At the end of the day, the mayor gave little to no real consideration to the placement of this shelter. He ran on a promise to end unsheltered homelessness—but promises mean nothing without a thoughtful, workable plan. This is reactive policy with no real vision or care regarding what the fallout will be, something we unfortunately have grown very used to tolerating (to our ongoing detriment) in this city.
The term *NIMBY* has become a blunt weapon in Portland, used to discredit legitimate concerns. It’s not unreasonable to expect safe, livable neighborhoods. Wanting basic order is not a lack of compassion—it’s a call for accountability. There’s a line between compassion and enabling, and this city crossed it long ago. If our current leaders can’t see that, they aren’t the right people for these jobs.
Mayor Wilson—who portrayed himself as a man of the people when he was campaigning—apparently has no desire to actually listen to we the people. His quantity-over-quality warehousing approach to homelessness (“1200 beds!”) doesn’t address any of the underlying causes (e.g. drug addiction, mental illness, physical disability, joblessness) of this growing urban issue. And criticizing those who would protect their already challenged neighborhood from a city-imposed influx of often drug-using, littering, begging and/or mentally unstable people as “NIMBY” adds insult to injury. As someone who's lived in the Pearl District for 25 years, I strongly object to Wilson's irrational and unwelcome plan for our neighborhood.
You nailed it, Naomi. Once again voters were fooled by another candidate, misled by the platitudes that now-Mayor Wilson spewed during his campaign. He was not my first choice but I was willing to give him a chance; I am clearly disappointed by his willful callousness for and disregard of our neighborhoods and its residents. The deterioration of Portland continues under his watch.
Well said! Having garnered our votes, Mayor Wilson has betrayed us by ignoring the codified pledge to seek neighborhood input. He jeopardizes the future of a neighborhood already suffering from diminishing property values, fleeing businesses and the vestiges of drug use: garbage, shoplifting, syringes, graffiti, and human waste. It is the residents who clean this up - not the city. Unpoliced but heavily taxed, we shoulder the costs of NWCC who responds to our security concerns and serviced the unhoused. Mayor Wilson, the future of the Pearl rests in your hands - and it doesn’t look good.
NWCC refers to Northwest Community Conservancy, a nonprofit underwritten by private donations and voluntary assessments on homeowners of many Pearl condominiums.
Mr. Mayor, can I trust you when 200 homeless people, many who have mental issues or are drug addicts, are all expelled at onto the street at 6:00 am without any wraparound services?
* Where will they go as they flood the nearby neighborhoods all at once?
* Where will they go to the bathroom? (We already clean feces and urine from our sidewalks building entrances every day)
* Where will they get food? How will they pay for it?
* Where will the drug users get their drugs?
* For those who brought their meth and fentanyl into the shelter, how soon will they take some hits after leaving?
* Will the harm reduction folks to be there on one side of the street and the drug sellers on the opposite side
* Will hundreds of more tents move into the surrounding area so folks have a place to go nearby?
* Who will be actively monitoring the situation each day?
* When problems arise, how quickly will Street Response or the police respond? What actions can they take? Have you developed specific action and response scenarios?
* After six months of this, what are your specific criteria for claiming success or admitting failure?
Finally, when will you stop enacting decisions that have already been made while pretending to get our input?
Dan, highly unlikely that the mayor will even read Allan's post or everyone's comments. He has not responded to my letter that I sent early last week, before it was published here. His willful disregard for our neighborhoods and residents blatantly demonstrates how little he cares for the voters who put their trust in him. I'd love to recall him.
I'm your typical Portland liberal/progressive. Not an extremist in any way.
But I have sold my studio condo at W Burnside and NW 16th, because after 12 years living there, I could not live in a constant state of fear and anger at the crime and drug addiction. And I am STILL the building superintendent in that same building, though I no longer live downtown. So to provide "low" or "no" barrier shelters is probably not going to create a downtown which is ANY better than we have NOW. But I would be THRILLED to say in the coming months that I was wrong!
Wilson was a last-minute creation of the town's legacy media--nice guy, no surprises, will listen to his betters. And he's not a loose cannon like Rene.
