The mayor announced on March 9 that the city was in talks to sign a lease for the vacant lot at Southeast Powell Boulevard and 13th Avenue. The site would house up to 100 tents and hold 150 people, giving them access to multiple health services and access to hygiene that unsanctioned sites would not offer. The California non-profit Urban Alchemy will manage the site.
Earlier news reports stated that the city does not have the funds required to purchase or operate six planned camps. The $27 million city dollars approved by the council to bankroll the proposal will only cover the cost to open three of the encampments. Portland’s mayor said he is in talks with Multnomah County leaders and the governor’s office to have their governments commit funding to the proposal.
Mayor Ted Wheeler recently attended a town hall meeting in NE Portland where he answered questions about the city’s homeless crisis. He talked about the state and county working better together now that there has been new leadership elected. “I have met more with our new Governor Kotek in the first six weeks of her administration than I did in 8 years of the prior administration,” Wheeler said.
Two sites along Southeast 82nd Avenue, which are owned by Multnomah County, are turning into safe park sites. The county announced that the site at 333 Southeast 82nd Avenue will be turned into a safe park site. It’ll provide people that live in their cars a place to park and access services to help them find housing.
Another site at 1818 Southeast 82nd Avenue is currently occupied by Quality RVs and operating business as usual. An employee inside the store said they didn’t have direct knowledge of when their location would turn into a safe park site.
Urban Alchemy has asked the city for $5 million to run one 150-person camp for a year. Its contract includes a staff of 60 workers. These types of encampments are expected to stay open for three years. There is no required move-out date for residents. The stay for each person is to be a temporary step toward more permanent housing.
