PORTLAND, Oregon — Portland rents are among the highest in the country. Representatives for Habitat for Humanity said that the lack of affordable housing has been a major reason why many Portland residents have left for the suburbs, or have slipped into homelessness.
Those high prices also make it extremely difficult for people to get back on their feet.
Due in part to those high rent prices, Habitat for Humanity is building 40 homes in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood of Southeast Portland. The hope is that more homes will eventually alleviate some of the burden many feel from high rent prices.
"People have been moving further and further out of where they grew up," said Riley McPhee, a recipient of one of the homes.
McPhee grew up in Portland and later joined the National Guard. He also went to Southern Oregon University and majored in political science. While in college, McPhee said he spent a couple of semesters homeless, and was forced to couch surf at friends' houses.
"There was a time period where there wasn't anything available," McPhee said.
Now, he’s married with twins. But his family hasn’t been able to find an affordable place to live. McPhee hasn’t ever lived in a place that his family owned.
"If renting is not going to be sustainable, is not going to be reliable and trustworthy going into the next decade into our future, then there needs to be other options," McPhee said.
But with only 40 homes available, this construction will only serve a sliver of those in need.
"An affordable home has become so far out of reach,” said Steve Messinetti, president of Habitat for Humanity in the Portland region. “The price of housing has increased at such a rapid rate compared to incomes."
Messinetti said the nonprofit has seen a large spike in vulnerable people since the Great Recession in 2008. He said many are constricted by red tape and zoning restrictions.
Last year, the city of Portland released a report which said that there was not a single two-bedroom home in any Portland neighborhood that was affordable for the average Black household. The report found that many seniors and single mothers are getting priced out of the city too.
That’s often forced people to move from apartment to apartment, uprooting their lives.
"Once they move into a stable home, kids do better at school, parents do better at work,” Messinetti said. “The whole family is healthier."
These homes will help some families gain that stability, but Messinetti and McPhee both realize that many still need help.