He's dumb as a stump about homelessness and its root causes--but he's all-in on creating new bureaucracies and "service" organizations that suck up tax dollars. The hard-core feral on our streets will probably not allow themselves to be herded into overnight dormitories (Kevin Dahlgren's reporting makes that clear), but the people doing the "servicing" will get steady paychecks and that's all that matters. Bonus: the cartels will have a steady supply of customers in one place. Everyone wins!
Well done piece - hit the nail on the head of what I continue to wrestle with. I don’t think those that use the sole argument of their property values helps shake the NIMBY perception but there also doesn’t seem to be areas in the middle for opinions to sit, which just perpetuates the national political realm that we all try to do better than. I don’t disagree with the statements that people living on the streets are people too and we need to show them compassion, but I see that we are not showing compassion for them or the city as a whole for continuing the rinse-and-repeat methods of managing these issues and congregate shelters are no different. These people have been essentially kidnapped by their mental illness, regardless of whether it is organic or drug-induced, and until we free them from their kidnapper the solution to just put a roof over their head overnight is not a solution. Mayor Wilson’s op ed in Newsweek indicated his shelter experience was far different than what reality is - if all shelters had women with beautiful voices singing them to sleep every neighborhood would be clamoring to have one.
Neighborhoods where people live and are out cleaning and fixing things that the city hasn’t stepped up to do have the right to be a stakeholder when the mayor wants to make a significant change to the neighborhood. Plain and simple.
I was on the NWDA call and was struck by the comments that we have don’t have a shelter problem, we have an addiction problem. The mayor said that they chose two locations in the NW because of the 1100 tents cleared, but did they stop to determine why this is the case? Is this because of the empty storefronts that allow drug deals and usage to go on unchecked? Is it the proximity to the 405 where the city knows is an easy on and off ramp for the dealers? Is it easy access to multiple stores where you can shoplift without consequences?
Instead of a no barrier congregate shelter if the mayor chose these locations for treatment centers I believe there would be far more backing. Otherwise I see this as another version of Measure 110’s missteps - just make it easier for people to continue to use and not have the resources to truly help them…and the city as a whole.
I feel we are caught in Mayor Wilson’s bold campaign promise and he will do whatever it takes to give himself the gold star for doing what he said he would do. We were looking for a fresh start in leadership with real solutions, not a bold promise that would be fulfilled regardless of the cost. That cost will be a continued gap in the pain-to-pay ratio, which has law-abiding tax-paying citizens go elsewhere. This isn’t a fatalistic view but is reality. If Mayor Wilson wants to do right by the city he needs to involve those that are knee deep in reality.
Well said, every word. Thank you. If only the mayor and his staff, and our city councilors, would read yours and others' words and heed them. But, as I stated in another comment, his callous disregard of our neighborhoods and residents is so blatant. He has betrayed the voters and our city.
Indeed! You summed up the issues that frame the lack of citizen involvement. Lack of trust!
Will the govt. trust me when I decide not to pay salaries- i.e. taxes, that support decision makers who do not trust me enough to paricipate in decisions that effect me, my safety, my quality of life? To say nothing about the people who need help the most?
Here are just a few of my questions answered by the city:
" At a high-level, the Mayor’s directive is to establish a number of overnight shelters around the City with the goal of offering 1,500 overnight beds to provide a bed for every person, every night. Alongside overnight shelters, there will be day centers and storage facilities established to provide services and supports to help individuals take vital steps towards health and housing opportunities. Our team is working diligently to establish these shelters and day centers. To learn more about our overnight shelters, please see the Mayor’s Policy Positions and our City Overnight Shelter webpage. If you navigate to the Overnight Shelter webpage, you will see that we currently have two overnight shelters already open, and three slated to open in the near future. Our goal is to continue adding overnight shelters around the City to provide supports in various neighborhoods. With enough overnight shelter beds and daytime resources providing supports in various neighborhoods, our outreach teams will have the ability to navigate folks from unsanctioned campsites to a safe bed, with regular resource connections and the ability to make a new plan. This will include folks living unsheltered near the Northrup Shelter.
