 5%, and private philanthropy accounted for another 6%
Multnomah County contributed 10% while Washington and Clackamas counties did not.
Most of the funding went toward services for people in Multnomah County, totaling $501 million. This was followed by $135.7 million for Washington County and $87.5 million for Clackamas County.
The report says, “To maximize impact, the region must connect spending to results. That means tracking key outcomes — such as housing placements, retention rates, and reductions in unsheltered homelessness — and using that information to inform funding decisions.”
John Tapogna with ECOnorthwest echoed the sentiment that more needs to be done to maximize the efficiency of every dollar spent on this issue.
“We really haven’t gotten to the point where we can start to look at all these different approaches that we’re taking, look at the spending that’s associated with this and really figure out what’s the most productive use of those resources,” Tapogna said. “That’s increasingly important right now because the growth of these dollars has plateaued.”
In addition, uncertain funding outlooks at the local and federal levels are exacerbating the issue.
“The outlook for federal dollars is not great. Frankly, general fund dollars coming out of the City of Portland and Multnomah County, those are going to have constraints going forward because property tax revenues are not growing in the way that they have in the past,” Tapogna said.
The goal of the report was to promote transparency, and ECOnorthwest recommends the region take a look at its homelessness spending every year or every other year.
Multnomah County Board Chair Jessica Vega Pederson released the following statement in reaction to the ECOnorthwest report:
“This report represents the magnitude of need in our region to help people who are experiencing homelessness find a permanent home of their own.
The high cost of living is pushing more and more people into homelessness at the same time that federal and state funding streams are dwindling. This is a challenge that will require continued collaboration at the regional level – building off partnerships like the Homeless Response System that is currently providing a home and shelter for more people who had been living on our streets than ever before. We remain steadfast in meeting the public expectation that our regional governments will work together to reverse the growing tide of people who fall into homelessness every day.”
Correction, if there were 20,000 homeless, that’s $36,200 each, for one year. 20,000 homeless would be 200 encampments of 100 people.
At what point do people rebel and say we are not supporting this nonsense anymore? Answer: when everyone leaves Portland. Haha, that will never happen.
Photo....
New Yorker: Amazing how they keep that city so neat.
Variation on Jeff Foxworthy’s redneck: “Amazed at how the gas stations get their rest rooms so clean.”
Photo....
Gray haired man-bunned hippie: “I got dibs on that couch on the left for my front porch of my shared house. We can recreate the sleeve of the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album”.
I wonder what percentage was for “administration costs”..
Or would they even want to?!
32,000 per homeless?
Try 3,200 per homeless.
The other 90% went to the beaurocracy if not more..
They need to be eradicated. Filth and disease wherever they camp. Why so much trash and garbage? Clearly had an improper upbringing. They get moved from one place to another, and taxpayers are on the hook to clean up the mess.
Homelessness is a major industry in Portland. Bureaucratic industry, that is.
Stated.....”Portland metro area spent $724 million on homeless services in 2024”
Truth - Portland handed out $724 million of freebees to people who refuse to work.
The Portland Homeless Industrial Complex is basking in their $724 million.
The actual people living on the street?
Not so much.
The highest estimate of the homeless population I found for the housed and unhoused homeless in the Portland Metro area is ~20K and the number is for 2025. It also includes 2 counties not covered by the $724 million in spending. The spending was for 2024 when the homeless population was thought to be a little lower. Now the only number that really matters is how much is it costing to house a homless person and that of course is the only number they are not giving us. But of course we can figure that out now.
$724,000,000/20,000 = $36,200
So call it $3,000/month which is 3x my mortgage for a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath house. But OK I live in the boonies in a low income state, not the glorious Rose City. But wait they estimate 6000 of the 20,000 are unhoused so the real cost of housing one of these drugged out drunken zombies is more on the order of $4,000+ a month anf the number of homeless and the cost of housing them increases every year despite the huge price tag. Something stinks in all this. Where is the money actually going? Nobody will tell us, but I am willing to guess a lot of it ends up in pockets that fund Democrat donors and Antifa paymasters because it doesn’t $4000 a month to provide basic shelter to one person.
“...14% came from federal dollars.”
No. There is no such thing as ‘federal dollars’ as the cash is usurped by the feds from us citizens for redistribution. Or the feds just print it causing inflation.
I don’t live in Portland but I’m gonna have a Madz. 😄
“Portland metro area spent $724 million on homeless services in 2024”
and what did it get them? ... more homeless ... a lot like feeding pigeons ...
Or stray cats. And then you wonder why more of them keep showing up.
Portland has a 2025 population of 615,267. This is costing them $1,200 each person!
724 million, running second to former NYC mayor deblasios wife’s 850 million for her mental health initiative that she doesnot know where it all went, but we do. And no one even asked the question
If they are only spending Oregon money...who cares???
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