This is excellent news. The livability of the Pearl has been seriously impacted by the increase in crime, drug use, and accompanying filth and noise since the Northrup shelter opened.
I just heard this and didn’t believe it was true. Still can’t believe it but am absolutely thrilled.
I know it is one step at a time but I’ll be curious to see what is then done to manage those that want to stick around and continue to cause problems.
Also curious to see how that long lease that the city signed is going to play out.
However - wanted to give a MASSIVE kudos to Linda Witt and the group of volunteers that worked tirelessly to continue to collect and present data. This would not be possible without that thankless job.
I have a sneaking suspicion Clark and Zimmerman also had a hand in this but it is pure conjecture.
In the face of the upcoming budget mess, to hear 23rd being repaired and this shelter closing - at least a few things are being addressed before we have even less to work with.
We truly live in a dysfunctional city - I wish we could borrow San Francisco's mayor for a year or two. I'll remind all those who are happy - sleeping is a biological function. If they are not sleeping in a shelter, they will be sleeping on your doorstep. If they are not pooping in the shelter bathroom, they will be pooping on the sidewalk. If people think the Portland police will do a better job policing the area with the shelter gone, I have a bridge to sell you. As long as the city treats the homeless with "kid gloves", the problem is not going away.
I would agree with you if there didn’t appear to be a direct correlation with this shelter ramping up and increased crime and homeless loitering/drug use in the area at all hours of the day and night. It became pretty clear that this location brought in more or exacerbated preexisting issues, it wasn’t providing relief. Total agreement on the need for more enforcement, regardless, and the fact that we most likely still won’t see them addressing this systemically.
There may have been an impact directly surrounding the shelter, but my area of the Pearl was dramatically better after it opened. I haven't seen tent campers blocking sidewalks and creating uncomfortable environments at night in every direction from my apartment in months. The city was clearly making sure that a much larger population was utilizing the shelter or leaving the area. I hope it doesn't go back to the way it was last year.
I live about 4 blocks from the shelter and frequent the Safeway and parks near there (Tanner and The Fields) quite often - the areas within and bordering the “impact zone” were not being addressed and were noticeably much worse. The city needs to figure out how to somehow provide shelter but also ensure hundreds of residents and surrounding businesses aren’t being “sacrificed” and dealing with more problems everyday so other areas can be cleared. They probably could have picked a more industrial location a little farther out from the main Pearl area that would have geographically mitigated this but served the same purpose - they also could have honored their promise to provide a shuttle, etc to curtail the all day loitering in those surrounding blocks that was occurring. A 6am close time really makes no sense.
Sadly, in our town, even a 24-hour shelter doesn't help if the participants aren't actively navigated to "next steps" that address the fundamental reasons why they are homeless. The perfect example of this is the River District Navigation Center on Naito Pkwy -- another colossal waste of money with no guardrails, no accountability, and very little in terms of demonstrable outcomes. In Vancouver WA they are working on a large low-barrier congregae shelter where 50% of the space is for dorms/beds, and 50% of the space is for comprehensive on-site wraparound services - MAT, trauma treatment, etc. etc. They won't be letting people just "coast" - the participants will be active in their own recovery from chaos to stability. At least, that's the plan . . .
The tents have been dropping dramatically city-wide for months - it has much more to do with the County FINALLY agreeing not to give out more tents, than it has to do with the opening of the shelter. A teeny part of the decrease might also be attributable to the new enforcement of tents (Dec. 1, 2025) whereby frequent campers can be cited by the police, who can now run warrant checks.
We are happy and relieved for our former Pearl neighbors who expressed many concerns over months prior to the opening of this shelter. We were there with them. What could possibly go wrong went wrong, no shock to any of us. We are so sorry we had to leave during the worst of it and now it’s just too late for us. But we hope and pray this formerly thriving neighborhood can return to its glory days. We absolutely loved the Pearl.
