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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2018)
Street Roots • April 27-May 3, 2018 O p in io n Page 3 Don’t let Wapato overtake the larger dialogue t is a story that has covered yards of Top choices for shelter locations by those newsprint - Wapato jail and its possibility surveyed were downtown, or close to for sheltering people who are homeless. downtown, and near public-transit and And here’s the latest: after Multnomah County services. sold the property to developer Marty Kehoe, None of this describes the Wapato site, so if he in turn sold an ownership stake to Jordan Williams and Harbor of Hope pursue this plan, Schnitzer, who now is they should find a new way to listen to folks talking of leasing it to who are homeless to find out what about this Homer Williams. Deals site works for whom, given its particular galore. challenges. In recent years, our Any plans should respond precisely based Street Roots editorial on the needs of homeless folks who would By Kaia Sand team has raised a choose to go to this site - such as people who number of concerns are homeless and have a car. around this issue, There are serious reasons why many people including the isolation would not turn to Wapato as their shelter. of Wapato from stores, services and bus lines; When Wapato is trumpeted as too big of a a concern about motivations to warehouse solution, then I fear that non-compliance could folks out of sight; and the transformation of a be used as a cudgel elsewhere in the city. If jail into a shelter for people who often are undesirable beds are offered, and people already dealing with trauma. Some folks have refuse them, their lives must not be further described to me how living in a building criminalized. intended to be a jail might trigger traumas After all, the last thing anyone needs is to they contend with. walk into a trap, and too often people Leo Rhodes, a homeless advocate and experiencing homelessness are engaged in a Street Roots vendor and former board damaging manner. This week, for example, member, often nudges me to think about KGW reported that in the process of offering something from a different angle, and in this services to people living outdoors on Portland case, he reminded me to consider the trails, police officers ran warrant checks on potential that the Wapato lot might offer homeless campers. This sounds suspiciously homeless folks who live in cars, mobile homes, like profiling. and trailers - and who aren’t relying on Let’s strive to make lives easier, not more busses. Could they legally park there, and use difficult. the facility in ways that work for them? Earlier this month, Harbor of Hope also “What works for one person doesn’t work announced plans for a navigation center under for another,” R hodes said. In other words, the Broadway Bridge. This is a promising idea. could aspects of this be workable for some They need to raise funds to make this happen, folks - just not all folks? Can these business and aspirations for Wapato should not derail leaders be this nuanced and nimble, this the much more doable navigation center. responsive to the actual lives of people who There is so much to be done, and plans for are homeless? Can they draw from the Wapato should not overtake the dialogue. expertise of homeless people on their own We need many guiding stars shining bright needs rather than determining outright what’s as we address the fact that we live in a city in best for them? which so many people simply cannot afford to Harbor of Hope had a good start last year live indoors. when it worked with Right 2 Survive’s Ibrahim We should, for example, have the Mubarak and consultant Michelle Kennedy to opportunity to vote for a big regional housing survey homeless folks on their shelter needs, bond in November designed by Metro. Now reporting that people surveyed desired safety that’s a big and promising way forward. Let’s and privacy in spaces that did not put too give that the attention it deserves. many people in the same sleeping room. I DIS J K aia S a n d is the executive director o f Street Roots. You can reach her a t kaia @streetroots. org. Follow her on Tw itter @ m kaiasand Portland, OR 97209 503-228-5657 Fax: 5 0 W ’3117' www.streetroots.org www.news.streetroots.org Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.»2p.m. Sat. and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun. Advertising Interested in advertising in Street Roots? Email Andrew Hogan at andrew@streetroots.org S ta ff Executive Director Kaia Sand kaia@streetroots.org Executive Editor Joanne Zuh! joanne@streetroots.org Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel cole@streetroots.org Development Director Andrew Hogan andrew@streetroots.org Senior S ta ff Reporter Emily Green Operations Director Sarah Beecroft Program Assistant Caelin Miltko, Jesuit Volunteer Vendor Assistant Scott Jackson, Alex Giflow-Wiles Development Assistant Rosemary Wilson Editorial Producer Monica Kwasnik Reporters Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Emilly Prado, Jared Paben, Amanda Waldroupe, Thacher Schmid, DeVon Pouncey, Helen Hill Photographers Diego Diaz, Arkady Brown, Celeste Noche Canvasser Desmond Hardison Board of Directors Chair Rachel Langford Vice-Chair Dan Jones Treasurer Heather Stadick Secretary Alison Hallett Directors Michael Anderson, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Nets Johnson Volunteers John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Dennis Hogan, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jason Cohen, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon Raymond, Diana Richardson, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce, Brooke Anderson, Gillian Horen, Mark Oldani, Bianca Butler, Camber Hansen- Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry Brannan, Helen Hill, Mary Emerson, Brooke Anderson, Kathleen McFall, Robb Hengerer, Maile Yeats-Rowe, Erin Parsons, Faye Powell, Jon Raymond, Danny Moran and Megan Pickerel-Winer. If you're interested in volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can call for more information at 503-228-5657.
