PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — It’s possible Portland city officials will announce the 6 sites chosen for the Safe Rest Village locations this week. These sites will be designated areas homeless people can stay with access to showers, bathrooms and mental health care.
The 6 sites will be chosen from a list of 70 potential sites all owned by the City of Portland. A majority of these sites are in downtown Portland or in East County. One potential location in North Portland is the Expo Center.
The city website One Point of Contact shows the Sunnyside neighborhood has one of the highest volumes of calls reporting homeless issues.
City of Portland — Weekly Campsite Report
City of Portland — Homeless Toolkit
A representative with the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association told KOIN 6 News they do not actively promote nor discourage the One Point of Contact reporting system. But last year they endorsed the Community First strategy to address homelessness.
“Organic, unsupported camps are neither compassionate nor best practice,” the association said. “Sanitation, security and access to services are unreliable at best. Lack of services leads to desperation, which leads to crimes of desperation against the unwilling host community.”
So the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association began a street cleanup, shower program and installed porta-potties.
A representative with the group said they believe significant public investment in education, mental health, job development and training, plus addiction treatment are only a few things the city must bolster to begin tackling this.