Portland City Council Implements Daytime Camping Ban

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On July 7, 2023, the city of Portland set a daytime camping ban in a last attempt to combat the growing homelessness crisis in Portland, Oregon. However many have come to raise questions about what this means for the unhoused community.

What Does The Ban Mean?

The ban prohibits outdoor camping on city property from the hours of 8am to 8pm including parks, schools, construction zones, riverbanks, and docks. During these hours all personal belongings including tents must be removed.

Apart from this the ban also prohibits littering, building temporary shelters, blocking a sidewalk with a tent at any point in the day, digging, and disassembling and selling bikes and cars.

Additionally, the ban comes with punishment if anyone is caught breaking these rules. The first violation will be cited as a warning by police officials. Then on the third violation, you can either be subject to a fine of up to a hundred dollars or thirty days in jail.

Who Does The Ban Affect?

While the ban might not seem crucial to those who have a roof over their heads this ban poses a grave threat to the homeless population with most if not all not having a secure space to store their belongings in between ban periods.

So what does this mean...

Those of the homeless population will be forced to carry around their belongings from place to place until 8pm. For those of the community who work this may be very difficult as not every workplace will allow for a place to store their belongings while on the clock. This may also impact those with disabilities who do not have the strength to carry around the necessities needed to stay alive. Ultimately putting this ban into effect will lead many to have to store their belongings in hidden spaces in hopes that when they return their belongings will still be there. 

Where Will People Go?

Since the beginning of the ban, this same question has been asked over and over again by many but the city of Portland has yet to address this question. With many, if not all homeless shelters in Portland constantly being at capacity this leads many with no place to go. Some have even come to question if the city of Portland is purposely ignoring this question altogether in an effort to force the homeless community out of Portland altogether. With the lack of guidance from city officials on this specific question, it seems that this theory may not be far from the truth.

What Can You Do To Help?

While I recognize that not everyone has the capacity to help for those of us that can it is important to aid the community and remember that they too are human and just trying to survive. With this being said some ways in which you can support the homeless community is...

Donate

While most of us do not have the space to offer someone in the homeless community a room in our homes we can still support those who do. Many homeless shelters in the Portland area seek and accept donations whether it be new or used. Some of these places include Blanchet House, Burnside Shelter, and River District Navigation Center.

Volunteer

For some of us who may have some extra time on our hands volunteering at a homeless shelter is a great way to fill the extra time and give back to the community. Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience because you are helping someone along their journey in life. A few of the places in the Portland area that take volunteers are Blanchet House, Good Neighbors Center, and Burnside Shelter.

In Conclusion

It is important to remember that those in the homeless community are people too. All of us at some point have been through hard times in life. And so of us may have even wished that we had support when we went through these hard times. So while we can't turn back the clock we can help those such as the homeless community who are currently going through hard times because of the camping ban put in place.

Click the link to learn about at-home elder care: 

https://www.thepurplenest.net/

Written By:

Arlene Martinez

Resources:

https://invisiblepeople.tv/portland-passes-daytime-camping-ban/

https://oregonharborofhope.org/take-action/

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/portland-daytime-camping-ban/283-914342ff-c046-4f72-a346-d3d0b5d9768b

https://www.kptv.com/2023/07/07/portlands-daytime-camping-ban-goes-into-effect-friday/

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