Mercury: Is is homeless or houseless now? I didn't get the PC memo, and your article uses both terms... please figure out which term is the least offensive so that we can all be politically correct. (Yes, I'm being sarcastic)
Ok. build homes, house the homeless/houseless... and then what? What are the NEXT STEPS besides building camps that have little to no oversight? What is being done to assist these people into transitioning off of the streets?
How much money are we going to throw at this problem without having an actual plan to get these people back on their feet?
Remember how much money the city spent on the camp underneath the Steel Bridge? $67,000 for a storage container that no one uses, and then disbanding the camp. $28,000 for one at Hazelnut Grove while allowing countless un-permitted permanent structures (which is a code violation... again, no oversight).
How much money is the city going to have to pay the property owner whose house was fire damaged due to the unregulated "Forgotten Realms" camp? How much did it cost to sweep the Springwater Corridor, only to have campers return a few days later? How about the cost of removing all the garbage and debris, or the environmental impact?
What is the long-term plan here? I've yet to hear anyone describe what is being done besides letting people camp on publicly-owned land throwing endless amounts of taxpayer money out the window.
Douglas: The A Home For Everyone coalition is working up a long-term strategy for easing the problem. We wrote about it here: http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/…
Ok. build homes, house the homeless/houseless... and then what? What are the NEXT STEPS besides building camps that have little to no oversight? What is being done to assist these people into transitioning off of the streets?
How much money are we going to throw at this problem without having an actual plan to get these people back on their feet?
Remember how much money the city spent on the camp underneath the Steel Bridge? $67,000 for a storage container that no one uses, and then disbanding the camp. $28,000 for one at Hazelnut Grove while allowing countless un-permitted permanent structures (which is a code violation... again, no oversight).
How much money is the city going to have to pay the property owner whose house was fire damaged due to the unregulated "Forgotten Realms" camp? How much did it cost to sweep the Springwater Corridor, only to have campers return a few days later? How about the cost of removing all the garbage and debris, or the environmental impact?
What is the long-term plan here? I've yet to hear anyone describe what is being done besides letting people camp on publicly-owned land throwing endless amounts of taxpayer money out the window.
I'd still like to see more oversight at these camps in the meantime. Thanks for your reporting!