OVER THE PAST two weeks, a makeshift homeless encampment has
been growing in front of city hall. Kicking off on Friday, April 25, a
few men and women who’d been “swept” out from under the Burnside
Bridge—where they usually slept—set up camp on the
sidewalk, against city hall’s cement balustrade.
They gathered there to protest several city issues, including the
camping ban, the sit-lie law, and the lack of affordable housing.
Because it’s a constitutionally protected protest, police haven’t
cleared the sidewalk.
Instead, the protest has grown. By Sunday night, May 4, 70
protesters were camping out. The next morning, TV crews were there to
document the protest. Meanwhile, Monica Goracke of the Oregon Law
Center walked among the protesters offering legal advice.
“I’ve been told people here have had their stuff destroyed and that
the police are carrying out camping sweeps without proper notice,”
Goracke said. “I think the city’s general policies around camping and
sweeping need to be addressed.”
Protester Larry Reynolds, a 10-year Army veteran who along with his
younger brother Duane has been a central figure in the protests, was
out with a notepad asking people to write down their protest goals.
“The main issue has been affordable housing,” he says. “But we want
the city to repeal the sit-lie and the camping ordinances.”
The Mercury asked three protesters for their stories.
Amber Baker, 24, from Portland, has been homeless since she was 16.
She says that she originally fled an abusive stepfather, then she was
married to an abusive husband for three years, who is now in jail for
domestic abuse. Baker, who described herself as “mentally retarded,”
draws a $623 social security check once a month, but it’s not enough to
afford an apartment.
Shaggy Simpson, 25, from New Jersey, came back to this country after
three years of military service in Iraq in 2005. He says he witnessed
several big explosions and multiple deaths over there; since his
return, he’s bounced in and out of housing.
“I’m still trying to get it together,” he says.
Trevor Oranday, 28, is from Roseville, California. He broke his heel
working construction there just before Christmas, became homeless, and
is now in Portland, looking for work. “I was told to come down here [to
the protest] by the local police,” he laughs.
Responsibility for satisfying the protesters’ demands—or
otherwise figuring out how to end the protest—falls to Mayor Tom
Potter, as he’s the head of the police bureau that’s responsible for
the sweeps, and the temporary commissioner in charge of housing,
following Erik Sten’s departure. (He also heads up the city’s
facilities department, which oversees city hall property.) On April 30,
Potter sent a letter to city employees, explaining the situation.
“As long as the entrance to city hall is not blocked and conditions
remain sanitary and safe, they have a right to be here and to make
their concerns known,” Potter wrote. “We do not know how long the
protest will continue.” He outlined the “steps the city is taking both
immediately and short term,” like interviewing the protesters “so we
will have real data on their specific circumstances, needs, and
concerns,” allocating money to reopen temporary winter shelters (which
had closed at the end of March), and “continuing to explore strategies
and alternatives to increase the utilization of rental vouchers.”
As Potter was speaking up from inside city hall, several candidates
who’d like a seat on the city council weighed in. The two candidates
leading the race to replace Sten as housing commissioner went toe to
toe on the issue.
Jim Middaugh issued a statement just hours after Potter’s,
saying “we need bold leadership to revamp our local housing programs to
ensure they prioritize investments in those most in need. Until
housing is available we may need to rethink enforcement of our
anti-camping ordinance.” He also called on the city to “find or create
1,000 new units of housing.”
Middaugh’s opponent, Nick Fish, shot back: “Jim was chief of staff
to Commissioner Sten. The question I have for him is, what steps did he
take then to advance his call for 1,000 new units of housing for the
homeless?” he told the Mercury. “I’m as committed as anyone to
solving chronic homelessness and providing safe and decent affordable
housing for all, but what leadership steps did he take a month ago to
address this problem? What he appears to be doing now is shifting the
blame to Mayor Potter for his own failure.”
In response to Fish’s criticism, Middaugh said, “There’s a
fundamental misunderstanding of the issues at this point. The response
needs to be we need to change the way we do police sweeps of homeless
camps until there’s more capacity.”
In another city council race, candidate Jeff Bissonnette stopped by
to chat with the protesters on Wednesday night, April 30. He ended up
spending the night. The homeless protesters “fixed me up,” says
Bissonnette, who “didn’t really come prepared to stay.” They gave him
cardboard, a sleeping bag, and a blanket.
“What they’re asking for is real solutions. That’s precisely the
thing they ought to be asking and pushing for, and it’s not something
that is readily deliverable within a week or within a couple of days,”
Bissonnette says. If he were on the city council, “I’d be in dialogues
with these folks to get a solution together. The immediate solution
might be short term, but if they saw there was a long-term solution,
that would give most folks stability within a matter of a few months,
that might move the discussion along.”
On Monday afternoon, May 5, Potter tried to start a dialogue of his
own, meeting in his office with Reynolds and three other protesters.
The meeting, which included Central Precinct Commander Mike Reese and
Potter’s director of public safety policy Maria Rubio, was closed to
the press—Potter’s chief spokesperson John Doussard said it would
be “more honest” if people weren’t “grandstanding.”
But at 4:20 pm, Reynolds emerged disappointed. Potter had told the
group he would not revoke the camping ordinance or sit-lie ordinance
because they were “useful tools the city uses to protect public
safety,” according to Reynolds. Instead, Potter talked about the city’s
10-year plan to end homelessness.
“His final statement was that, ‘We’ve told you what we’re doing, if
that’s not enough, we’re giving up’,” Reynolds said. “And I told him,
you may be giving up, buddy, but I’m not.”
Reynolds went outside to tell his fellow protesters what had
happened. Within 10 minutes, all of them were shouting, “Hell no! We
won’t go!” and some were waiving their fists up at the mayor’s office,
as the TV cameras continued to roll.
“I don’t think Tom Potter or the city ever feels that the homeless
problem is one you give up on,” says Doussard, pointing to the 10-year
plan as an example of the city’s commitment. Space in a women’s shelter
opened several days ago, and 90 beds from the Salvation Army will open
later this week or early next, possibly with space for couples,
Doussard adds.
But with the camping issue at the crux of the protest, and Potter
refusing to budge on it, will the protest keep going regardless of how
much shelter space the city provides?
“I can’t speak for the protesters,” Doussard says. “We’re
working with lots of folks. I think we’re making some headway.”