Regarding the 200 bed unit on NW Northrup, this will be an adult-specific City shelter (no kids or families) and will include a Community Engagement Plan, which includes various supports that will be available around the shelter and clarity around engagement opportunities. The city does not hire out security, instead we work closely with shelter operators to staff accordingly and we provide guidance on how to best engage with police if needed. If you’re interested, please read through the engagement plan to learn about City services available and how you can support your neighborhood around this work. Something that may be useful to know – Northrup shelter will be scaled up over a period of time, and the actual use of the available capacity will vary based on need. The shelter will start with 40 beds for the first month, then scale up to 100. At that point, based on capacity and utilization, the shelter can scope up to a maximum capacity of 200 beds. The shelter operator will build relationships with a smaller group of our unhoused neighbors, before expanding to a larger number of units before winter arrives.
Daytime resources: In the morning, as folks exit the shelter, each participant will be given an information card with a map to nearby resources, services, and supports (shelter operator will be available to help make connections). One of those connections will be to an available day center, where folks can go to access basic services or to get help making a plan to connect with things like health services, housing support, and other lifesaving resources. If folks don’t have an immediate place to go in the morning, there will be an outreach team walking around the shelter for a couple of hours checking in with folks who might still be in the area. Outreach will engage with individuals from the shelter and help connect them to services, while also communicating that there is an expectation that folks don’t wait in the immediate area until the shelter opens again in the evening. In the evenings, shelter operators will be asking folks not to line up until 1 hour before opening.
As our City navigates this challenge, we will be here to help. Looking ahead, if you experience day-to-day issues from our City shelter, please continue to reach out to us at shelterservices@portlandoregon.gov. "
I hope the answers I received deescalate some of your concerns.
I've spoken at length with the Mayor's Office, the city Manager of Shelter Services and Policy, and Rapid Response concerning my many questions as a long time Pearl District resident.
They all seem to have a clear understanding of how they will manage the implementation and operations of the new shelter.
As someone who has been impacted by camping at the entrance of their building, within stairwells, and community spaces I've been looking forward to any type of solution beyond - the sweep and displace method that has been agitating the situation for years.
We cannot turn our head to how close we are to the majority of services. It is natural for people to congregate in nearby districts. Without safe shelter, we leave people to the streets where we all need access to lead our daily lives.
Well over 1,000 children live in the district. They deserve the safety to wander and explore without dodging syringes and human waste. The shelter is a step in the right direction and social services and Rapid Response will be there to make sure that every inch outside of the shelter is enhanced with better livability.
We cannot continue to allow people to live on the streets. It's dangerous for everyone - especially those who are unhoused. It's time to be bold and try something rather than clutch our pearls.
Wilson is claiming to balance the interests of the homeless vs. the community, but he's putting the homeless first. That's a group that will not or cannot contribute to the community's best future and should not have a veto over those who do.
Thank you all for covering and writing about the state of affairs of the two new proposed shelters in the Pearl. You are giving voice to democracy and the very dangers that Mayor Wilson is perpetuating.
Unfortunately, this Mayor is intentionally putting blinders on and is not following some of the basic tenets of what has made his own life and business successful. He seems to be in over his head and out of control while the interrelated crises of homeless, drugs and crime increase.
Many are convinced he has never been inside the NavCenter on NW Naito in the Pearl to experience first-hand the blight — strung out residents (they leave the facility where they have a ready dose of drugs and prostitutes from dealers stationed in cars, vans, and tents just for this purpose) only to walk back into the Navigation Center - glued to the tv, no purpose, meaning, accountabilities, and responsibilities in their lives. This is the essence of the failed no/low barrier shelter that this mayor is perpetuating.
Good intentions are paving the way to deeper rungs of hell for the unhoused and neighborhoods.
