Free Clinics for the Uninsured

For the UNINSURED ONLY!
Good News Community Health Center and Compassion Connect with County and other volunteers are offering:

Medical Appointments

Foot Care

Haircuts

Nail Care

Resources

Stress Management Planning

Dental Appointment Lists - (Please be ready to provide a contact number as appointments will be made and called to patient later.)

Dates This Year Will Be:

November 20, December 18, January 15, February 19, March 18

Free winter clinics will be located at Trinity Lutheran Church basement in Gresham on Powell and Eastman Parkway from 2:30-4:30pm 




**The free winter clinics above have ended for this year. Trinity Lutheran Church is still continuing the clothes closet in their basement the 3rd Sunday of every month, from 2:30 to 4:30pm**

Vital Statistics: A Summary of Portland's 2011 Street Count

Some facts from the “2011 Point In Time Count of Homelessness in Portland/ Multnomah County, Oregon”

All statistics reflect the state of homelessness on January 26, 2011. This doesn’t give an accurate overall picture of homelessness in Multnomah County for many reasons, but the three primary reasons are:

-January is one of the lowest counts of homelessness of the year
-It is very difficult to find all the homeless.
-Many homeless ask not to be counted

Even so, this count is important because it gives a general idea of homelessness in the county, it is helpful in comparison to other cities and it helps us see the trends of homelessness.

To read the full report, please go to this link and download the free file

The Statistics:

2,727—People counted who are sleeping on the street or in vehicles or in shelters on the night of January 26.

1,928—People in temporary transitional housing on that night.

35—The percentage of increase of families who became homeless since 2009

751—Homeless children

9—The percentage of increase of homelessness since 2009

12—The percentage of veterans who are homeless

More than half of those living on the street were living on the street two years ago.

The count in East Multnomah County (East of 182nd) increased to 92 from a single individual in 2009. (A personal note: this is because of the participation of the day shelter programs in East County)

11- Percentage of homeless in all of East County (East of 82nd), where services for the homeless are scarce.

46—Percentage of homeless that have been homeless for more than 2 years

69—Percent of homeless that have been homeless for more than 1 year

52—Percentage of the homeless who have lived in Multnomah County for more than 10 years. However, the majority of the general population of Oregon do not originate from Oregon.

101—Increase of beds in shelters from 2009

53—Percentage of the homeless in shelters who are a part of a homeless family

37—Percentage of homeless women

35—Percent of homeless woman affected by domestic abuse

46—Percent of communities of color (non-white) on the street. In the general population, 29 percent are communities of color. African Americans and Native Americans are more represented on the street than other groups.

Hope in East County

East Multnomah County is becoming poorer every year. I’m not trying to depress you, but it is a fact we have to deal with.

The greatest poverty and violence has moved from North Portland to Rockwood, a community in North Gresham. http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/09/07/help-planned-for-aching-rockwood-neighborhood/

Willamette Week recently recognized the issues when they published their lead article about poverty in Portland, focusing on the poverty on 162nd Avenue, the dividing line between Portland and Gresham. http://wweek.com/portland/article-18071-the_other_portland.html

Gresham has been declared the most violent city in Oregon, based on reported violent crimes. This places Gresham at number 72 in the nation for violent crime, just below Los Angeles. http://www.kgw.com/home/Gresham-Tops-State-Crime-List-72188477.html

Part of the reason for this increase in poverty and violence is because of the high apartment prices in all places except for East County. Even the organizations that gain apartments for the homeless in downtown and SE Portland are moving these poorest residents to East County. All the poor who can afford housing move to the cheapest housing, which, currently, is East of 82nd Ave. And yet this is the area of Portland that have the fewest social services for those who are poor. If a family is in need of clothes in East County, they are sent to downtown Portland. If a family is in need of food, they are sent first to Clackamas County.

However, these facts are not the whole of reality in East County. There are more social services than ever before in East County and the community as a whole is stepping up to meet the increasing need. It isn’t just the large organizations that are helping, like Multnomah County or the City of Gresham or Human Solutions. Smaller churches are combining efforts to work to assisting the poor in East County.

But those of us who are helping need the help of the whole community. We cannot end poverty, but we can change the face of poverty, if we all work together. This blog is about providing opportunities for local individuals and groups to help those in need in East Multnomah County. We can help the families, individuals and couples in need. But we have to do it together.