Pendleton and Wheeler: A hope to end Portland’s homelessness

Ted Wheeler, a state treasurer running to be Portland’s next mayor, and Lloyd Pendleton, the director of Salt Lake City’s housing first plan, are planning on doing big things for Portland’s homeless population.

Lloyd Pendleton: former director of Salt Lake City's
housing first project, now head of Utah's Homeless
Task Force. Photo by Jim McAuley

In 2005, Utah began to implement its housing first plan in an effort to reach the ambitious goal of ending chronic homelessness. The plan has been an amazing success, reducing the chronic homeless population on the streets by 91%. So what is ‘housing first’? It’s pretty simple - find permanent sustainable housing now, and worry about services or treatments after. Often when applying for permanent housing, homeless people must meet prerequisites like completing a course of treatment or proving sobriety. By lowering the requirements for housing, housing first plans allow people who would typically be turned away from affordable housing to find permanent and supportive housing. In Utah, this model was more successful in the past because of their personalized approach. Weekly, representatives from the organization working on chronic homelessness in Utah would meet to go over a list. This list had the names of each chronically homeless person in Salt Lake City. They would go through the list and assign people to whatever housing openings there were that week. It was like first come, first served style with a twist, they made sure that the person was the right fit for that opening, and if not, they were put back on the list until the right opening was found.

A conservative, Pendleton used to have a different view on homelessness. He used to say, “You lazy bums, get a job, pull yourself up by the bootstraps,” but as a businessman, he changed his mind when he saw the economic cost of keeping people on the street. Pendleton discovered that on average, it costs $20,000 a year to keep a homeless person on the street, and only $10,000 to house them. Pendleton decided, “Let’s use that money to get them off the street and back into society”.

State Treasurer Ted Wheeler. Photo by 

John M. Vincent

Using Pendleton’s numbers, Portland spends almost $95 million a year on maintaining the status of homeless people. With this, I think housing first would be a great solution for the city’s homeless problem, and I’m hoping Ted Wheeler will consider it too.

Wheeler announced that his top priority if elected mayor would be ending homelessness, stating that every homeless person would have a bed within the first 2 years of his administration. He stated, “We now only have one emergency bed for every three people on our streets, in our parks, or in the campsites that dot our city. We must do better”. He says that he will be considering all options to find shelter for the people of Portland, and that these shelters that he is looking for must meet certain criteria, such as being cost effective and providing service to keep people off the streets permanently. In his considerations, I hope he also considers a housing first approach in filling these beds.

-Kendra Jackson

Articles Referenced in this post:

Utah Reduced Chronic Homelessness By 91 Percent; Here's How

The Housing First Checklist

On Pendleton, Wheeler and an end to homelessness

Wheeler promises shelter beds for all homeless if elected mayor

'Tis the Season to be Giving

At this time of year, we’re often preoccupied with getting the right gifts, putting up the lights, or finding the perfect ugly sweater to wear to the next holiday party. In the midst of all this holiday fervor it’s easy to forget about the people who don’t have the money to buy gifts for their children or even a home to decorate with holiday lights. The City of Portland is home to 600,000 people, and over 4,000 of those people will be homeless during the holiday season. This year, let’s all take more time to lend a hand to the people experiencing homelessness this winter. Just because you can’t put a roof over someone’s head doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference. There are many meaningful ways you can help the homeless around the holidays.

1. Donate food, funds, or time-- According to a study done by End Homelessness, one in two food bank users are children, and since the recession, visits to food banks have increased by 45%. Help ensure that kids have enough food to eat through the holiday season. Many agencies are looking for volunteers to help with activities like sorting donations, serving food, and wrapping gifts.You can also put together a care package with the basics; winter clothing, toiletries, and gift cards for groceries. These items seem “routine” but significantly ease the strain of day-to-day living for individuals and families in need.
2. Contribute to a toy drive-- Holidays are a particularly stressful time for homeless parents and low-income families. This year, donate to a toy drive. You can drop off unwrapped toys, gifts, and gift cards to any toy drive. These items can help provide some holiday cheer for Portland children and families struggling to make ends meet.
3. Lend an ear-- The homeless are a vulnerable population, subject to a number of stereotypes and often treated as if they are invisible. Many people without permanent housing say that the loss of dignity that comes with homelessness is harder to deal with than the actual loss of physical things. Even if you don’t have money or time to donate, try smiling, saying “good morning,” or acknowledging the homeless when you pass them in the streets. Treating the homeless with respect is a small step in the right direction towards eradicating stereotypes and changing the way we think about our homeless population.

It’s important to remember that the homeless struggle not only during the holidays, but year-round. If you’re able to donate time, funds, or food this season, consider making it a monthly habit. We should all aim to spend a little less time on the couch with Netflix, and a little more energy getting involved in our communities in the new year.

-Lynette Daigo

What if you were homeless for a day?

I’ve lived in the Portland area almost my entire life. I love this city; the vibrancy and artistic hipster lifestyle is exciting and is the staple of this unique place. Despite all these amazing cultural aspects, there is a prevalent issue here. My early childhood memories include seeing homeless people standing on street corners in the pouring rain, grasping cardboard signs with sprawled sharpie reading “Homeless. Anything helps. God bless.” Now, I was watching this from behind the safety and comfort of my car window, and it was a hard concept to grasp at seven years old. The fact of the matter is that this sight is too common in Portland.

My parents exposed me to this situation in great ways as a kid. We have served dinner to homeless people, made hygiene kits, and donated our money in addition to our time. But even with all of this experience, there is still some distance between me and them.

