RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH

For years, residents of Portland have been driven out of their homes due to rising rent costs. No one should have to live on the streets, especially if it’s just because they’re short on money. When discussing this topic, it’s important to remember who sets, collects and enforces rent: landlords play a central role in the housing crisis, and they must take more responsibility in solving it—or they must be forced to.

According to the Multnomah County 2015 “point-in-time on one particular night in Multnomah County, “3,800 people slept on the streets, in shelter, and in temporary housing, and an estimated 12,000 people were doubled up, many in overcrowded and often unsafe conditions.” This horrifying situation is due in part to the fact that rent prices are climbing rapidly in Portland. In fact, “Portland rental rates rose more than anywhere in the country—39% in 2021 alone—putting renters in an impossible situation,” according portlandrentalhomes.com. “The average monthly rent for a studio apartment in Portland is $1,245, almost double what a minimum wage earner could afford, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”

One step toward fixing the problem in the short term is to have the city of Portland mandate that landlords allow renters to continue to live in their apartment for the next month or so if they can’t pay rent.

This would help give people on the brink of housing insecurity more time to gather the funds to pay.

For the most part, those who cannot pay their rent simply do not have the money to pay for housing as prices continue to skyrocket. “Today about half of the region’s renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent, which squeezes their budgets for food and other basic essentials,” according to Metro

Landlords could also open up their vacant units to houseless people. In fact, this has already been proposed by a coalition of Portland community organizations known as the 3,000 Challenge , “advocating for area landlords to be part of the solution to the homeless crisis and commit to making at least one of their vacant units available to currently homeless individuals and/or families,” as Housing Oregon reported

This is a big step in the right direction. It’s a waste to leave so many apartments empty when landlords could be doing some good. However, without someone pushing landlords to do this, they never will—that is why organizations pushing for projects like this need to band together, meet with city officials, work to make these plans a reality and put some pressure on the landlords.

Of course, not all landlords are supportive of this endeavor. “I’m not sure this one is as promising as it’s being presented,” said Ron

Garcia, Executive Director of the Rental Housing Alliance of Oregon, to KGW. “I’m real concerned that 180 flip from having lived in a van or a tent, going into a home without any other prep is an issue.”

Another concern he had is the potential of disrupting neighbors. “Homelessness is also rooted to behavioral problems, whether it’s drug use or mental health crises,” Garcia said. “So that’s not going to be solved by putting a roof over their head.”

Yet these claims have no proof to back them up—in fact, researchers from the University of California “looked at various contributing issues of homelessness, including mental illness and addiction, and the per capita rate of homelessness around the country,” reported the San Diego Union-Tribune . “By looking at the rate of homeless per 1,000 people, they found communities with the highest housing costs had some of the highest rates of homelessness, something that might be overlooked when looking at just the overall raw number of homeless people.” Homelessness is primarily a problem of housing insecurity, with rising housing prices pushing people on to the street—not mental illness or drug use.

Landlords could be doing much more to solve the housing crisis than they currently are. They’re the ones who take the rent—it’s about time they give a little too.

7 P.M.

$37

LOCAL ARTIST VALERIE ROWTON WILL INSTRUCT YOU ON PAINTING—NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

TODDLER TIME CRAFT FACTORY 9 A.M. $6

MAKE THREE MINIS WITH YOUR TODDLER, EASY AND FUN

MORNING AT THE COAST BOTTLE & BOTTEGA

11 A.M.

$40

MIX AND MINGLE WHILE LEARNING TO PAINT. 21+

PAINTING FOR A CAUSE BOTTLE & BOTTEGA

2:30 P.M.

DONATION-BASED

LEARN TO PAINT, WITH DONATIONS GOING TO PDX PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK

SUNRISE ISLAND

BETHANY PUBLIC HOUSE

7 P.M.

$37

BRING YOUR CREATIVE SIDE AND LEARN HOW TO USE IT

MAKE DO ART STUDIO - WINTER SESSION

COOKSHOP

4 P.M.

$400

BUILD A SKETCHBOOK, PLAY ART GAMES AND WORK ON A WIDE ARRAY OF ART PROJECTS

FEB.

