Camping bans hurt the houseless so where can they go?

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By: Ian McMeekan

There are many people in Portland who have just been denied their only source of shelter. Imagine yourself in this scenario,  you don’t have a house and different problems from your past are keeping you from getting an apartment. Now imagine your only source of shelter is your tent and all of the sudden the city is making it illegal for you to set up this last source of sanctuary. This is the reality for so many people in the houseless community in Portland as of July first 2024. This is because of a new law passed early last summer. This is problematic because it forces the houseless to find some other way to have shelter in the cold wet climate of the pacific northwest and more specifically in the city of Portland. Yet there are laws that assist the houseless in serarios like this. One such law is the “Martin v. Boise decision, which ruled cities cannot outlaw camping unless they have enough shelter beds available for the homeless population.” reports Sophie Peel of wweek.com. This is where one such resource called Rent Well is very important. Rent Well is a program set up by the state government that teaches houseless individuals how to be good tenants and then pairs them with landlords who give them an apartment. Yet Rent Well in person classes have not been given much funding in recent years due to the multitude of other problems the state government has to deal with. This is important now more than ever because of this camping ban and the mass amounts of houseless people in Portland without a warm place to give them shelter from the elements. It is because of this that Rent Well truly deserves more funding and why Legislators need to vote yes on giving more funding to this resource and the classes it provides. By funding Rent Well the Legislators would not just be giving the houseless a chance to avoid the repercussions of this new law they would also be doing the right thing. With this in mind if you want to know more about the program this link will send you to the Rent Well website so you can find more information about the Rent Well program and its mission to help the houseless find a better life.

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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