Statistics on the Homeless in Oregon and Portland

These statistics were gathered by the 2009 Homeless Count, and then was released by the county.  I don't necessarily appreciate the homeless count, because they take the one population that doesn't get enough sleep, wakes them up very early in the morning and then asks to count them.  I don't care for their methods, but the info is useful.  One last thing, this is a "head count"-- in other words, they only counted those whom they could see.  Others who are camping in more secluded areas wouldn't be counted, so these numbers are low.

On one day in February, 2009 there was:

In Oregon-- 11,670 homeless
                2,837 are in shelters
                4,066 are chronic homeless (for more than a year)
                2.936 homeless children under 12
                1,377 homeless teens
                378 youth without an adult
                7,346 members of a homeless family with children

In Multnomah County-- 4,808 homeless
                                   864 are in shelters
                                   860 are chronic homeless (for more than a year)
                                   702 homeless children under 12
                                   215 homeless teens
                                   24 youth without an adult
                                   1559 members of a homeless family with children

Washington Co has more than a third as many homeless as Multnomah Co.
Clackamas Co has about 3% as many homeless as Multnomah Co
In Multnomah Co the homeless population is not centered in the downtown Portland area, but they are spread out throughout the county.  However, there are collections of the homeless in downtown, NE, SE, and Gresham.