Portland’s homelessness crisis has reached staggering new levels, and the numbers show it’s getting worse, not better. According to recent data, homelessness across Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties has jumped by an alarming 61% in just two years — even as the city, county, and state pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the issue.

The latest count found more than 12,000 people without stable housing in the metro area. Nearly half are living entirely unsheltered — in tents, cars, or on sidewalks. Over 2,500 report living with severe mental illness, and another 2,500 battle chronic substance abuse, exposing the limits of Portland’s current strategy.

After years of record budgets, taxpayers are asking the same question: Where is all this money actually going?

Where Does the Money Go?

The state has thrown enormous sums at the problem. Governor Tina Kotek’s budget dedicates over $700 million toward homelessness and housing programs across Oregon. Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services operates on a massive $350 million annual budget, much of it spent on short-term shelter beds and administrative overhead. Despite this, the number of people sleeping outside continues to rise.

The truth is uncomfortable, but it’s one leaders rarely admit: not everyone on the street wants housing. Outreach workers confirm that many individuals living outdoors actively choose to remain there — rejecting shelters and long-term housing because of addiction, mental illness, strict shelter rules, or simply the independence that street life provides.

This reality doesn’t fit the narrative pushed by politicians promising that “housing ends homelessness.” For many chronically homeless individuals, housing alone is not the answer — especially without consistent treatment for addiction and serious mental health disorders. A bed and a roof may check a box on a spreadsheet, but it doesn’t address why so many return to the streets once the rent subsidies run out or support services disappear.

Meanwhile, city leaders continue to focus on emergency spending — temporary shelters, managed camps, and endless new programs — rather than confronting the root causes: untreated addiction, inadequate mental health infrastructure, and a lack of accountability in how funds are used. Even city council members have acknowledged Portland ranks near the bottom nationwide for mental health access.

The approach isn’t compassion; it’s complacency dressed up as progress. The homeless crisis in Portland isn’t just a humanitarian issue — it’s a management issue. Until leaders prioritize treatment, accountability, and the enforcement of public safety alongside genuine rehabilitation, the problem will keep expanding no matter how many billions are spent.

Across downtown Portland, the consequences are now visible in plain sight. Open drug use, particularly fentanyl and methamphetamine, has become a daily occurrence on sidewalks and near transit stops. Paramedics and outreach workers regularly respond to overdoses in public areas, sometimes reviving the same individuals multiple times in a week. County data shows that drug-related deaths among the unhoused have more than doubled in the past few years, creating a public health emergency that goes far beyond shelter access.

At the same time, small business owners describe the toll on the local economy — break-ins, vandalism, and declining foot traffic as once-bustling commercial areas struggle to recover. Many longtime Portland businesses have relocated or closed altogether, citing safety concerns and an unmanageable street environment. What began as a housing crisis has now grown into a broader civic crisis — one that affects everyone who lives, works, or visits the city.