Warehousing people overnight, kicking them out at 6:00 am.. and with no wraparound services has a high likelihood of failure. If I took a similar proposal to Keith Wilson as a business person, he'd send me back to the drawing board, and rightly so.
The shelter is not only low barrier, but co-ed - a scenario that homeless women do not tend to frequent or trust. The definition of a “low-barrier” homeless shelter states that it is attractive because it provides easy and immediate access to emergency shelter by reducing or eliminating obstacles that “prevent people from accessing services,” such as sobriety, income verification, criminal background checks, or identification requirements. So someone can conceivably arrive drunk or high and sleep it off before being evicted at 6 am the next morning with a questionable amount of time to consider counseling, addiction services, or any other service on offer. The NS streetcar runs just outside the door and the Pearl Safeway is 2 blocks away, opening - coincidentally - at 6 am when the overnight shelter ushers people out. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict where people will go when they head out in the morning with their snack, where they may choose to ride aimlessly around and where they might land at 10 am (the new NW Branch Library between Overton and Pettygrove and 20th & 21st, a block from the streetcar line’s 21st & Northrup stop, when it opens in a few months' time - by which time there will likely be more than 40 visitors per night at the shelter plus whoever chooses to congregate outside its walls.
When it opens, the Salvation Army-operated shelter will be the fifth in a series of about 12 to 15 new overnight-only shelters promised by Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. It is the first to have generated intense neighborhood pushback. A majority of the shelters, thus far, have been located in NW and SW Portland. 5 out of 7 of the planned shelters listed as operating or to be operating within the next few months are located in Inner NW and SW Portland, as opposed to one shelter in North and one in outer Southeast Portland.
On August 6th, the Oregonian reported that, “The first new day center will be set up in an empty lot in Old Town, bordered by Northwest 6th Avenue, Glisan Street, Broadway and Hoyt Street. The lot is owned by Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development arm, and served as a village shelter during the pandemic.” Subsequent articles have not mentioned this site; apparently it didn’t pan out, likely because it is located near the old Post Office acreage, an expensive property coveted by developers. But it was yet another location in Inner NW. Originally talk of overnight and 24-hour shelters spoke of locating them equitably in the four quadrants of the city. That does not appear to be happening. Why?
Portland overnight-only shelters (per The Oregonian / Oregon Live)
PUBLICLY RUN
North Portland
Moore Street
5325 North Williams Avenue (between Emerson and Killingsworth)
Capacity: 100 beds
Clientele: Co-ed
Operated by: Salvation Army (city funding)
Planned opening: OPEN as of January 2025
-----------------
Outer Southeast Portland
Church of the Nazarene
9715 Southeast Powell Boulevard (at the junction of I-205 and Route 26)
Capacity: 100 beds
Clientele: Co-ed
Operated by: Agape Village (city funding)
Planned opening: OPEN as of August 2025
--------------------
Inner Southwest Portland
Operation Nightwatch at St. Stephen’s
1432 Southwest 13th Avenue (between Columbia and Clay)
Or better yet, the “Sanctuary District”. Through its political choices and practices, the City of Portland and Multnomah County have made Portlandia a Sanctuary City for drug addicts, drug dealers, the untreated mentally and those who want to live without having any rules applicable to them. Every time I go visit Portland.gov it’s right there in my face.
The way things are going, the only way Portland’s long-suffering taxpayers will find sanctuary is to move to a different county or state.
There is no one currently monitoring any drug use or drinking of alcohol outside the Moore shelter. This behavior is taking place within 30-50 ft from the shelter entrance. They don't pay any attn to what's going on across the street from the shelter entrance and it's been reported over and over to the city and shelter and guess what? Not a thing has been done to deter this behavior. Just this week I witnessed a man smoking something out of a pipe before entering...two men sharing a 40oz of beer before entering. It's a free for all before people enter the shelter! Do your illegal drugs, drink what you like then come on in...no one will tell you it's not allowed. Wilson did say recently he's not the "Law and Order" kind of guy...so tell me how this will help people get off the streets? How are you improving our communities!? Laws don't matter? Right...that's how we got here!!!!
Erica, sadly there is no good track record that would justify optimism. I've been talking with other residents near low-barrier shelters and their hard-won experience can be summed up with the conclusion that the city is simply not able to mitigate the negative effects of the shelters on the surrounding neighborhood. Despite the claims that crime goes down, crime goes up, loitering goes up, prostitution goes up, drug dealing goes up. There is a lot of visibility on this particular shelter, so maybe the city will up its game. That's all we can hope, or the Pearl will descend into a death spiral. For some interesting data/research, see my pdf here: https://mcusercontent.com/d8818a6a98c2c190f9cbc2e32/files/d7f9f35e-f315-995b-e1db-193b45a1abd3/Latest_Version_of_Shelter_Opposition_Analysis_August_26_2025.pdf
Everyone should take the time to read through this clear-eyed analysis. We need to understand how much trouble we’re in and embrace responsibility and accountability in order to find the strength to deal with a challenging - and obvious - situation. Thank you for taking the time to compile this and share it.
