A Better Path Forward for Portland’s Homeless Crisis

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Via: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2025/01/new-overnight-shelter-to-open-in-portlands-old-town-on-tuesday.html

Currently, the City of Portland is facing the largest homeless crisis in its history, with a homeless population of 5,398 at the last count. In response to this, in a work session with the Portland City Council on January 22, 2025, Mayor Keith Wilson proposed a new plan to help get these people off of the streets. With a proposed $28 million budget, his plan is to increase capacity of overnight shelters by 1,500 beds and open four new day centers by December 1st of this year.


This plan represents a shift from reactive to proactive action. Past efforts to remove homeless camps have proven futile as the camps reappear elsewhere not long after. Rather than continuing with this pattern of pushing homeless camps from one part of the city to another, Mayor Wilson’s goal with this new course of action is to provide these people with temporary shelter and connect them to the support services they need in order to move into long-term housing. He will prioritize scaling the capacity of the city’s overnight shelters to meet current needs, and although many voters expressed a preference for an increase in 24-hour shelters, Wilson explains that overnight shelters are less costly per person served, and so they will be able to shelter more people at a time within the current budget. In addition to opening more overnight shelters, he plans to open four new day centers with a total capacity to help up to 600 people per day, where people can go to connect with support services. This new initiative does not call for any new laws or ordinances, but simply strengthens the existing system with a smarter approach.


The homeless crisis affects the entire Portland community, as it jeopardizes our businesses, public spaces and shared sense of security. This proposal offers a practical, forward-thinking solution to help the city’s homeless to regain stability so that they do not end up on the streets again. 



Read more here:

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/homeless/portland-mayor-keith-wilson-homeless-plan-nighttime-shelter-beds/283-8ca4fbcb-47ee-4635-bee7-6f508819d06b


https://www.portland.gov/mayor/keith-wilson/news/2025/1/27/mayor-wilson-presents-blueprint-end-unsheltered-homelessness


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