MATT ANDERSEN ALBERTA ROSE THEATRE

8 P.M.

$25

CANADIAN BLUES GUITARIST AND SINGERSONGWRITER

5 GUYS NAMED MOE PONDEROSA LOUNGE & GRILL

9 P.M.

$15–25

A HIGH-ENERGY 12-PIECE HORN-DRIVEN SHOW BAND, ENTERTAINING AUDIENCES FOR WELL OVER 30 YEARS

THE ELOVATERS THE GET DOWN

9 P.M.

$20+

BOSTON-BASED BAND BECOMING ONE OF THE FASTEST RISING GROUPS IN THE AMERICAN REGGAE SCENE

ERIC BELLINGER HAWTHORNE THEATRE & LOUNGE

8 P.M.

$20

SINGER, SONGWRITER AND RECORD PRODUCER FROM LOS ANGELES

UNWOUND REVOLUTION HALL

8 P.M.

$7+

AMERICAN POST-HARDCORE BAND, ACTIVE

SINCE THE ‘90S

STICK MEN

ALBERTA ABBEY

6:30 P.M.

$25+

BAND KNOWN FOR PROGRESSIVE ROCK MUSIC

ME & TAMMY TRIANGLE PRODUCTIONS

7:30 P.M.

$15–35

A ONE-ACT, TWO-PERSON SHOW, STARRING DANIELLE VALENTINE AND JEREMY ANDERSON-SLOAN

CASCADE FESTIVAL OF AFRICAN FILMS HOLLYWOOD THEATRE

7 P.M.

FREE

VIEW AFRICA THROUGH THE EYES OF AFRICANS, RATHER THAN A VISION PACKAGED FOR WESTERN VIEWERS

SAM MORRIL REVOLUTION HALL

7 P.M.

$35

STAND-UP COMEDIAN AND PODCASTER SHARES HIS NEWEST SET WITH PORTLAND

BLACK DYNAMITE 5TH AVENUE CINEMA

3 P.M.

FREE FOR STUDENTS

$6 GENERAL ADMISSION 2009 ACTION SATIRE OF BLAXPLOITATION MOVIES FROM THE 1970S

OPEN MIC COMEDY THE CHEERFUL TORTOISE

9 P.M. FREE WATCH LOCAL COMEDIANS PRACTICE ON CAMPUS AT PSU, OR SIGN UP YOURSELF

BLUEY’S BIG PLAY ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

6 P.M.

$113+

A BRAND-NEW THEATRICAL ADAPTATION OF THE EMMY AWARD-WINNING CHILDREN’S TELEVISION SERIES

FEMININE HEALING CIRCLE

EARTH SPACE PDX

6:30 P.M.

$15

A SACRED SPACE IN WHICH WOMEN CAN CONNECT MORE DEEPLY TO THEMSELVES AND TO EACH OTHER

PORTLAND LIGHT FESTIVAL PORTLAND, OR ONE WEEK LONG

FREE

LOOK AROUND THE CITY FOR LIGHT SCULPTURES IN THIS YEARLY EVENT

WINTERHAWKS VS. TRI-CITY AMERICANS VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM

6 P.M.

$35

JUNIOR ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE GAME

OMSI $2 DAY

OMSI

9:30 A.M.

$2

EXPLORE PORTLAND’S SCIENCE MUSEUM AT A LOW COST

INDOOR PLAY PARK

SELLWOOD COMMUNITY HOUSE

10:15 A.M.

FREE

MEANT FOR TWO TO FIVE YEAR OLDS WITH A PARENT

STONED YOGA

BURNING SPIRITS YOGA

7:45 P.M. FREE CANNABIS-INFUSED YOGA CLASS, ALLOWING ALL LEVELS