The City of Portland is providing notice of its intention to terminate a lease agreement with the property owner at 1435 NW Northrup St., the location of the City’s NW Northrup overnight emergency shelter site. The planned closure of the NW Northrup shelter is one cost saving option the City is currently pursuing in response to budget constraints in the coming fiscal year.
Portland remains committed to providing a safe bed for every person, every night, to everyone who will accept one, as well as continuing to serve those most in need in conjunction with our jurisdictional partners. Final decisions about service reductions or additions will be made after the FY 2026-27 budget is decided.
The NW Northrup Shelter site opened in September 2025 and has provided over 17,200 safe nights of rest in just the first seven months of operation. Portland Solutions has proudly partnered with shelter operator the Salvation Army to serve guests at this location.
We will communicate further information and details as they become available.
Yup, spin. The 17,200 safe beds number is very misleading, because a substantial portion of the participants were repeat users, day after day, from Sept. 1 to present. So in reality, a relatively small number of people where sheltered for many days, and it's completely not known, what percentage of the participants were even navigated to a "next step" in the continuum of services (that data was unavailable when I asked for it - go figure!) Last night only 40 people used the shelter.
This is enormously frustrating because many of us who live near this shelter and are impacted by the safety and livability issues KNEW this was a bad location for a shelter, and also vocalized this loudly and publicly to Wilson and our elected representatives. Huge waste of money, negative impacts to our community, further exacerbating instability among the unhoused population. Nothing good came from this and we told them!!!! We need just real common sense leading these decisions. I had hoped Wilson would bring this to the ongoing crisis but this preventable disaster leaves a lot be desired. Extremely frustrating.
Early closure may involve a penalty--paying rent for months beyond the period of use. Someone is going to calculate the cost per person per night (Bob Weinstein?), but it's safe to say it will be high.
Allan, it’s not possible to thank you enough for all the support you have provided to the Pearl and Northwest residents. Please know how much we appreciate you.
Unfortunate but necessary. These will never work until support services are included.
This place was doomed when it became obvious that the promised daily shuttle bus to move the residents to the day center was not never coming. People in the Pearl stopped taking the Streetcar and/or going to Safeway because this is where these “guests” went when they weren’t shuttled anywhere. We didn’t solve the problem, we simply spread it.
Society does not want to end homelessness. I'll prove it to you.
When you donate money to a shelter, you should ask these questions:
1) Do you kick them out in the morning?
2) Do you have a secure place for them to store their belongings?
3) Do you make them enter a program?
If so, then how long is the program?
Let's talk about number 1:
Shelters kick people out early in the morning, thinking that they will look for work. The problem with this is, if the shelter doesn't have a secure place for their belongings, they have to bring it with them. Which, all shelters make them take their stuff. They don't want to be responsible for it. With this in mind, ask yourself this: 2. You get a resume and the person is very qualified for the job. So, they get called in for an interview. You see them with a backpack and maybe another bag. What would you think? Is the person homeless? Why do they have all that stuff with them? Will this person have their stuff with them when they work? Are they going to ask if they can store their stuff while they work? Will you allow them to? No. Because like the shelter, you don't want to be responsible for it.
Now for 3.
See, some shelters do have a program that lasts for 1 year or longer. Why? So they can keep money coming in from the government. Yes, the government gives them money for the program so that they can get them off of drugs and alcohol. But what about the people who don't have a problem with drugs and alcohol? What about those who became homeless due to unfortunate circumstances and not of their own doing?
What about the people who are trying everything they can to get off of the streets? It's these kinds of people that eventually give up, because no one will help them. No one wants to help them because they don't have a drug or alcohol problem. So they think "they can do it for themselves!" Although they can, but some will give up and just stay homeless. If these people got just a little help, they would get off the streets quicker. That's it. The longer people are in shelters, the longer the shelter will keep money. Money from you, because you can get a tax break and money from the government.
Do you see how homelessness is a big business? Do you see how society doesn't actually want to end homelessness? Even you, because you want a tax break. Otherwise you would get shelters to keep people inside during the day and have the shelter get lockers for those who do want look for work.
