An outreach worker speaks with a homeless man during the last point-in-time homeless count in January 2015.
An outreach worker speaks with a homeless man during the last "point-in-time" homeless count in January 2015. Dirk VanderHart

In a housing and homeless emergency, Portland's once-every-two-years homeless counts have become immensely important.

Again and again in conversations about the issue, you'll hear references to almost 2,000 people unsheltered on the streets, or almost 4,000 people in Multnomah County meeting the federal definition of homelessness.

But that data's likely woefully out-of-date. A lot has changed in this city since January 2015, when housing workers, outreach groups, and volunteers last conducted the study. Most people expect the numbers have grown more dire in the time since.

Which is why officials have decided to double the number of such studies in Multnomah County.

As first reported by the Portland Tribune, the counts will occur every year going forward, offering a more current (yet still incomplete) picture of the issue.

The decision, notably, comes after the city and county agreed last summer to pool their resources into a Joint Office of Homeless Services, under the supervision of County Chair Deborah Kafoury. The office's director, longtime advocate Marc Jolin, recommended a yearly count—a suggestion that was also put forward by A Home For Everyone, the many-pronged task force that meets regularly to strategize how best to deal with the ongoing homelessness crisis.

Kafoury and Mayor Ted Wheeler signed off on the suggestion (Wheeler had partially run for office on on a platform that Portland "should expand the number and type of counts conducted" regarding homelessness).

People who've spent years grappling with the problem say a yearly homeless count will help fine-tune efforts to address the issue.

"Its primary purpose for us is to have a more comprehensive assessment of need, so we’re able to see trends in terms of what’s happening," says Ryan Deibert, a program specialist in the homelessness services office.

Portland's conducted every-other-year counts for more than a decade—since even before the US Department of Housing and Urban Development made such studies a necessity for cities seeking federal grants in 2005. In that time, the idea of doing yearly studies has emerged, but never taken root, Deibert says.

The studies are fairly massive undertakings, involving teams spreading out throughout the county in order to attempt to tally the number of people who were homeless on a given night (they survey people for around a week, but are only interested in whether you were homeless on the appointed date). Deibert says the studies cost around $60,000, and that the money comes largely from federal grants.

This year's study—which the county announced Sunday would have to be pushed back because of recent winter storms—is especially interesting for a couple of reasons. In 2015, when Portland City Council enacted a housing emergency, officials suggested they had strategies that could cut "unmet need" for housing and shelter by half by this year.

But given the continuing increase in housing prices, combined with other factors, most people don't think Portland's gained any ground. (Former Mayor Charlie Hales is pretty much the only person who's suggested the number of homeless Portlanders has decreased in the last two years.) The outcome will help dictate how Portland works toward solutions moving forward.