Homeless advocates got started early on their Wednesday morning protest to urge city council to waive the fines on the Right 2 Dream, Too tent city—really early. Last night at 10pm, about 70 protesters met outside city hall, setting up a free coffee stand and settling in for an “EPIC SLUMBER PARTY.”
The “rest area” on NW 4th and Burnside provides tents and a safe place to sleep for up about 70 people every night, but is facing $640 a month in city fines for various code violations.
Spirits were high at the slumber party, despite the fact that no one seemed to be doing much slumbering and protesters were facing a cold night in sleeping bags laid over cardboard on the edge of the sidewalk outside city hall (under the camping ban, no structures are allowed to be build without a permit). “The camping ban is unjust,” said 22-year-old protester Axcelle Bell, who was recently “entrenched in Occupy” and planned to sleep on the sidewalk over night.
“Overturning the ban is the best idea, people sleeping in cars is unacceptable and just stopping enforcement of the ban is nice, but it might not stop cop harassment.”
Some protesters were still asleep on the sidewalk this morning when a larger crowd started showing up for a bright-and-early 8:30 am rally. Bell, though awake, said he’d only snatched a few hours of sleep on the cold and noisy street. Numerous people addressed the crowd, calling on the city to essentially leave Right 2 Dream Too alone, including current tent city resident Trisha Diertch, who said she became homeless three years ago after fleeing domestic violence. The wait list to get into a long-term shelter was two-and-a-half months, so Diertch wound up sleeping on the streets. While she’s still looking for permanent housing, Right 2 Dream Too has been a haven for her. “I like it there, it’s safe, I can leave my stuff there, I can stay dry,” said Diertch.
Inside council, the homeless activists took up almost every chair in the lower chamber. “Instead of expensive police contact, sidewalk cleanup, and impact on local businesses, we have become good neighbors,” protester Kevin Nolan told council during the three-minute public communications that kick off every meeting.
Council is not currently considering any move to waive the fines, but members of Right 2 Dream Too hope to put pressure on Commissioner Dan Saltzman, the head of the Bureau of Development Services, to nix the fees.
“Council is not currently considering any move to waive the fines”
Nor should they.
$641 just seems super cheap – like, that’s awesome good news. That’s about $9 per month per person! How much rent would a normal 70-bed shelter have to pay every month? A $7,700 annual permit to provide space for 70 people downtown hardly seems like a big expense.
Also, I’ve seen more ads for that land – they’ve raised the price from $3M to $4M, since they opened this camp.
Reymont, the price goes up every two months.
Chuck, so you support _everyone_ paying the fees and fines? all the time?
my major complaint with the “fines” is that they are not even using the correct laws. calling a place where people without houses sleep a “recreational camp” is a bit insulting.
thanks
Patrick
“so you support _everyone_ paying the fees and fines? all the time?”
Uh, of course. That’s kind of the point of fines. They don’t carry much weight if they’re not enforced.
agreed Chuck, but often those rules are broken for friends and buddies of people who control them.
Patrick
Hundreds of people sleep on the streets of Portland every night. Often shelters fill up and turn people away and it can take months, even years, to find transitional or permanent affordable housing. Right 2 Dream Too provides a safe space to rest or sleep undisturbed for 50 – 70 people every night at no cost to the city.
The City of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services (BDS) says R2DToo must comply with Oregon’s Recreational Camping Ordinances or pay monthly fines. The initial fine is $641.30, and doubles every two months after that.
BACKGROUND
Right 2 Dream Too is a rest area for people who are houseless on Fourth and Burnside, founded on National Homeless Day October 10, 2011. It is on leased land with permission of the owner. Since its inception R2DToo has provided safe shelter, food, referrals and community for 50-70 people nightly at no cost to the city.
On January 1, 2012 R2DToo received notice that they would be fined $641.30 a month because they did not comply with city code relating to recreational camping. The first payment was due February 1. The group’s leaders filed an appeal pointing out the obvious; R2DToo is not a recreational camping ground: “There is a wide gulf between operating a recreational facility with the goal of sheltering people on vacation and operating a facility with the goal of sheltering people who would otherwise be on the street. It is illogical to lump them under the same set of administrative rules. We strongly object to language that suggests anything we are doing is in any way related to recreational activities.”
R2DToo has consistently offered work with BDS and has asked the City to waive penalties due to hardship. In a reply letter BDS denied the appeal and informing R2DToo that they must file an Administrative Review Appeal along with another fee of $1,215 by January 16, 2012 if they wanted to appeal further. People experiencing homelessness can’t afford these fines.
‘We have a lot of supporters and everyone is asking: Why is the city fining Right 2 Dream Too?’ says Ibrahim Mubarak, one of the organizers. ‘We are not a recreational campground; we provide a safe place to sleep for people who cannot find shelter.’
According to the city’s ‘Point in Time Count of Homelessness’ over 1700 people are unable to access shelter in Portland nightly. According to the Department of Education’s definition, Portland has 15,563 citizens who do not have housing.
R2DToo will continue to fight for a safe place 2 sleep. Community support is growing. Rally endorsers included: Sisters of the Road, Jobs with Justice and Portland Central America Solidarity Committee. Everyone has the Right 2 Survive; we believe people have the Right 2 Dream Too.
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Right 2 Survive is a group of houseless and formerly houseless individuals dedicated to teaching about and defending the human, civil and constitutional rights of people experiencing homelessness.
Right 2 Dream Too provides refuge and a safe space to rest or sleep undisturbed for people who cannot access affordable housing or shelter. R2DToo was established on World Homeless Action Day, October 10, 2011.