I know because I've been homeless, working and doing whatever I can to save money. But on my weekends, I work harder than at work because I have to carry my stuff with me everywhere I go and I don't get rest. I'm just lucky I have an employer who understands, so they let me have my stuff at work. Maybe it's because I show up every day and do whatever they ask of me without any complaints. But a lot won't. I can't get help. Why? 1) I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol. 2) I am working, and I am paying taxes. And that's all that matters because as long as I'm paying taxes, the government gets money from me. Some of which are going to programs that help drug addicts and alcoholics. So where does that leave me? Homeless, and without just a little bit of help to get me off the streets. So, unless you really want to act, help the homeless. Don't complain. Cry me a river and float down it, because you really don't want to end homelessness. Otherwise, you would go to your city council members and demand these shelters not kick people out in the morning. You would demand that they allow them to stay during the day and have lockers for people to secure their belongings so that they can look for work.
You make some good points. Kudos to you for working and persisting despite the daunting obstacles you face. It does appear to me however that you are pretty unique. Most of the homeless people I see on the streets seem unlikely to ever be employable. I do think that working folks along with children/ young people should be triaged as the top priority for housing.
So rather than admit they made a mistake, it will be blamed on "budgetary shortfalls". I'd admire the mayor if he could simply admit overreach and that "we made a mistake and didn't listen to the neighbors".
I knew a guy who came to Portland with nothing and stayed in a shelter until he found work. It worked for him quite well and he found a job and an apartment. Theft is a huge problem along with other crime. Getting security to make some arrests when people in shelters are victimized along with making storage agreements with people that are judged to be accountable and well intentioned and honest would be the humane thing to do. There would have to be some accountability built into such a storage benefit.
????????? (Is all I can say!!!!)
This is excellent news. The livability of the Pearl has been seriously impacted by the increase in crime, drug use, and accompanying filth and noise since the Northrup shelter opened.
Thank You Linda Witt and volunteers for your relentless surveillance and outstanding reporting!!! The party's over.
I just heard this and didn’t believe it was true. Still can’t believe it but am absolutely thrilled.
I know it is one step at a time but I’ll be curious to see what is then done to manage those that want to stick around and continue to cause problems.
Also curious to see how that long lease that the city signed is going to play out.
However - wanted to give a MASSIVE kudos to Linda Witt and the group of volunteers that worked tirelessly to continue to collect and present data. This would not be possible without that thankless job.
I have a sneaking suspicion Clark and Zimmerman also had a hand in this but it is pure conjecture.
In the face of the upcoming budget mess, to hear 23rd being repaired and this shelter closing - at least a few things are being addressed before we have even less to work with.
We truly live in a dysfunctional city - I wish we could borrow San Francisco's mayor for a year or two. I'll remind all those who are happy - sleeping is a biological function. If they are not sleeping in a shelter, they will be sleeping on your doorstep. If they are not pooping in the shelter bathroom, they will be pooping on the sidewalk. If people think the Portland police will do a better job policing the area with the shelter gone, I have a bridge to sell you. As long as the city treats the homeless with "kid gloves", the problem is not going away.
I would agree with you if there didn’t appear to be a direct correlation with this shelter ramping up and increased crime and homeless loitering/drug use in the area at all hours of the day and night. It became pretty clear that this location brought in more or exacerbated preexisting issues, it wasn’t providing relief. Total agreement on the need for more enforcement, regardless, and the fact that we most likely still won’t see them addressing this systemically.
There may have been an impact directly surrounding the shelter, but my area of the Pearl was dramatically better after it opened. I haven't seen tent campers blocking sidewalks and creating uncomfortable environments at night in every direction from my apartment in months. The city was clearly making sure that a much larger population was utilizing the shelter or leaving the area. I hope it doesn't go back to the way it was last year.
