The Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services issued a message calling out illegitimate camp removal flyers andy serving false vacate notices. Hence, they do not post notices for camps to vacate. Denis Theriault, spokesman for the Joint office of Homeless Services, says he’s concerned the fake notices will circumvent a well-thought-out process that includes outreach workers and consideration of legal protections for those on the streets.
“They have to assess how harmful a site is? Are there health conditions there that warrant it, are there criminal actions happening? It’s not willy-nilly,” said Theriault.
“We do get that folks are frustrated with the way COVID has left our community. We’re soft because of the pandemic than we otherwise would be, and there are things in process to help with that. There’s things moving along, but going and targeting folks and sowing confusion and more trauma, it isn’t going to help those folks, it isn’t going to make things better,” said Theriault.
He said what is going to make it better is more compassion from the community. Multnomah County tweeted, “We’ve been getting word that someone is posting “notices” on campsites downtown that include a @multco logo. These are fake notices, not from us. The county does not post notices for camps to vacate. Any official notice would come from @PortlandGov.
