3
Street roots
Dec. 23, 2011
V / «SÌ
DREAM, from page 1
Beyond the bureaucracy, however, the
camp has gotten good reviews as an
orderly and safe operation, even if some
people would like to see it moved from its
high-profile site downtown.
“I’ve heard far more positive feedback
than negative feedback,” said Michael
Boyer, crime prevention program
coordinator for the Old Town/Chinatown
neighborhood. “I think from a humanity
standpoint, people want to see something
more stable and livable than tents on the
streets.”
From the beginning, the camp has set
strict rules prohibiting drugs, alcohol and
violence.
At City Council Wednesday, Trilliam
Shannon with Right 2 Survive, testified
that a camp like this should be replicated,
not destroyed. “You have the ability to
work with BDS to suspend code
violations,” she said. “We need to stop
criminalizing people who are excercising
their right to survive.” .
Above left: A m an reads the overnight log. Each m orning an d evening the camp records the num ber o f people who are staying there an d how
m uch additional capacity they may have fo r the night. Above: A m an who stays a t R ight 2 Dream Too walks away defeated in a su it after
learning he did not get the job he had interviewed for.
Photos by Israel Bayer
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Above: Three people who stay a t R ight 2 Dream work the security shift.
Right, top: A poem written by Chaz, an overnight sleeper a t R ight 2 Dream Too. A t right, bottom: Tag tents are
h u n g in an orderly fashion. When campers leave or return, they flip their assigned tent num ber to indicate
whether they are home.
City opens up overnight camping option for select sites
BY JOANNE ZUHL
STAFF W R IT E R
or years, Portland’s anti-camping
ordinance has been the target of
countless demonstrations by the
homeless and their supporters.
They have marched, protested and held
vigils at City Hall against the city’s policy
that makes camping illegal on public
property or on unpermitted private land,
which they say effectively criminalizes the
thousands of people in this city without
homes.
On Wednesday, however, the city gave a
little ground with a new approach — a policy
allowing faith-based and nonprofit
organizations to host vehicular campers on
their lots.
Presented by Commissioner Nick Fish,
the resolution approved Dec. 21, establishes
a one-year pilot project that will let people
without shelter to “sleep overnight in a
B
vehicle, camper or trailer parked on an
existing parking lot of a ho st” The
resolution limits hosts to one designated
area per partner, with a maximum of four
vehicles at a time. It does not, however,
allow for tent campers.
On Thursday, Multnomah County
Commissioners passed a supporting
proclamation echoing the new sleeping
allowances. The new policy is patterned
after one in Eugene that for years has
allowed designated camping sites for people
experiencing homelessness.
Several people who testified before City
Council argued passionately that the
resolution doesn’t go far enough, and leaves
the population of tent campers without a
place to go. Many of those testifying spoke
on behalf of Right 2 Dream Too, the camp at
Fourth Avenue and Burnside, which is
under threat of closure for code violations.
(See page 1)
Fish acknowledged the plan isn’t a
solution to the city’s housing crisis but it is
a step in the right direction, calling it “a
commonsense and pragmatic response to
the crisis we find ourselves in.”
“Last week, there were more than 90
people in families staying at our family
winter shelter,” Fish said. “That’s a 150
percent increase over last year. Many of
these families are currently sleeping in cars,
which have to move on a regular basis. This
pilot would allow them ta safely and legally
sleep overnight, with the authorization of a
faith-based partner or nonprofit”
Fish said the plan comes after two years
of reviewing the city’s camping ordinance,
but it gained momentum from the Occupy
Portland movement, which raised the profile
of the number of people homeless on
Portland’s streets. The issue has also been
put on a trajectory by Right 2 Dream Too.
In November, the Ecumenical Ministries
of Oregon sent letters to Fish and County
Commissioner Deborah Kafoury’s office
asking for the opportunity to explore
hosting small-scale camps for the homeless.
David Leslie, executive director of the
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, said faith-
based organizations are hoping the option
will spur greater innovation in addressing
and correcting homelessness.
“The big issue we’re looking at is how can
religious communities utilize their resources
and their assets more creatively, effectively
and collaboratively, to help people end
homelessness, build affordable housing and,,
maybe get to the point where there’s
actually economic development^” Leslie said
“That’s the big Issue.”
Several members,of Ecumenical
Ministries participate in the program in
Eugene. There, Leslie says, the program
See CAMPING, page 10