I live about 4 blocks from the shelter and frequent the Safeway and parks near there (Tanner and The Fields) quite often - the areas within and bordering the “impact zone” were not being addressed and were noticeably much worse. The city needs to figure out how to somehow provide shelter but also ensure hundreds of residents and surrounding businesses aren’t being “sacrificed” and dealing with more problems everyday so other areas can be cleared. They probably could have picked a more industrial location a little farther out from the main Pearl area that would have geographically mitigated this but served the same purpose - they also could have honored their promise to provide a shuttle, etc to curtail the all day loitering in those surrounding blocks that was occurring. A 6am close time really makes no sense.
I agree. They should have just made it a 24 hour shelter.
Sadly, in our town, even a 24-hour shelter doesn't help if the participants aren't actively navigated to "next steps" that address the fundamental reasons why they are homeless. The perfect example of this is the River District Navigation Center on Naito Pkwy -- another colossal waste of money with no guardrails, no accountability, and very little in terms of demonstrable outcomes. In Vancouver WA they are working on a large low-barrier congregae shelter where 50% of the space is for dorms/beds, and 50% of the space is for comprehensive on-site wraparound services - MAT, trauma treatment, etc. etc. They won't be letting people just "coast" - the participants will be active in their own recovery from chaos to stability. At least, that's the plan . . .
The tents have been dropping dramatically city-wide for months - it has much more to do with the County FINALLY agreeing not to give out more tents, than it has to do with the opening of the shelter. A teeny part of the decrease might also be attributable to the new enforcement of tents (Dec. 1, 2025) whereby frequent campers can be cited by the police, who can now run warrant checks.
We are happy and relieved for our former Pearl neighbors who expressed many concerns over months prior to the opening of this shelter. We were there with them. What could possibly go wrong went wrong, no shock to any of us. We are so sorry we had to leave during the worst of it and now it’s just too late for us. But we hope and pray this formerly thriving neighborhood can return to its glory days. We absolutely loved the Pearl.
Update from city spokesperson sent at 10:33 a.m.:
The City of Portland is providing notice of its intention to terminate a lease agreement with the property owner at 1435 NW Northrup St., the location of the City’s NW Northrup overnight emergency shelter site. The planned closure of the NW Northrup shelter is one cost saving option the City is currently pursuing in response to budget constraints in the coming fiscal year.
Portland remains committed to providing a safe bed for every person, every night, to everyone who will accept one, as well as continuing to serve those most in need in conjunction with our jurisdictional partners. Final decisions about service reductions or additions will be made after the FY 2026-27 budget is decided.
The NW Northrup Shelter site opened in September 2025 and has provided over 17,200 safe nights of rest in just the first seven months of operation. Portland Solutions has proudly partnered with shelter operator the Salvation Army to serve guests at this location.
We will communicate further information and details as they become available.
Cody Bowman
City spin.
Yup, spin. The 17,200 safe beds number is very misleading, because a substantial portion of the participants were repeat users, day after day, from Sept. 1 to present. So in reality, a relatively small number of people where sheltered for many days, and it's completely not known, what percentage of the participants were even navigated to a "next step" in the continuum of services (that data was unavailable when I asked for it - go figure!) Last night only 40 people used the shelter.
This is enormously frustrating because many of us who live near this shelter and are impacted by the safety and livability issues KNEW this was a bad location for a shelter, and also vocalized this loudly and publicly to Wilson and our elected representatives. Huge waste of money, negative impacts to our community, further exacerbating instability among the unhoused population. Nothing good came from this and we told them!!!! We need just real common sense leading these decisions. I had hoped Wilson would bring this to the ongoing crisis but this preventable disaster leaves a lot be desired. Extremely frustrating.
Early closure may involve a penalty--paying rent for months beyond the period of use. Someone is going to calculate the cost per person per night (Bob Weinstein?), but it's safe to say it will be high.
Allan, it’s not possible to thank you enough for all the support you have provided to the Pearl and Northwest residents. Please know how much we appreciate you.
