The new face of homelessness

In a recently published article, Carol West discusses the growing percentage of homeless youth (ages 18-24). Alongside Seattle and other cities, Portland makes a troubling appearance. Check out these statistics:

In Portland, Ore., another magnet for the young and homeless, the young adult segment increased by 25 percent last year, more than double the overall increase (12 percent) in homelessness for all age groups, said Natasha Detweiler, research analyst for Oregon Housing and Community Services. Oregon counted 1,595 young people in this year's one-night snapshot of homelessness. "And that's certainly an underestimate," she said.

While p:ear serves as a day center, offering up a warm and safe location for kids to get a cup of coffee, use a phone and get a hot meal, we still have noticed that this population is growing. Over the past months, the number of kids we serve on a daily basis has nearly doubled. "You feed us really well here," one said while filling up a bowl with pozole (Mexican bean soup) and then grabbing a couple pieces of fresh-baked bread from Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Read the full article here.