Housing


Section Summary 

This section discusses the relationship between housing insecurity and mental health. Topics include: 

  • What is houselessness?
  • How does housing impact our mental health?
  • What are humans' hierarchy of needs, and how does housing fit into this?
  • Reducing houselessness in Clackamas County 

What is Houselessness?

Houselessness, housing instability and mental health are complex issues that are closely intertwined. Houselessness/homelessness is often defined as lacking a fixed, stable, functional, safe, place to sleep. Housing instability can refer to a sense of uncertainty about one’s ability to stay in their home due to financial strain, lack of a sense of safety due to violence and/or abuse, overcrowding, and more. 

It’s also important to recognize that houselessness looks different for everyone, and that individuals who have ever navigated these challenges should feel empowered to determine their own definitions based on their lived experience.

For youth, houselessness often presents differently than older adults, and can be more challenging to identify due to stigma, adultism, and systems that may not be accessible or accommodating to young people. For example, different organizations, including federal agencies define homelessness and eligibility for housing services differently. 

How are Houselessness and Mental Health Related?

In 1943, American psychologist Ambraham Maslow developed a theory to analyze and understand human motivation. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that basic needs like air, food, water, shelter, and a sense of safety must be met in order for an individual to attain a sense of love, belonging, self esteem, and self actualization. Maslow’s theory is most often visualized as a pyramid (see below), but has also been illustrated in a circle to recognize that “human needs are more complex and variable than a rigid pyramid suggests” (Sosteric).




Access to, and engagement in, support services like counseling, psychiatry, and peer support can be incredibly important to individuals struggling with mental health challenges. When individuals lack a safe and consistent place to sleep, working towards or prioritizing one's hopes and dreams and psychological needs can feel especially challenging and/or exhausting due to the brain constantly being in survival mode. 

Conversely, when individuals with safe and secure housing experience mental health challenges but don’t have the support they need, other areas of life can become more difficult to navigate and maintain, sometimes leading to financial difficulties, job loss, and loss of housing.


Reducing Houselessness in Clackamas County

Clackamas County, and many other communities working towards ending houselessness, have adopted the Housing First model. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness...

This approach is guided by the belief that people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything less critical, such as getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use issues.

Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington County each utilize a “coordinated entry” system to connect individuals of all ages experiencing houselessness to housing services and supports. Clackamas County’s coordinated entry system is called Coordinated Housing Access (CHA). To learn more about Clackamas County CHA, visit this link.


In 2019, Clackamas County developed a Coordinated Community Plan to End Youth Homelessness (CCP), which is currently being utilized to inform youth housing services in our community. The CCP was developed in partnership with youth with lived experience of houselessness and local youth service providers. The CCP outlines our community’s commitment to addressing the unique needs of youth from the following “priority populations” which national data demonstrates are especially vulnerable to experiences of houselessness and housing instability.

  • LGBTQIA+ Youth
  • Youth of Color
  • Minors
  • Pregnant & Parenting Youth
  • Justice-Involved Youth
  • Youth Experiencing Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges
  • Youth Involved in Foster Care
  • Survivors of Trafficking and Exploitation

A few of the strategies identified and being implemented to support youth experiencing houselessness and mental health/substance use challenges include:

  • Partnership with youth with lived experience
  • Intentional collaboration with the behavioral health system, recovery programs, youth peer support agencies, drop-in centers, and crisis lines.
  • Wraparound services
  • Programs that connect youth to basic needs resources