Great news!!
Unfortunate but necessary. These will never work until support services are included.
This place was doomed when it became obvious that the promised daily shuttle bus to move the residents to the day center was not never coming. People in the Pearl stopped taking the Streetcar and/or going to Safeway because this is where these “guests” went when they weren’t shuttled anywhere. We didn’t solve the problem, we simply spread it.
So much for the mayor's bragging rights for adding 1,500 overnight beds
Society does not want to end homelessness. I'll prove it to you.
When you donate money to a shelter, you should ask these questions:
1) Do you kick them out in the morning?
2) Do you have a secure place for them to store their belongings?
3) Do you make them enter a program?
If so, then how long is the program?
Let's talk about number 1:
Shelters kick people out early in the morning, thinking that they will look for work. The problem with this is, if the shelter doesn't have a secure place for their belongings, they have to bring it with them. Which, all shelters make them take their stuff. They don't want to be responsible for it. With this in mind, ask yourself this: 2. You get a resume and the person is very qualified for the job. So, they get called in for an interview. You see them with a backpack and maybe another bag. What would you think? Is the person homeless? Why do they have all that stuff with them? Will this person have their stuff with them when they work? Are they going to ask if they can store their stuff while they work? Will you allow them to? No. Because like the shelter, you don't want to be responsible for it.
Now for 3.
See, some shelters do have a program that lasts for 1 year or longer. Why? So they can keep money coming in from the government. Yes, the government gives them money for the program so that they can get them off of drugs and alcohol. But what about the people who don't have a problem with drugs and alcohol? What about those who became homeless due to unfortunate circumstances and not of their own doing?
What about the people who are trying everything they can to get off of the streets? It's these kinds of people that eventually give up, because no one will help them. No one wants to help them because they don't have a drug or alcohol problem. So they think "they can do it for themselves!" Although they can, but some will give up and just stay homeless. If these people got just a little help, they would get off the streets quicker. That's it. The longer people are in shelters, the longer the shelter will keep money. Money from you, because you can get a tax break and money from the government.
Do you see how homelessness is a big business? Do you see how society doesn't actually want to end homelessness? Even you, because you want a tax break. Otherwise you would get shelters to keep people inside during the day and have the shelter get lockers for those who do want look for work.
I know because I've been homeless, working and doing whatever I can to save money. But on my weekends, I work harder than at work because I have to carry my stuff with me everywhere I go and I don't get rest. I'm just lucky I have an employer who understands, so they let me have my stuff at work. Maybe it's because I show up every day and do whatever they ask of me without any complaints. But a lot won't. I can't get help. Why? 1) I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol. 2) I am working, and I am paying taxes. And that's all that matters because as long as I'm paying taxes, the government gets money from me. Some of which are going to programs that help drug addicts and alcoholics. So where does that leave me? Homeless, and without just a little bit of help to get me off the streets. So, unless you really want to act, help the homeless. Don't complain. Cry me a river and float down it, because you really don't want to end homelessness. Otherwise, you would go to your city council members and demand these shelters not kick people out in the morning. You would demand that they allow them to stay during the day and have lockers for people to secure their belongings so that they can look for work.
You make some good points. Kudos to you for working and persisting despite the daunting obstacles you face. It does appear to me however that you are pretty unique. Most of the homeless people I see on the streets seem unlikely to ever be employable. I do think that working folks along with children/ young people should be triaged as the top priority for housing.
So rather than admit they made a mistake, it will be blamed on "budgetary shortfalls". I'd admire the mayor if he could simply admit overreach and that "we made a mistake and didn't listen to the neighbors".
I knew a guy who came to Portland with nothing and stayed in a shelter until he found work. It worked for him quite well and he found a job and an apartment. Theft is a huge problem along with other crime. Getting security to make some arrests when people in shelters are victimized along with making storage agreements with people that are judged to be accountable and well intentioned and honest would be the humane thing to do. There would have to be some accountability built into such a storage benefit.