Many are convinced Mayor Wilson has never stepped foot in the Navigation Center or positioned himself in offices and buildings surrounding the Navigation Center (even for 1/2 day) or taken an in-depth tour of Bybee Lakes, or visited with founder Allan Evans to understand the root causes and enablers of homelessness and drug addiction. If so, we don’t see how he could look himself in the mirror and honestly believe more beds in high density residential areas is a workable solution for the homeless or neighborhoods. He would be sounding the bell and calling all arms to replicate the Bybee Lakes model outside of Portland urban neighborhoods with expert and required drug and mental health services, accountabilities for all residents, and verifiable metrics. He would be setting out to build long term drug and psychiatric facilities.
$2 billion later and Mayor Wilson is hell-bent on continuing down the dark, failed road of permanent ruination of homeless persons and neighborhoods where drug addiction, dealing, crime, personal assaults, and shuttered businesses are the currency of economic demise. The fact that the Pearl District has received an F rating as shown in Linda Witt’s well-researched PowerPoint presentation (based on crime and livability) because of his blinders should make him want to stand up and say, “No more of the same thing that is making our city an abject failure.”
Nor has he taken the time to listen to neighbors who in fact have done the research and are living in the midst of these ongoing failed shelters - for 6 years and counting.
His rush to slap together more beds come hell or high water is dangerous and profoundly careless on every level. He has abdicated his moral, ethical, social, political, and legal responsibilities to Portlanders - housed and unhoused.
We keep asking ourselves, if his business were in the state of failure because of repeated bad and costly decisions, would he tolerate it and continue to make the same mistakes?
Our message to Mayor Wilson, “Stop, Look, and Listen to avoid taking more of the same failed actions. Follow the same laws you expect others to follow. Take the time to build a strong action plan (with the very neighbors who live and breathe the ongoing treacherous results of no/low barrier shelters) to build and enact real solutions with verifiable metrics of success and accountability that already exist - replicating Bybee Lakes outside high density neighborhoods.”
Only then, will Mayor Wilson be doing the job he was elected to do for the unhoused and housed.
There's also been no mention of negative impacts on the NS Streetcar line, which many folks will probably use to get to the shelters, or on Tanner Springs Park, which is nearby.
At the end of the day, the mayor gave little to no real consideration to the placement of this shelter. He ran on a promise to end unsheltered homelessness—but promises mean nothing without a thoughtful, workable plan. This is reactive policy with no real vision or care regarding what the fallout will be, something we unfortunately have grown very used to tolerating (to our ongoing detriment) in this city.
The term *NIMBY* has become a blunt weapon in Portland, used to discredit legitimate concerns. It’s not unreasonable to expect safe, livable neighborhoods. Wanting basic order is not a lack of compassion—it’s a call for accountability. There’s a line between compassion and enabling, and this city crossed it long ago. If our current leaders can’t see that, they aren’t the right people for these jobs.
Mayor Wilson—who portrayed himself as a man of the people when he was campaigning—apparently has no desire to actually listen to we the people. His quantity-over-quality warehousing approach to homelessness (“1200 beds!”) doesn’t address any of the underlying causes (e.g. drug addiction, mental illness, physical disability, joblessness) of this growing urban issue. And criticizing those who would protect their already challenged neighborhood from a city-imposed influx of often drug-using, littering, begging and/or mentally unstable people as “NIMBY” adds insult to injury. As someone who's lived in the Pearl District for 25 years, I strongly object to Wilson's irrational and unwelcome plan for our neighborhood.
You nailed it, Naomi. Once again voters were fooled by another candidate, misled by the platitudes that now-Mayor Wilson spewed during his campaign. He was not my first choice but I was willing to give him a chance; I am clearly disappointed by his willful callousness for and disregard of our neighborhoods and its residents. The deterioration of Portland continues under his watch.
Well said! Having garnered our votes, Mayor Wilson has betrayed us by ignoring the codified pledge to seek neighborhood input. He jeopardizes the future of a neighborhood already suffering from diminishing property values, fleeing businesses and the vestiges of drug use: garbage, shoplifting, syringes, graffiti, and human waste. It is the residents who clean this up - not the city. Unpoliced but heavily taxed, we shoulder the costs of NWCC who responds to our security concerns and serviced the unhoused. Mayor Wilson, the future of the Pearl rests in your hands - and it doesn’t look good.
