Homelessness is a Housing Problem: Impact NW’s Learning List

In today’s fast-paced world, finding moments to contribute meaningfully can be challenging. At Impact NW, we believe that every minute counts in the fight against homelessness. Whether you have five minutes or an hour, this curated list from our advocacy group offers insightful reads, documentaries about housing solutions and more. It’s an opportunity for everyone to deepen their understanding and engage in meaningful ways.

If you have 5 minutes to spare:

• Read about housing first approaches to addressing the housing crisis in Impact NW’s 2023 Homelessness Prevention Strategy.
• The basics – easy infographic about homelessness here in the Portland Metro area.
• A bi-annual federally-mandated count of unhoused folks is called the Point in Time Count 2023.
• How much do you need to earn to afford a modest apartment in your state? Explore Oregon’s rent affordability – and how it impacts homelessness.
• Want to test your knowledge around homelessness? Take this myth busting quiz from PSU’s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative.
• *Homelessness impacts different communities and populations disproportionately – which means our solutions need to match the problem – learn more here Homelessness and Racial Equity and here 5 Key Facts about Homeless Veterans.

If you’re free for 10-15 minutes:

• Housing is a human right. Read a little about how the U.N. explains how protecting that right is
  protecting the center of our social, emotional and often economic lives.
• *Rewatch On the Ground and consider what voices are typically included and excluded from
  conversations about homelessness.
• Connect the dots linking the Portland housing crisis and the housing market.
• If homelessness is a housing problem, learn more about “Housing First” as a strategic solution.
• How did homelessness in Oregon get started and then grow into a statewide crisis? Read this OPB expose.
• *Deepen your understanding of who is experiencing homelessness listening to Voices of Homelessness, a TEDx talk.
• *Salt Lake City shares a powerful pilot of the Housing First Approach for those experiencing chronic homelessness, in this short video.

If you’re up for sharing your lunch break with 20-30 minutes:

• Check out these slides on the State of Homelessness: 2023 Edition from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
• Read more about the “social determinants of health” in theImpact of SDOH on Homelessness.
• *A Matter of Place film takes us into the experience of housing discrimination.
• *This Portland produced podcast connects so many dots in understanding affordable housing as a solution to homelessness. Understanding Homelessness: Episode 3.
• *Listen to the Radical Imagination podcast episode Housing is a Human Right.

You’ve got an hour or two this evening:

• *The Way Home is a short film documentary series, with twelve short films exploring the systemic nature of homelessness within the context of southern California.
• *Call 211! Often the answer to any question about getting connecting to homeless services. Learn more about the messy complexity of 211 in the podcast series According to Need, recommended episodes 2 & 4.
• Governance, Costs, and Revenue Raising to Address and Prevent Homelessness in the Portland Tri-County Region outlines the full scope and scale of homelessness in the Metro area, and compares costs between reacting to the needs of homelessness versus homelessness prevention.

If you want a truly deep dive:

• Read the book: Homelessness is a Housing Problem. This compelling research-backed book by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern explains how infrastructure and structural factors create and impact patterns of homelessness.

*Audible Resources! Sitting in traffic or at the kiddo’s soccer practice, you can still listen and learn!