Portland’s New Plans to Build Mass Shelters—And How it Harms our Houseless Neighbors
As reported by April Ehrlich for OPG, a controversial plan crafted by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Dan Ryan that will ban street camping and enforce the houseless to move into city-run and government-funded encampments was approved by the city council on November 3rd. The city council is moving forward with the $27 million package for the plan and will begin by building "at least six campsites" while moving toward a camping ban over the next 18 months. Those opposed to the plan view Wheeler and Ryan’s concoction as a “thinly veiled way of criminalizing homelessness,” some going as far as to refer to the planned mass shelters as “concentration camps for unhoused people.”
According to Ehrlich’s article, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty was the only city council member to vote no on the spending package, stating:
“I am concerned that there is no transparency into what’s being built, and very concerned there is no public community oversight…I am very concerned that the people who are the most vulnerable in our community will be the ones most harmed by this policy.”
The approach is being referred to by KGW News as the most significant and broad approach possible for tackling homelessness in Portland. The news source shared a valuable video in October 2022—embedded below—relaying the details of Mayor Wheeler’s plan. The video details controversial aspects of Wheeler's plan such as the fact that those who refuse to reside in the city-built shelters can face criminal charges.
As news continues to develop and little is known about where these mass shelters will be built or what their complete implications are for the houseless—although it certainly seems as though the plan subjects the houseless to a plethora of opportunities to be criminalized and criminally charged—there remains much to do for our houseless neighbors. Attached below is a Portland-specific resource page detailing many of the organizations, charities, and movements present in the city that the average Portlandian can contribute their time, energy, and compassion to in order to aid the houseless; such efforts are crucial—especially now.
Written by Jay Hernandez
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