NWCC refers to Northwest Community Conservancy, a nonprofit underwritten by private donations and voluntary assessments on homeowners of many Pearl condominiums.
Mr. Mayor, can I trust you when 200 homeless people, many who have mental issues or are drug addicts, are all expelled at onto the street at 6:00 am without any wraparound services?
* Where will they go as they flood the nearby neighborhoods all at once?
* Where will they go to the bathroom? (We already clean feces and urine from our sidewalks building entrances every day)
* Where will they get food? How will they pay for it?
* Where will the drug users get their drugs?
* For those who brought their meth and fentanyl into the shelter, how soon will they take some hits after leaving?
* Will the harm reduction folks to be there on one side of the street and the drug sellers on the opposite side
* Will hundreds of more tents move into the surrounding area so folks have a place to go nearby?
* Who will be actively monitoring the situation each day?
* When problems arise, how quickly will Street Response or the police respond? What actions can they take? Have you developed specific action and response scenarios?
* After six months of this, what are your specific criteria for claiming success or admitting failure?
Finally, when will you stop enacting decisions that have already been made while pretending to get our input?
Dan, highly unlikely that the mayor will even read Allan's post or everyone's comments. He has not responded to my letter that I sent early last week, before it was published here. His willful disregard for our neighborhoods and residents blatantly demonstrates how little he cares for the voters who put their trust in him. I'd love to recall him.
I'm your typical Portland liberal/progressive. Not an extremist in any way.
But I have sold my studio condo at W Burnside and NW 16th, because after 12 years living there, I could not live in a constant state of fear and anger at the crime and drug addiction. And I am STILL the building superintendent in that same building, though I no longer live downtown. So to provide "low" or "no" barrier shelters is probably not going to create a downtown which is ANY better than we have NOW. But I would be THRILLED to say in the coming months that I was wrong!
Wilson was a last-minute creation of the town's legacy media--nice guy, no surprises, will listen to his betters. And he's not a loose cannon like Rene.
He's dumb as a stump about homelessness and its root causes--but he's all-in on creating new bureaucracies and "service" organizations that suck up tax dollars. The hard-core feral on our streets will probably not allow themselves to be herded into overnight dormitories (Kevin Dahlgren's reporting makes that clear), but the people doing the "servicing" will get steady paychecks and that's all that matters. Bonus: the cartels will have a steady supply of customers in one place. Everyone wins!
Well done piece - hit the nail on the head of what I continue to wrestle with. I don’t think those that use the sole argument of their property values helps shake the NIMBY perception but there also doesn’t seem to be areas in the middle for opinions to sit, which just perpetuates the national political realm that we all try to do better than. I don’t disagree with the statements that people living on the streets are people too and we need to show them compassion, but I see that we are not showing compassion for them or the city as a whole for continuing the rinse-and-repeat methods of managing these issues and congregate shelters are no different. These people have been essentially kidnapped by their mental illness, regardless of whether it is organic or drug-induced, and until we free them from their kidnapper the solution to just put a roof over their head overnight is not a solution. Mayor Wilson’s op ed in Newsweek indicated his shelter experience was far different than what reality is - if all shelters had women with beautiful voices singing them to sleep every neighborhood would be clamoring to have one.
Neighborhoods where people live and are out cleaning and fixing things that the city hasn’t stepped up to do have the right to be a stakeholder when the mayor wants to make a significant change to the neighborhood. Plain and simple.
I was on the NWDA call and was struck by the comments that we have don’t have a shelter problem, we have an addiction problem. The mayor said that they chose two locations in the NW because of the 1100 tents cleared, but did they stop to determine why this is the case? Is this because of the empty storefronts that allow drug deals and usage to go on unchecked? Is it the proximity to the 405 where the city knows is an easy on and off ramp for the dealers? Is it easy access to multiple stores where you can shoplift without consequences?
Instead of a no barrier congregate shelter if the mayor chose these locations for treatment centers I believe there would be far more backing. Otherwise I see this as another version of Measure 110’s missteps - just make it easier for people to continue to use and not have the resources to truly help them…and the city as a whole.
