11/4/2022
Portland’s city council last night voted to ban unsanctioned homeless camps on streets in a move that some critics claim effectively criminalizes homelessness.
The plan, put forward by Portland’s Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Dan Ryan, limits homeless camps to six large approved sites and approved a 20,000-unit housing plan. Only one council member did not support all measures put forward, OPB reported.
Portland’s homeless population has risen by 50% from 2,037 homeless people in 2019 to more than 3,000 this year, resulting in more than 700 encampments spread out over 146 square miles. The city has worked for over a year to tackle the problem after initially banning homeless camps in forest areas following a series of wildfires in 2021.
Wheeler last month said the “magnitude and depth of the homelessness crisis in our city is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe” that had transformed into “a vortex of misery for all involved.”
One major concern lies with concerns over where the city will find funding to build these camps and additional affordable housing: The city budget office said that each camp would cost between $3 million and $6.8 million annually and that affordable housing could cost up to just shy of $10 million to build.
Full Link ( News2 )
© CopyRights RawNews1st