Why would anyone expect that they will act on feedback now, when the mayor and district reps have ignored all of us from the very beginning? They pushed this forward with zero neighborhood input and have dodged every resident question or request for clarity about actual mitigation measures. And the reason they keep dodging is obvious—there was no real planning done. No study of neighborhood impact. No enhanced security strategy. No defined response times for inevitable issues. None of it exists, because they simply don’t care what happens to the Pearl or to the businesses and residents who actually invest in living here.
I hope people remember this the next time they vote, because the entire process has been egregious—and it will ultimately collapse under its own weight. Ill-conceived plans with no strategy always do. Unfortunately, Portland has grown accustomed to accepting this same brand of failure, over and over again, from its elected “leaders”.
I think this is a great idea - but again, I don't have much faith based on lived experience. While this is Wilson's first foray into this - he still has been the elected mayor overseeing existing shelters with abismal response. Regarding transparent feedback - from whom? The nearby citizens? I believe that is already happening. From the Mayor and city? If the townhall is any indication, I don't feel very hopeful.
please read the article carefully -- particularly the fact that a neighbor of the Moore St shelter was told NOT to speak in the meeting at the Armory about the lack of security and no response to complaints.
We NEED to be reporting everything to the city. The only way they will listen is if the data shows there is a problem. The Mayor and City will continue to tout data about how their plan is working - we NEED that data to accurately reflect what is going on.
Warehousing people overnight, kicking them out at 6:00 am.. and with no wraparound services has a high likelihood of failure. If I took a similar proposal to Keith Wilson as a business person, he'd send me back to the drawing board, and rightly so.
The shelter is not only low barrier, but co-ed - a scenario that homeless women do not tend to frequent or trust. The definition of a “low-barrier” homeless shelter states that it is attractive because it provides easy and immediate access to emergency shelter by reducing or eliminating obstacles that “prevent people from accessing services,” such as sobriety, income verification, criminal background checks, or identification requirements. So someone can conceivably arrive drunk or high and sleep it off before being evicted at 6 am the next morning with a questionable amount of time to consider counseling, addiction services, or any other service on offer. The NS streetcar runs just outside the door and the Pearl Safeway is 2 blocks away, opening - coincidentally - at 6 am when the overnight shelter ushers people out. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict where people will go when they head out in the morning with their snack, where they may choose to ride aimlessly around and where they might land at 10 am (the new NW Branch Library between Overton and Pettygrove and 20th & 21st, a block from the streetcar line’s 21st & Northrup stop, when it opens in a few months' time - by which time there will likely be more than 40 visitors per night at the shelter plus whoever chooses to congregate outside its walls.
When it opens, the Salvation Army-operated shelter will be the fifth in a series of about 12 to 15 new overnight-only shelters promised by Portland Mayor Keith Wilson. It is the first to have generated intense neighborhood pushback. A majority of the shelters, thus far, have been located in NW and SW Portland. 5 out of 7 of the planned shelters listed as operating or to be operating within the next few months are located in Inner NW and SW Portland, as opposed to one shelter in North and one in outer Southeast Portland.
On August 6th, the Oregonian reported that, “The first new day center will be set up in an empty lot in Old Town, bordered by Northwest 6th Avenue, Glisan Street, Broadway and Hoyt Street. The lot is owned by Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development arm, and served as a village shelter during the pandemic.” Subsequent articles have not mentioned this site; apparently it didn’t pan out, likely because it is located near the old Post Office acreage, an expensive property coveted by developers. But it was yet another location in Inner NW. Originally talk of overnight and 24-hour shelters spoke of locating them equitably in the four quadrants of the city. That does not appear to be happening. Why?
Portland overnight-only shelters (per The Oregonian / Oregon Live)
PUBLICLY RUN
North Portland
Moore Street
5325 North Williams Avenue (between Emerson and Killingsworth)
Capacity: 100 beds
Clientele: Co-ed
Operated by: Salvation Army (city funding)
Planned opening: OPEN as of January 2025
-----------------
Outer Southeast Portland
Church of the Nazarene
9715 Southeast Powell Boulevard (at the junction of I-205 and Route 26)
Capacity: 100 beds
Clientele: Co-ed
Operated by: Agape Village (city funding)
Planned opening: OPEN as of August 2025
--------------------
Inner Southwest Portland
Operation Nightwatch at St. Stephen’s
1432 Southwest 13th Avenue (between Columbia and Clay)
Capacity: 80 beds
Clientele: Co-ed
Operated by: Agape Village (city funding)
Planned opening: OPEN as of August 2025
SAFES
30 Southwest 2nd Avenue (between Ankeny and Burnside) Capacity: 100 beds
Clientele: Women only
Operated by: Salvation Army (city funding)
Planned opening: OPEN as of January 2025
-----------------------
Inner Northwest Portland
Northrup Shelter
1435 Northwest Northrup Street (between 14th and 15th)
Capacity: 200 beds
Clientele: Co-ed
Operated by: Salvation Army (city funding)
Planned opening: Sept. 2, 2025
-----------------------
PRIVATELY RUN
Inner Northwest
Bethanie’s Room
1015 Northwest 17th Avenue (between Lovejoy and Marshall)
Capacity: 75 beds
Clientele: Women only
Operated by: Blanchet House (private funding)
Planned opening: Summer 2025
CityTeam
219 Northwest 4th Avenue (between Everett and Davis)
Capacity: 30 overnight beds; 80 longer term beds for people in recovery
Clientele: Men only
Operated by: CityTeam (private funding)
Planned opening: Fall 2025
We may as well just rename the Pearl the “Shelter District” at this point. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
Or better yet, the “Sanctuary District”. Through its political choices and practices, the City of Portland and Multnomah County have made Portlandia a Sanctuary City for drug addicts, drug dealers, the untreated mentally and those who want to live without having any rules applicable to them. Every time I go visit Portland.gov it’s right there in my face.