I feel we are caught in Mayor Wilson’s bold campaign promise and he will do whatever it takes to give himself the gold star for doing what he said he would do. We were looking for a fresh start in leadership with real solutions, not a bold promise that would be fulfilled regardless of the cost. That cost will be a continued gap in the pain-to-pay ratio, which has law-abiding tax-paying citizens go elsewhere. This isn’t a fatalistic view but is reality. If Mayor Wilson wants to do right by the city he needs to involve those that are knee deep in reality.
Well said, every word. Thank you. If only the mayor and his staff, and our city councilors, would read yours and others' words and heed them. But, as I stated in another comment, his callous disregard of our neighborhoods and residents is so blatant. He has betrayed the voters and our city.
Indeed! You summed up the issues that frame the lack of citizen involvement. Lack of trust!
Will the govt. trust me when I decide not to pay salaries- i.e. taxes, that support decision makers who do not trust me enough to paricipate in decisions that effect me, my safety, my quality of life? To say nothing about the people who need help the most?
Right On! And thank you for saying it so well!!
Janet Schaefer
Here are just a few of my questions answered by the city:
" At a high-level, the Mayor’s directive is to establish a number of overnight shelters around the City with the goal of offering 1,500 overnight beds to provide a bed for every person, every night. Alongside overnight shelters, there will be day centers and storage facilities established to provide services and supports to help individuals take vital steps towards health and housing opportunities. Our team is working diligently to establish these shelters and day centers. To learn more about our overnight shelters, please see the Mayor’s Policy Positions and our City Overnight Shelter webpage. If you navigate to the Overnight Shelter webpage, you will see that we currently have two overnight shelters already open, and three slated to open in the near future. Our goal is to continue adding overnight shelters around the City to provide supports in various neighborhoods. With enough overnight shelter beds and daytime resources providing supports in various neighborhoods, our outreach teams will have the ability to navigate folks from unsanctioned campsites to a safe bed, with regular resource connections and the ability to make a new plan. This will include folks living unsheltered near the Northrup Shelter.
Regarding the 200 bed unit on NW Northrup, this will be an adult-specific City shelter (no kids or families) and will include a Community Engagement Plan, which includes various supports that will be available around the shelter and clarity around engagement opportunities. The city does not hire out security, instead we work closely with shelter operators to staff accordingly and we provide guidance on how to best engage with police if needed. If you’re interested, please read through the engagement plan to learn about City services available and how you can support your neighborhood around this work. Something that may be useful to know – Northrup shelter will be scaled up over a period of time, and the actual use of the available capacity will vary based on need. The shelter will start with 40 beds for the first month, then scale up to 100. At that point, based on capacity and utilization, the shelter can scope up to a maximum capacity of 200 beds. The shelter operator will build relationships with a smaller group of our unhoused neighbors, before expanding to a larger number of units before winter arrives.
Daytime resources: In the morning, as folks exit the shelter, each participant will be given an information card with a map to nearby resources, services, and supports (shelter operator will be available to help make connections). One of those connections will be to an available day center, where folks can go to access basic services or to get help making a plan to connect with things like health services, housing support, and other lifesaving resources. If folks don’t have an immediate place to go in the morning, there will be an outreach team walking around the shelter for a couple of hours checking in with folks who might still be in the area. Outreach will engage with individuals from the shelter and help connect them to services, while also communicating that there is an expectation that folks don’t wait in the immediate area until the shelter opens again in the evening. In the evenings, shelter operators will be asking folks not to line up until 1 hour before opening.
As our City navigates this challenge, we will be here to help. Looking ahead, if you experience day-to-day issues from our City shelter, please continue to reach out to us at shelterservices@portlandoregon.gov. "
I hope the answers I received deescalate some of your concerns.
I've spoken at length with the Mayor's Office, the city Manager of Shelter Services and Policy, and Rapid Response concerning my many questions as a long time Pearl District resident.
They all seem to have a clear understanding of how they will manage the implementation and operations of the new shelter.
