Coat drives near Portland, Oregon
For the first time since 2010, the poverty rate in America shot up dramatically in 2022, according to data from the Census Bureau. That means more Americans can't afford basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, and utilities than has been the case in more than a decade.
But the situation isn't just affecting Americans living in poverty. United Way uses the term ALICE to refer to the increasing number of people who are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed but are still not able to afford their basic needs. In 2021, 13% of Americans earned below the federal poverty level but many more, 29%, fell under the ALICE umbrella, according to the grassroots movement United for ALICE.
A study published in August 2022 from Brandeis University found that more than 75% of low-income families working full-time cannot cover the cost of basic needs. What's more, fewer than 1 in 5 low-income Hispanic and Black families in particular are able to afford the costs of a household budget. "Full-time work alone isn't enough to cover the everyday essentials most families need to support themselves," the study's lead author, Pamela Joshi, who holds a doctorate in social policy, said in a statement.
If you're looking for ways to help, particularly as the temperatures drop and the holidays approach, consider cleaning out your closet and donating a coat to those in need. To help point you in the right direction, Stacker compiled a list of coat drives near Portland using data from One Warm Coat, a nonprofit that provides free coats to children and adults in need across America. Since 1992, they've given out more than 7.85 million coats.
"This is one very small way to take a step forward and do something very tangible," One Warm Coat CEO Beth Amodio told USA Today in October 2023. "It's impossible to change the world. But it is possible to change one person's experience, one person at a time."
Read on to find out where you can contribute.
Keller Auditorium
- Address: 222 SW Clay St, Portland, OR 97201
Design Showroom
- Address: 1235 W. Burnside St., Portland, OR 97209
CityTeam Ministries - Portland
- Address: 526 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Transition Projects
- Address: 665 NW Hoyt St, Portland, OR 97209
William Temple House
- Address: 2023 NW Hoyt St, Portland, OR 97209
Cascadia Health
- Address: 847 NE 19th Ave Ste 100, Portland, OR 97232
Trillium Family Services
- Address: 3415 SE Powell Blvd Atten: Shanin Engman, Portland, OR 97202
PIVOT Job Corps
- Address: 2701 NW Vaughn St Ste 151, Portland, OR 97210
Volunteers of America Oregon
- Address: 3910 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97214
Right To Dream Too
- Address: 4635 NE Garfield Ave, Portland, OR 97211
Community Services Network
- Address: 4950 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97211
Bradley Angle
- Address: 5432 N Albina Avenue, Portland, OR 97217
Neighborhood House PDX
- Address: 7780 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219
Correct Connect
- Address: 6854 Northeast Claremont Avenue, portland, OR 9721
The Pathfinder Network
- Address: 7305 NE Glisan, portland, OR 97213