The way things are going, the only way Portland’s long-suffering taxpayers will find sanctuary is to move to a different county or state.
There is no one currently monitoring any drug use or drinking of alcohol outside the Moore shelter. This behavior is taking place within 30-50 ft from the shelter entrance. They don't pay any attn to what's going on across the street from the shelter entrance and it's been reported over and over to the city and shelter and guess what? Not a thing has been done to deter this behavior. Just this week I witnessed a man smoking something out of a pipe before entering...two men sharing a 40oz of beer before entering. It's a free for all before people enter the shelter! Do your illegal drugs, drink what you like then come on in...no one will tell you it's not allowed. Wilson did say recently he's not the "Law and Order" kind of guy...so tell me how this will help people get off the streets? How are you improving our communities!? Laws don't matter? Right...that's how we got here!!!!
I think we need to give it a chance, and make sure there is transparent feedback on whether changes need to be made.
Erica, sadly there is no good track record that would justify optimism. I've been talking with other residents near low-barrier shelters and their hard-won experience can be summed up with the conclusion that the city is simply not able to mitigate the negative effects of the shelters on the surrounding neighborhood. Despite the claims that crime goes down, crime goes up, loitering goes up, prostitution goes up, drug dealing goes up. There is a lot of visibility on this particular shelter, so maybe the city will up its game. That's all we can hope, or the Pearl will descend into a death spiral. For some interesting data/research, see my pdf here: https://mcusercontent.com/d8818a6a98c2c190f9cbc2e32/files/d7f9f35e-f315-995b-e1db-193b45a1abd3/Latest_Version_of_Shelter_Opposition_Analysis_August_26_2025.pdf
Everyone should take the time to read through this clear-eyed analysis. We need to understand how much trouble we’re in and embrace responsibility and accountability in order to find the strength to deal with a challenging - and obvious - situation. Thank you for taking the time to compile this and share it.
Why would anyone expect that they will act on feedback now, when the mayor and district reps have ignored all of us from the very beginning? They pushed this forward with zero neighborhood input and have dodged every resident question or request for clarity about actual mitigation measures. And the reason they keep dodging is obvious—there was no real planning done. No study of neighborhood impact. No enhanced security strategy. No defined response times for inevitable issues. None of it exists, because they simply don’t care what happens to the Pearl or to the businesses and residents who actually invest in living here.
I hope people remember this the next time they vote, because the entire process has been egregious—and it will ultimately collapse under its own weight. Ill-conceived plans with no strategy always do. Unfortunately, Portland has grown accustomed to accepting this same brand of failure, over and over again, from its elected “leaders”.
I think this is a great idea - but again, I don't have much faith based on lived experience. While this is Wilson's first foray into this - he still has been the elected mayor overseeing existing shelters with abismal response. Regarding transparent feedback - from whom? The nearby citizens? I believe that is already happening. From the Mayor and city? If the townhall is any indication, I don't feel very hopeful.
please read the article carefully -- particularly the fact that a neighbor of the Moore St shelter was told NOT to speak in the meeting at the Armory about the lack of security and no response to complaints.
We NEED to be reporting everything to the city. The only way they will listen is if the data shows there is a problem. The Mayor and City will continue to tout data about how their plan is working - we NEED that data to accurately reflect what is going on.
I urge everyone to report EVERYTHING:
Campsites / General Homeless and Drug use concerns: https://www.portland.gov/homelessness-impact-reduction/report-campsite
Police Report: https://www.portland.gov/police/cor
Drug use: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/da62cf7c0c82446185c0eb3b4498eb9f
Street Response: https://www.portland.gov/sscc/homelessoutreach
Trash: https://www.portland.gov/311/report-trash
Graffiti: https://www.portland.gov/bps/graffiti/report-graffiti
Abandoned vehicle: https://www.portland.gov/transportation/parking/abandoned-auto
Non Urgent Safety Concern: https://www.pdxreporter.org/