Homelessness affects people in varying degrees and is not as apparent as the public may perceive.
While some instances of homelessness may be short-term due to crises at a particular time, other individuals may experience long-term homelessness due to exhaustion of any available resources, said Pullman Police Department Cmdr. Jake Opgenorth.
“There are so many different reasons and stories behind why people are homeless,” Opgenorth said.
Short-term homelessness might occur after a person leaves an abusive relationship, loses their job, encounters a temporary crisis or experiences another unexpected situation. Long-term homelessness happens, in part, for many of the same reasons, in addition to other factors such as addiction, intergenerational poverty and mental health concerns, Opgenorth said.