An effective, humane response to the homeless crisis
The homeless crisis is the most urgent issue facing our communities, and we need some serious radical acceptance of what it takes to see that people can be successful.
The only way to get there is through collaboration and effective implementation – and I want to update you on some significant actions from this past month.
Last week I joined city and county leaders for the announcement of a joint Homeless Response Action Plan that aims to house or shelter roughly 2,700 more people living outside over the next two years.
Recognizing, embracing, and building the continuum in response to what people truly need to be successful is what this plan is all about. In short, that continuum is: shelter, services, stability, and housing – and I am pleased to see increased city-county planning and coordination to get us there.
This is why I took the time to learn from other cities; to see this continuum in action; and to help invest in the city’s Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites. We can design a system to ensure that our houseless neighbors have the services, the trusted relationships, and the consistent communication they need as they move from the streets and toward stable, permanent housing.
Our city needs systems and solutions to houselessness that will work for real people. In my capacity as the city’s Housing Commissioner, I’ve completed, led, and passed numerous policy changes to speed up housing production in the face of serious financial barriers that are not in the city’s control.
This plan is not yet final, and it requires the input from community members, homeless and housing services providers, and other stakeholders. Through March 29th, you can send your feedback and ideas to HRAPfeedback@multco.us. Please click here for details on two virtual town halls scheduled for this week.
* * *
In addition, this month the Oregon Supreme Court decided it would not weigh in on a Multnomah County judge’s injunction on the City’s camping ban. I could see this coming, which is why I warned that we needed to first ensure our timelines matched with adequate shelter sites and day center capacity, as well as a clear and defined shelter and housing strategy.
Back then I said that to move the policy forward before all these pieces are ready to go does not make good or responsible policy sense to me. As you might remember, I introduced amendments to the ordinance, and ultimately voted no. As I stated then, and is worth repeating, I believe it is important to have a process that is inclusive of all the system partners – including shelters, law enforcement, experts, and others – to arrive at a solution that is inclusive and not divisive.
It’s why this past January I suggested to the Mayor, and then we discussed at a subsequent Council meeting, a recalibration that includes all active system partners. We need to find a new, balanced way forward that is humane, especially for our community members with disabilities.
We are all in favor of humane treatment for every human being. Treating the homeless like irresponsible children is not an answer to the problems we face as a community. We are suffering from an awful combination of homelessness, drug addiction, and completely inadequate government leadership.
The complaints that have overwhelmed you and the rest of our Public Officials have “not” been about inhumane treatment of the people living on our streets. The complaints that have been consistently, and loudly, begging for action, are crimes committed by these individuals, the unsafe and unhealthy conditions that they are exposing the public to, the trash that flows from every “camp” and the trashy unsafe vehicles and boats they live in creating a third world impression of poverty in our once beautiful City, and the vandalism that is being committed by more than a few of the criminals that are hiding among
Why should we believe any of your promises, especially those that require the participation of Multnomah County, when the City of Portland and the County have such a dismal track record?
Here's the operative expression insofar as the City and County's homeless policies and practices are concerned: "Credibility Gap." Most Portlanders believe that the City of Portland and the County care more about the homeless than they do about the residents, neighborhoods, businesses and visitors who are harmed by unchecked homelessness that has ballooned in the past five years.
What's missing here is any acknowledgement of what's gone wrong in the past. For example, it is widely acknowledged, even by some County commissioners, that Multnomah County's management of the nonprofits to which it outsources so many of the services it has pledged to deliver is abysmally poor. Nobody tracks what the contractors are being paid to and when; they don't know whether the contractors have complied with their contractual obligations; and are not holding nonprofits accountable for falling short. Please give me the names of the people who are going to reform this mess and what their deadline will be.
Also missing from this high level summary is any mention of deadlines or of a plan to assess how well the various parties are meeting their obligations.
History shows that whenever the City and County attempt regulate the homeless in order to improve the quality of life for the Portlanders who have managed to remain housed and employed a small but very vocal and connected contingent of activists and their allies in the press do everything in their power to obstruct it. That has got to end. Portland's voter/taxpayers have had it with activists running the show.
Since this plan seems to rely heavily on shelters, are the elected officials at the City and County aware of the withering criticism homeless shelters routinely receive from activists and activist reporters? If not, you should be. Find out what they're objecting to, determine whether or not they have a valid point, fix the parts of the shelter system that need fixing and tell the activists and the press to shut up about any complaints that weren't substantiated.
But that's not all. It is very likely that some of the activists and homeless object to shelters because they have rules they do not like. The County needs to listen to critics, change any rules that need changing, and then defend the other rules that are essential for keeping shelters peaceful and safe. Again, you have to push back when activists and the press make untrue statements about shelters or demands that are unreasonable.