Page 14 - Impact Reduction Program News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Permanent solutions are possible for Portland’s increasing homeless crisis. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic The Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program (HUCIRP) reported between 40 to 60 campsite removals per week in the city. After the onset of the pandemic in 2020 these sweeps performed by HUCIRP have been much less frequent, at a number closer to three times a week. Halting these sweeps has highlighted Portland’s homeless crisis. The increase in visibility of the city’s unsheltered community has become immensely apparent, and the garbage surrounding these areas is ove...

Tents at Whoville, a homeless site in Eugene during a visit by Think Out Loud producers in January 2014. The camp was taken down by police in April 2014 and then re-established in November of that same year. Oregon lawmakers in the House approved a measure Monday to increase the amount of time people who are unhoused receive before being forced to move. The measure, House Bill 3124, would require notice be posted at the entrance and exit of a homeless encampment for 72 hours before sweeping the area. If passed, the bill would also require making it clear where people’s belongings are stored...

Growing trash pile in NE Portland won't be removed despite rat infestation Despite a rat infestation and once catching on fire, the city has no plans to get rid of a trash pile that spans nearly half a block. Author: Christelle Koumoué (KGW) Updated: 10:48 PM PDT April 15, 2021 PORTLAND, Oregon — There has been a pile of trash at the corner of Burnside and Northeast 160th Avenue for nearly a year. It has caused a rat infestation and even caught fire at one point, yet the city has said it doesn't meet the criteria for removal. Random items, including a car do...

Months away from the start of the new fiscal year, three local government agencies are carving out room in their 2021-2022 budget proposals for programs aimed at solving one of the Portland area’s most pressing --  and most visual -- problems: trash. This week, representatives for the city of Portland, the Joint Office of Homeless Services and the regional government agency Metro all confirmed they’re hoping to launch, or in one case have already launched, programs that pay people to pick up trash along local streets and highways.  In all three cases, staff will zero in on hiring specif...

Opinion: Homelessness crisis needs urgent public health response that focuses on reducing harm Updated Mar 07, 2021; Meieran is an emergency medicine physician and Multnomah County commissioner for District 1. She lives in Portland. There is a humanitarian crisis facing us in Multnomah County. Thousands of people are living outside in unsafe and unhealthy conditions, with inadequate shelter or medical care. Only weeks ago , a man in a makeshift shelter burned to death while trying to keep himself warm. Homeless encampments, which posed health and environmental risks prior to the COVID pandem...