New PSU Study Maps Complex Journeys Through Homelessness in Final Pathways Report

A new report from Portland State University's Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative (HRAC) and the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health offers an in-depth examination of how individuals navigate, survive and attempt to exit homelessness in Multnomah County. Titled "Without a Map: A Lived Experience Study of the Paths People Create Through Homelessness," the publication serves as the second and final part of the Multnomah County-funded Pathways study.

The first part of the study, released in April 2026, established through 541 surveys that 98% of unhoused participants want permanent housing. This final installment combines those survey findings with 29 in-depth journey-mapping interviews to show how people navigate homelessness and homeless services, what helps them move toward housing, what gets in the way and the many ways in which progress can sometimes stall or unravel. By co-designing the research with the Transformational Research for Equity and Experience in Shelter (TREES) committee - a group composed entirely of people with lived experience of homelessness - the study offers an insider perspective on how individuals experience housing service systems.

"Our findings show that navigating homelessness is about much more than finding a service and saying yes to it," said Kathleen Conte, lead investigator and assistant professor in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. "People are trying to stay safe and meet their basic needs while also figuring out a complicated service system, proving they qualify for help, keeping important relationships intact, advocating for themselves and pushing forward through long waits and repeated setbacks."

The report highlights that for many participants, becoming unhoused was preceded by hidden homelessness, such as couch surfing, staying in vehicles or temporary hotel stays. Furthermore, bereavement emerged as a major factor, with more than 30% of interview participants noting that the death of a loved one directly or indirectly contributed to their housing loss.

Once unhoused, participants reported becoming stuck in "the churn" - a state where continuous efforts to secure housing are met with systemic bottlenecks, missing identification documents, case manager turnover and unreturned calls. One participant described the current homelessness service framework as "a system [that] rewards maintenance, not transformation."

Administrative requirements and rigid program thresholds often created a painful mismatch between a person's immediate needs and available assistance. Participants recounted being denied services because their conditions or situations did not fit exact priority definitions, forcing them to navigate fragmented systems without clear guidance.

"Effective policy must be grounded in reality. In supporting the Pathways Report, our goal was to center the real-world experiences of people using our services throughout the entire process," said Lori Kelley, Multnomah County Homeless Service Department planning and evaluation manager. "This research gives policymakers and the public an honest look at what works, what doesn't and what truly prevents people experiencing homelessness from reaching their housing goals."

Participants also described moments when the system worked. These experiences show that pathways out of homelessness are possible, but often felt more like a lucky break than a reliable pathway. What worked, participants said, was often the right support, relationships and opportunities coming together at just the right moment.

"Numbers, charts and data are incredibly important, but remembering the humans living without housing, and what those numbers represent should be the priority," the TREES committee emphasized in the report.

"People with lived experience are often brought into conversations like this to share stories and these stories matter, but what matters just as much is our ability to analyze those experiences because we're not just witnesses, we understand the patterns," noted one study participant.

Priorities for Action and Next Steps

To create functional and humane pathways out of homelessness, the report outlines six core priorities for action developed in collaboration with the TREES committee:

• Expand diverse affordable housing: Increase access to a variety of housing models tailored to different ages, family structures, disabilities and safety needs, while providing safe alternative shelter options.
• Prioritize prevention and housing stability: Deliver flexible, early financial support and foster employment opportunities with livable wages before individuals lose housing entirely.
• Coordinate and standardize services: Build a more transparent, safe and accountable service system with centralized information points to reduce administrative runaround.
• Eliminate practices that disrupt pathways: Stop involuntary displacements that strip people of essential personal belongings, legal documents and connections to case managers.
• Strengthen community support systems: Invest in peer networks, culturally specific organizations and social connections that bolster long-term resilience.
• Integrate lived experience into solutions: Ensure individuals with lived experience have a direct voice in shaping funding, program design, policy and research.

"No single organization can build the path alone to resolve homelessness," Conte said. "People are trying to navigate housing, health care and other systems that don't always connect. If we want to create better pathways out of homelessness, these systems need to work together - instead of expecting people in crisis to find their own way without a map."