Portland observer., December 07, 2022, Page 5, Image 5

December 07, 2022
Page 5
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Carlos, a homeless man stands in front of his tent in Portland, Ore., June 4, 2021. City Council
members in Portland have voted to allocate $27 million of the city's budget to build a network of
designated camping areas for homeless people. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein, File)
$27 Million
approved for
new homeless
camps
(AP) — City Council mem-
bers in Portland, Oregon, have
voted to allocate $27 million of
the city’s budget to build a net-
work of designated camping areas
for homeless people, approving
a fiercely disputed budget mea-
sure as the city tries to address its
homelessness crisis.
The money will help finance a
measure passed by the City Coun-
cil earlier this month that banned
street camping and approved the
creation of six outdoor sites where
homeless people will be allowed
to camp. Under the measure, a ban
on street camping will phase in
over the next year and a half as the
sites are completed.
Before Wednesday’s vote,
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler ac-
knowledged the measure was con-
troversial but that he nonetheless
believes in it “very, very deeply.”
Wheeler and other supporters of
the measure contend it will make
streets safer and connect homeless
people with social services.
“We must end self-directed, un-
sanctioned camping in the city of
Portland,” he said. “We deal with
mental health issues. We deal with
substance abuse issues. We deal
with human feces. We deal with
naked people running down the
street, people who are unable to
even acknowledge who or where
they are, because their afflictions
are that serious. It is beneath us
as a moral and ethical society to
have that happening in our com-
munity. And therefore we need to
do something differently.”
The $27 million will help
launch the first three campsites,
with nearly half going toward
their operational costs for the
remainder of the fiscal year.
About $4 million of it will be
directed to the sites’ preparation
and construction.
Wednesday’s measure amend-
ed the city’s budget for the cur-
rent fiscal year to include the
new projections.
Public opposition to the mea-
sure and the money that will fund
it has been heated, with critics
saying it will criminalize home-
lessness and fail to address its
root causes.
The initial vote on the budget
measure was postponed after a
raucous City Council meeting
during which some who opposed
the plan interrupted council
members and had their micro-
phones cut after refusing to abide
by time limits in emotionally
charged testimony. The commo-
tion prompted members to leave
the chambers and conduct the rest
of the meeting online
During that meeting, resident
Shannon Kearns said in testimony
that the plan amounted to “putting
money into internment camps un-
der the guise of support for our
most marginalized community
members.”
The six designated campsites
will initially serve up to 150 peo-
ple, with 24-hour management
and access to services such as
food, hygiene, litter collection and
treatment for mental health and
substance abuse.
The location of the sites and
the exact details of how they
will work have yet to be con-
firmed, but Wheeler’s office
has unveiled a potential road-
map in recent Zoom calls with
community stakeholders.
So far, the city has envisioned
camps that would not allow walk-
ins; people would have to be re-
ferred by outreach workers. Alco-
hol and drugs would be banned in
common areas. Sites would only
have one entrance and exit, and
weapons checks would be con-
ducted there.
Service providers running the
sites would be responsible for se-
Continued on Page 10
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OSU STAR BECOMES
OSU GRAD ONLINE
Jacquizz Rodgers never met a barrier he couldn’t maneuver around
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the same approach toward completing his degree online through
Oregon State University, all while playing on the biggest stage
and raising a family. Chipping away, bit by bit, with his signature
toughness and proving that hard work is undefeated.
ecampus.oregonstate.edu
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