A few months ago my aunt shared a woman’s story on Facebook (the link is below). This woman’s story fascinated me because she put herself into the shoes of a homeless person for one day. Her observations are not as much about the struggles one might imagine, but rather the lack of humanity that these people experience on the streets. Countless people will walk by someone sitting on the side of the road and not give them a sideways glance. Maybe they aren’t thinking about their lack of eye contact as contributing to the absence of humanity that homeless people experience. But this is the case, according to this woman’s first hand experience; this seemingly small detail changes everything. When she found an 82 year old woman sitting on a walker in front of a Whole Foods, she talked to her and touched her arm, moving the old woman to tears for the compassion that she hadn’t had in years.

Everyone has their story; some of the homeless in Portland are drug addicts, some are mentally ill, and some are lost and trying to find their way. Before assuming the worst of someone, make the conscious decision to see the best in people, despite our varying differences and situations. No one wants to be homeless. We need to respect everyone, regardless of where they are in life.

Obviously, we don’t all need to try being homeless. But I would encourage everyone to make an effort to show kindness to others. I recently was in SE Hawthorne, and I gave my leftovers to some homeless men sitting on the sidewalk. It didn’t mean that much to me, but it was clear that it meant a lot to them. Small, random acts of kindness make the world go round. My leftovers will not solve the problem of homelessness in Portland, but they will make a small difference in someone else’s life. If we all do something, big or small, whether it’s smiling at a stranger or giving away some leftovers or donating money to an organization. We can all do something.

The most important lessons learned from the Facebook post are as follows:

1. Be compassionate towards everyone you encounter, always.
2. We are all people, with our own stories, and we should never be too quick to pass judgement.
3. Do something.

-Samantha Sidline

If you want to read the original Facebook post (and I think you should!), check out this link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206173075358670&set=a.1054787822753.10463.1617551447&type=3&theater


Photograph: https://www.google.com/search?q=homeless+portland&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwieiZ2LmubJAhUUV2MKHRpFBQ4Q_AUICCgC&biw=1366&bih=667#safe=strict&tbm=isch&q=homeless+people&imgrc=-bRk7-nYqOjdaM%3A

Laying Down the Law: The Legality of Homelessness in Portland

Most would imagine camping as a care-free, fun activity with friends and family; a fire lit, s'mores roasting, tents with warm sleeping bags. Many don’t imagine camping as a way of life or survival, but this is the situation for the homeless population in Portland. The problem is camping is illegal in the city of Portland, OR. According to The Oregonian, there are only two legal homeless camps in Portland: Dignity Village in North Portland and The Right 2 Dream Too. A homeless man named Ibrahim Mubarak, who helped start both Dignity Village and The Right 2 Dream Too feels that "...we need more legal camps, unless we're suddenly going to come up with houses for everyone." Furthermore, he highlighted the fact that "...You have a two-year waiting list to get housing in this city. If you're trying to stop doing drugs, get a handle on a mental-health problem, stay away from somebody who abused you, two years is a very, very long time.” Despite the fact that Portland does offer two sanctuaries for the homeless, it is still not enough, as there are over 2,000 people a night sleeping on the streets in Portland.  Portland’s lack of shelter for the homeless can be attributed to the development and improvement of inner city neighborhoods such as the Central Eastside Industrial District, Washington High School and St. Francis Park that pushed the homeless population out.

While Portland is known as a city that accommodates for the homeless population, there are still problems, especially in the relationship between the homeless and law enforcement. The police are required to enforce the no-camping law, which is run based on complaints from the public. In general, if the homeless “stay out of sight, out of trouble, and away from large groups, officers will usually leave you alone.” This concept has benefitted the homeless population, as it allows them to be spared from arrest for being homeless. Sergeant Nate Voeller of the Central Precinct’s neighborhood response team said that “we know as well as anybody that people need a place to sleep, and that we don’t have enough options in Portland.” It is clear that Portland has a problem with homelessness. The problem is not that there are homeless people in the city, but that there are only two legal camps in the whole city that are reaching their maximum capacity. It is our responsibility to help alleviate this issue, as it is a violation of human rights and safety for the public as a whole. -Maddy Zimba

To find out more about homelessness in Portland, check out these links:

The article this post references: http://www.oregonlive.com/homeless/2015/06/post_1.html

http://www.portlandcopwatch.org/OR_Homeless_Rights.pdf

http://www.golocalpdx.com/news/homeless-right-to-sleep-on-sidewalks-pushed-by-oregon-senator

Photo Sources:

http://koin.com/2015/12/02/r2dtoo-campers-face-eviction-before-new-site-is-ready/

http://www.tentcityurbanism.com/2011/08/view-of-dignity-village.html

Securing Homeless Individuals with a Foundation for Tomorrow a.k.a SHIFT.

Who are we?

We are a group of students at Lake Oswego High School who have made it our goal to make a difference in our community. Our main focus is helping homeless individuals transition off the streets through charity work and donations.

Currently we are focusing our efforts on research to find the best foundations to support. We will then create fundraisers within our school and community to support the foundations we find in the Portland area.

We also recognize the disconnect between our Lake Oswego community and the homeless community. We have created a Twitter page, a Facebook page, a Blogger, and will make an Instagram page. Our social media sites will help you stay informed and track our work, while also showing possible organizations to donate to. We will post fundraising opportunities on all of our blogs. Our Instagram page will share pictures and stories of homeless people in order create an understanding of the unfortunate circumstances that make people homeless and help our community empathize with the homeless. We want to humanize these individuals through social media and help our community lift up one another.