As someone who has been impacted by camping at the entrance of their building, within stairwells, and community spaces I've been looking forward to any type of solution beyond - the sweep and displace method that has been agitating the situation for years.
We cannot turn our head to how close we are to the majority of services. It is natural for people to congregate in nearby districts. Without safe shelter, we leave people to the streets where we all need access to lead our daily lives.
Well over 1,000 children live in the district. They deserve the safety to wander and explore without dodging syringes and human waste. The shelter is a step in the right direction and social services and Rapid Response will be there to make sure that every inch outside of the shelter is enhanced with better livability.
We cannot continue to allow people to live on the streets. It's dangerous for everyone - especially those who are unhoused. It's time to be bold and try something rather than clutch our pearls.
Thanks so much for that thoughtful letter.
Wilson is claiming to balance the interests of the homeless vs. the community, but he's putting the homeless first. That's a group that will not or cannot contribute to the community's best future and should not have a veto over those who do.
Thank you all for covering and writing about the state of affairs of the two new proposed shelters in the Pearl. You are giving voice to democracy and the very dangers that Mayor Wilson is perpetuating.
Unfortunately, this Mayor is intentionally putting blinders on and is not following some of the basic tenets of what has made his own life and business successful. He seems to be in over his head and out of control while the interrelated crises of homeless, drugs and crime increase.
Many are convinced he has never been inside the NavCenter on NW Naito in the Pearl to experience first-hand the blight — strung out residents (they leave the facility where they have a ready dose of drugs and prostitutes from dealers stationed in cars, vans, and tents just for this purpose) only to walk back into the Navigation Center - glued to the tv, no purpose, meaning, accountabilities, and responsibilities in their lives. This is the essence of the failed no/low barrier shelter that this mayor is perpetuating.
Good intentions are paving the way to deeper rungs of hell for the unhoused and neighborhoods.
Many are convinced Mayor Wilson has never stepped foot in the Navigation Center or positioned himself in offices and buildings surrounding the Navigation Center (even for 1/2 day) or taken an in-depth tour of Bybee Lakes, or visited with founder Allan Evans to understand the root causes and enablers of homelessness and drug addiction. If so, we don’t see how he could look himself in the mirror and honestly believe more beds in high density residential areas is a workable solution for the homeless or neighborhoods. He would be sounding the bell and calling all arms to replicate the Bybee Lakes model outside of Portland urban neighborhoods with expert and required drug and mental health services, accountabilities for all residents, and verifiable metrics. He would be setting out to build long term drug and psychiatric facilities.
$2 billion later and Mayor Wilson is hell-bent on continuing down the dark, failed road of permanent ruination of homeless persons and neighborhoods where drug addiction, dealing, crime, personal assaults, and shuttered businesses are the currency of economic demise. The fact that the Pearl District has received an F rating as shown in Linda Witt’s well-researched PowerPoint presentation (based on crime and livability) because of his blinders should make him want to stand up and say, “No more of the same thing that is making our city an abject failure.”
Nor has he taken the time to listen to neighbors who in fact have done the research and are living in the midst of these ongoing failed shelters - for 6 years and counting.
His rush to slap together more beds come hell or high water is dangerous and profoundly careless on every level. He has abdicated his moral, ethical, social, political, and legal responsibilities to Portlanders - housed and unhoused.
We keep asking ourselves, if his business were in the state of failure because of repeated bad and costly decisions, would he tolerate it and continue to make the same mistakes?
Our message to Mayor Wilson, “Stop, Look, and Listen to avoid taking more of the same failed actions. Follow the same laws you expect others to follow. Take the time to build a strong action plan (with the very neighbors who live and breathe the ongoing treacherous results of no/low barrier shelters) to build and enact real solutions with verifiable metrics of success and accountability that already exist - replicating Bybee Lakes outside high density neighborhoods.”
Only then, will Mayor Wilson be doing the job he was elected to do for the unhoused and housed.
There's also been no mention of negative impacts on the NS Streetcar line, which many folks will probably use to get to the shelters, or on Tanner Springs Park, which is nearby.