Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s urgent mandate to move homeless campers into ‘humane’ shelters isn’t working
Updated Jan 23, 2021;
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Most declined shelter at Mt. Scott Community Center, opting instead to remain in the streets.
Scott M., 50, was one of about two dozen to give the shelter a try.
He ditched the refurbished bicycle parts and assorted camping gear he sometimes sold to earn a few extra dollars, as well as his large tent.
“I gave up everything to go there,” said Scott, who provided only the first initial of his last name.
Scott lasted about two weeks at the shelter, he said, during which time he was twice expelled for multiple infractions such as having a broken piece of drug paraphernalia under his bed and not adequately cleaning up a common space.
After five years, city of Portland vows to clear homeless village Hazelnut Grove
Most of the roughly 15 people living there now have been offered spots in a new tiny house village opening soon in North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. Author: Maggie Vespa Updated: 7:05 PM PST January 20, 2021
PORTLAND, Ore. More than five years after putting down roots on publicly-owned land, essentially daring the city to make them move amid a newly-declared housing crisis, residents of North Portland’s self-governed homeless village “Hazelnut Grove” have learned their days are numbered.
The announcement came Monday via a news release that quoted both Mayor Ted Wheeler and Housing Commissioner Dan Ryan. Neither was available for an interview.
City closing North Portland homeless village Hazelnut Grove January 19 2021
Commissioner Dan Ryan says most residents will relocate to the St. Johns Homeless Village, but activists have vowed to save the camp.
The end appears to be near for a North Portland tiny home village serving those who seek refuge from life on the streets.
The city s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program quietly announced plans to decommission Hazelnut Grove Village on Jan. 18 saying that many of its 16 inhabitants will move into pods at the newly-built St. Johns Village.
Activists, however, are unlikely to abandon the village without a fight.
Homeless solution debate heats up
Regional push for housing prompts more options, but some are questioning proposed new city policy.
The Portland City Council is expected to vote in February to clear the way for more homeless shelters, sanctioned outdoor campsites and alternative group living arrangements to be established in almost every part of Portland.
The appointed citizen Planning and Sustainability Commission already has held a briefing, two public hearings and a work session on the Shelter to Housing Continuum Project. It is intended to rewrite existing city regulations to allow such housing to be built more quickly, including where it is currently prohibited, such as in commercial zones.
County officials and police say the opening of a tiny home village for homeless people in North Portland has been delayed after a vandal destroyed nearly every sleeping pod in the shelter.