The City Of Portland Has Removed About 8,000 to 12,000 Tents. That's More Tents Than The Number Of Homeless People In Multnomah County.

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The city of Portland has a reputation for being a city full of bridges, the city of roses, and tent encampments around every corner. One of these doesn’t belong with the others, but if you’re a local, this is just another day of dodging tents. 


“Since last July, more than 6,500 tents and more than 24,000 tarps have been handed out to people living on the streets in Multnomah County.”


The pandemic brought to the surface a whole new level of issues to one of the smallest cities in the United States and the solutions we are throwing at it don’t seem to be combatting the issues. While looking for cost-effective solutions to house the most vulnerable in Portland, the blocking of ADA-accessible sidewalks and the revamp of downtown is taking longer than most Portlanders expected.




The Multnomah County commissioner is making significant strides by approving a $3.96 billion budget to help increase services for homeless people and behavioral mental health. The budget also includes $230,000 for the distribution for more tents, but is this the answer?


“A recent city audit found that while shelter capacity in Multnomah County has nearly quadrupled since 2015, it's still woefully inadequate for the number of homeless people in the county — proving that at this point, there are not sufficient spots indoors for everyone currently living outside whether they are willing to accept the offer or not.”


Want to know more? Check out KW8 News for more info.

Attention: The Portland State University senior capstone for multimedia would love to hear from you. If you have the time, please click here to fill out a survey about your experience with housing.

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