“Something a little more official from the city stating that thereād be at least a temporary place to house people while we work on the cityās housing crisis,ā he said.
Keller said he sees the problem of widespread homeless camping daily.
āJust biking to and from work thereās a new campsite in a different location every day…I think the city and myself are at a point where it feels like it canāt get any worse than it is right now,” he said.
He hopes this camp will change that, but he worries people might not accept the offer.
āYou know you can offer as much assistance to people and theyāll run away from it just because theyāre having to put up with rules and regulations, thereās substance abuse issues too, people just not wanting to sacrifice the freedom, what little freedom they do have. Theyād rather rough it. People feeling like theyāre at risk of being, things being stolen from them, by other people living in close quarters, so I hear those things a lot from the homeless community,ā Keller said.
KATU asked the non-profit the City is contracting to run the camp, Urban Alchemy, how they’ll assure people their belongings will be safe. They told us that they’ll provide storage containers for people which can be locked.
And that staff will do frequent wellness checks.
“It so much, so desperately needs to be done,ā said Keller’s neighbor Jim Houser.
He thinks the city picked a great spot for the camp with it being so close to bus and train stops and doesnāt mind it being so close by.
āSo whatever services they need they can get on the Max or the bus and go to services. So I think itās great, Iām happy to welcome them,ā Houser said.
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