Join the folks at
SW Trails for their
monthly hike, this
time from Hillsdale
to Council Crest
– Page 5
Light rail or
bus rapid transit?
SW Corridor Plan
steering committee
is scheduled to
decide.
– Page 8
Mike Roach
testifies at a
community meeting
regarding West Side
school boundary
changes.
– Page 3
The Southwest Portland Post
Volume No. 24 Issue No. 4
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Complimentary
February 2016
Multnomah neighbors rally around
Capitol Highway improvements
By KC Cowan
The Southwest Portland Post
The weather was chilly, but the mood
was sunny as Multnomah residents
walked door to door to spread the
word of upcoming improvements to
Southwest Capitol Highway between
Taylors Ferry Road and Multnomah
Boulevard.
They are members of the ad hoc
Capitol Highway committee, led by
transportation chair, Chris Lyons.
The group has been working with
the city of Portland to finalize sidewalk
and bike lane designs along Capitol
Highway. It’s been the top transportation
priority of the neighborhood for more
than two decades, according to Lyons.
“The one thing we really lack here
is sidewalks and bike lanes,” he said.
“And while I think most people in the
neighborhood don’t care about having
those on our less-busy side streets, we
feel like arterials, like Capitol Highway,
should have the infrastructure like bike
lanes and sidewalks.”
Despite the need, the city has been
unable to come up with the millions of
dollars necessary for this “top priority,”
leaving residents without safe bike
lanes and only a dirt path as way to
walk into Multnomah Village.
“We want to be able to access
the village without having to take
convoluted routes to get into the
commercial area,” said Lyons.
“We also want safety. You see how
unsafe it is there. People are having to
bike right alongside a ditch and walk
along what we call the ‘goat path,’
which is just a mud path.”
The years of waiting could be at an
end, however, as the Portland City
Council votes on a local gas tax to fund
this, and many other infrastructure
projects.
Mark Lear, resource manager for
Portland Bureau of Transportation says
the 10-cents-a-gallon tax would raise
(Continued on Page 6)
Cindy Loud McDonald, Beth Fernandez, Sarah Lyons, and Stan McDonald take a break
from canvassing Jan. 9 on what's known as the goat path along Capitol Highway that
could soon become a real sidewalk. (Post photo by KC Cowan)
Is homelessness in Southwest Portland a growing concern?
Why are more than 150 people
coming to the Sears Shelter in
Southwest Portland every day?
By Jack Rubinger
The Southwest Portland Post
I s h o m e l e s s n e s s a g ro w i n g
problem in Southwest Portland?
Marc Jolin, director of A Home
For Everyone Initiative, offered
some statistics as well as a broader
perspective.
“Homelessness is a community-
wide problem,” he said. “The
numbers of people sleeping outside,
in their vehicles, or in places not
meant for human habitation is
not as large in outer Southwest
Portland as in some other parts
of the city, but there are certainly
homeless people living in that part
of town.”
According to Jolin, “In the last
street count, conducted in January
of 2015, on one night we counted
133 individuals sleeping outside or
in vehicles in Southwest Portland
outside of downtown. That
was about 8 percent of the total
unsheltered homeless population.
“There are homeless people
in outer Southwest for the same
reasons there are homeless people
t h r o u g h o u t o u r c o m m u n i t y.
Someone who becomes homeless
may feel more comfortable in a
particular part of town because it
is where they grew up, where they
have friends or family, or because
it is where they lived or worked
before becoming homeless,” he
added.
The Sears Shelter [formerly
the Sears Armory building] is
located at 2730 SW Multnomah
Blvd, just a quarter mile west of
Barbur Boulevard near Multnomah
Village.
There are several reasons for the
migration, according to Celeste
Duvall, manager of Transition
Projects.
The shelter is dedicated to women
and couples only. There were no
couples shelters in Portland so for
the first time, couples can come in
together and do not have to split
up or choose to stay together and
therefore on the street only.
The women’s shelters in Portland
i n c l u d i n g t h e o n e Tr a n s i t i o n
Projects manages are filled and
this allows more women (the
most vulnerable population) to
come off the street and stay in a
safe, clean, warm, and welcoming
environment.
Women and couples may bring
their animals which is most often
not the case with most shelters.
Sears Shelter dwellers are
accessing shelter services provided
by Transition Projects through its
day center located at the Bud Clark
Commons building in Northwest
Portland, as a first point of contact.
When the Sears Shelter opened
on Thanksgiving Day, Portland
Mayor Charlie Hales’ office said
that the building would have to
be vacated by the end of May.
D i s c u s s i o n s a b o u t w h e re t h e
women and couples will go are
ongoing.
Hales said he is interested in
hearing if there are issues, or if
the shelter seems to be operating
smoothly.
Hales has scheduled a community
forum for Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 7
to 8:30 p.m. at the Multnomah
Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy.
Check with the mayor ’s office for
updated information about the
event.
“When the Portland City Council
declared a state of emergency in
housing and homelessness, we
reframed the issue,” said Hales.
“’These problems can’t be solved
overnight’ was no longer an
acceptable response. We moved
to asking ourselves daily, ‘What
problems can be solved tonight?’
“The Sears Shelter and the
community’s warm response show
that Portland as a community can
move the needle on homelessness,
and can do so with compassion and
generosity.”
The Volunteer Meal Provider
program at the Sears Shelter has
been very successful. Volunteers
p ro v i d e b a g l u n c h e s M o n d a y
through Saturday and on Sunday
a hot meal is served.
There continue to be challenges.
Sears Shelter staff always needs
volunteers and there are many
o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o c h o o s e f ro m
including donation of specific items
and meal providers.
F o r m o re inf o rm atio n abo ut
volunteer opportunities,
c o n t a c t l a u re n . h o l t @ t p ro j e c t s .
org or call 503-280-4741.