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homelessness
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Oregon’s Dismantling of Longstanding Houseless Encampment Highlights Broader Problems

For a decade, residents lived in the Sandy River Delta wilderness. Last month, they were forced out, sending dozens of people to the streets and back into a system that has already failed them.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

From relative stability in an established community, to being repeatedly swept on the streets of Multnomah County, unhoused residents formerly living in the Sandy River Delta highlight a breakdown in the fight to address homelessness.  A community of over 30 people was swept out of what’s known as the Thousand Acres recreation zone on October […]

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UPDATE: “We Do Not Consent”: Sweep at Thousand Acres Removes Longtime Unhoused Community

State contractors used pepper spray on people while removing an encampment along the Sandy River delta. The situation highlights pitfalls in Oregon’s approach to chronic homelessness.
Avatar photo Kevin Foster

UPDATE SUN, JUNE 8: The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) has announced it’s pausing cleanup and restoration work at the Sandy River Delta, the longtime home of a community of unhoused people whose encampment was recently swept by a private hazmat company hired by the state. Following questions from the Mercury about a protester/bystander […]

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New Housing Committee Takes on Portland’s Affordability Crisis

City Councilor Angelita Morillo says she’ll introduce a policy to ban anti-competitive rental price-fixing software.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland city councilors provided inklings of their first legislative work this week, signaling their intent to address construction permitting, rental pricing, and residential vacancy rates as key tools to address the city’s housing affordability crisis. The first round of Portland City Council policy committee meetings kicked off Monday, laying the groundwork for how the city’s […]

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Mayor Wilson’s Shelter Plans Are Both Ambitious and Ambiguous

Staring down a ballooning homeless population and growing death toll, Portland mayor eyes 1,500 new shelter beds. Some councilors question the logistics and strategy.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Corrections: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the status of a Temporary Alternative Shelter Site in North Portland, and initially included a financial figure for city spending given during a public meeting that has since been updated to more accurately reflect city expenditures on campsite removals.  Portland Mayor Keith Wilson made homelessness the […]

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Two Hundred New Overnight Shelter Beds Will Open This Winter

Mayor-elect Keith Wilson promised to end unsheltered homelessness. He’s already helped kick-start plans for hundreds of winter shelter beds before taking office.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Portland’s next mayor hasn’t taken office yet, but he’s already working to open hundreds of winter shelter beds.  Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, and Mayor-elect Keith Wilson announced Thursday that the city and county are jointly opening at least 200 new winter emergency shelter beds “to provide urgent relief to […]

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Affordable Housing Advocates Warn Slashing Supportive Housing Tax Could Be Catastrophic

As the regional government considers a handful of changes to the Supportive Housing Services tax on high-income earners, social service providers are sounding the alarm.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Dec. 17: This story has been updated to clarify the status of SHS spending by Multnomah County. Since its rollout in 2021, Metro’s Supportive Housing Services tax has raked in nearly $912 million to help prevent evictions and transition people from homelessness to housing. But as Metro Council faces pressure to help lower the tax […]

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UPDATE: City Commissioners Abandon Plans to Terminate Joint Homeless Response Agreement With Multnomah County

A Portland City Council discussion that could’ve ended a collaborative agreement, without a backup plan in place, has been scrapped a day after the election. The move would’ve cost the city more than $40M.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Update: Nov. 6- This story has been updated to note that this week’s Council discussion has been canceled. A day after an election showing Portland City Commissioners Mingus Mapps and Rene Gonzalez losing their bids for mayor, a plan to revisit an intergovernmental agreement on homelessness between the city and Multnomah County has been canceled.  […]

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In a Stealth Move, Portland City Council Signals Intent to Sever Homelessness Agreement With Multnomah County

Without buy-in from Commissioner Carmen Rubio or Mayor Ted Wheeler, three city leaders asked for an ordinance to cancel a recently renewed intergovernmental agreement.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Note: This story has been corrected to fix a typo in the amount of Supportive Housing Services tax revenue taken in. It was supposed to be a routine update with no vote.  A week after a joint meeting between Portland City Council and the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, the City Council met to outline […]

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Rent Assistance Vouchers Are Helping Dig People Out of Homelessness

Service providers say Regional Long-Term Rent Assistance is among the most successful tools to combat homelessness. The only problem? A 5,560-person waiting list
Avatar photo Ellen Clarke

Regional Long-Term Rent Assistance vouchers are helping dig people out of homelessness. They’re one of the most successful tools to come out of Metro’s Supportive Housing Services tax. Service providers say they go a long way in keeping people housed, including domestic violence survivors, but the need far outpaces the availability of vouchers.

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What the Supreme Court’s Ruling Against Homelessness Means for Portland and Oregon

Portland must still abide by state law—policy which some experts say should be adopted by the entire nation.
Avatar photoAvatar photo Courtney Vaughn and Taylor Griggs

Attorneys and advocates for the unhoused say today’s long-awaited US Supreme Court ruling on an Oregon homelessness case sets a dangerous precedent. The high court ruled 6-3 that cities and other government jurisdictions may punish people for sleeping outside in public spaces, regardless of whether adequate shelter is available. Friday’s ruling gives cities and states […]

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Portland Approves New Public Camping Ordinance, After Facing Legal Pressure

The new rules no longer restrict camping hours, but still include fines and jail for non-compliance if a person refuses available shelter.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

A revised ordinance regulating camping in Portland city limits was given final approval Wednesday, after a previous version was challenged in court. With a unanimous Portland City Council vote, officers will soon have authority to issue warnings or penalize people living outside if they refuse shelter. The new ordinance, which will be added to city […]

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City, County Leaders Unveil Plans to Cut Homeless Count By Half. Not Everyone Is On Board.

Joint efforts would see about $57 million spent to open 1,000 more shelter beds and a sobering center.
Avatar photo Courtney Vaughn

Local leaders are heralding a “comprehensive and ambitious plan” to address homelessness in the county. On Monday, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced plans to open 1,000 additional shelter beds and provide roughly 2,700 unhoused people—the equivalent of half the current count of those who are unsheltered—with housing or […]

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