Thank you, Allan! I printed out your list of contact info and we will be diligent with reporting offenses to the appropriate area. Fingers and toes crossed at this point.
This article should include the specific contact information for reporting problems. The city has become a relatively unresponsive bureaucracy; what exactly is the best way to report an issue with the shelter?
Comment on my own comment: is there a neighbor here who has had good results in the past when lodging comments on any particular issue with the city? I don't mean that you hot the result you wanted, but just that you got a timely response. What's the appropriate city office to call to make a complaint about city shelters? What's that office's phone number? Etc.
Yes. I use pdxreporter.org for various things and usually get a response. Last year had a camper on the sidewalk outside my building - he was gone quickly (it was a case of the entire sidewalk being blocked by a defiant but clean tent, not a "these people are disgusting and everything is getting worse" kind of complaint.) PBOT and PP&R also usually answer my reports. Also spoke with a 311 dispatcher at Hoyt about a guy yelling on the trails this week: the Forest Park ranger showed up before I was finished talking with the dispatcher. Someone yelling in the Arboretum is a more concerning issue for me than someone yelling on the street.
I'm all for giving people a place to sleep and seeing if the city, not to mention other entities with resources (like neighbors) can figure out the best ways to manage the problems.
Connie, thank you so much for your response. I iive quite close to the about-to-open shelter on NW Northrup, and am very concerned about the city's promises to keep the surrounding areas safe and clean. Your experience gives me some hope, but also some resources for reporting problems. Here's hoping for the best!
The thing I am sorry to see is that the promises of cleaning, fencing, and lights appear to be last minute promises. They only became common knowledge after push-back. If they had been a serious consideration or a part of the plan from the beginning, there would already have been something done and - with the roll out coming tomorrow - I see no change at all below 405. I was also surprised to hear the city making a promise regarding the area below 405 which I understood to be the territory of ODOT, and not PBOT. This has been a problem in the past and particularly now that ODOT funding and staffing has dropped. The city can't conduct cleanups on ODOT property and ODOT itself may not get around to it for an undetermined amount of time. It's obvious that the word is out among the transient population.
Weird, if the city can do all this why weren’t they already doing it? The Pearl has been neglected for years now as far as clean-up efforts (volunteers do that or residents pay out of pocket for NWCC, etc). We’ve been asking them to clean up the 405 area as well. Why not do all these things BEFORE they open the shelter to enter into more of a good faith agreement with the neighborhood? I think we all know why.
Most of the area under 405 and at the abutments of the Willamette River bridges is ODOT's domain. The city cannot conduct cleanups there, thus the lingering mess.
PLEASE CC Northrupshelter@gmail.com on emails to PEMO@portlandoregon.gov ;
shelterservices@portlandoregon.gov and 311@portlandoregon.gov .
If you call Salvation Army or 311 send a summary email to Northrupshelter@gmail.com.
1. Salvation Army (Shelter Operator 8pm-6am) 971-230-5350. Call to report issues
relate to immediate and surrounding area of shelter; issues regarding shelter
participants (early queuing, tents, trash needles etc.). CC
Northrupshelter@gmail.com with summary of call
2. Priority response to community reports of significant trash or hazardous
materials: To initiate a response, please email PEMO@portlandoregon.gov with
specific details, location, and a photo if possible. CC Northrupshelter@gmail.com.
3. Priority response to community reports of campsites: To initiate a response,
please submit a 311@portlandoregon.gov with specific details, photo and location
CC shelterservices@portlandoregon.gov. CC Northrupshelter@gmail.com
Additional Shelter Support
• PBOT Services: Street Sweeping/Cleaning will occur once a week around the
shelter.
• Sidewalk Washing: Will occur multiple times a week around the shelter, can scale
dependent on need.
• Trash Cleanup: Trash will be cleaned up daily around the shelter as well as the
entire Pearl District neighborhood. Cleaning teams will be on rose-branded
bicycles.
• Shelter Hours: 8pm – 6am. Individuals will be asked to limit queuing until 1 hour
before shelter opening (7pm).
Thank you, Allan! I printed out your list of contact info and we will be diligent with reporting offenses to the appropriate area. Fingers and toes crossed at this point.
This article should include the specific contact information for reporting problems. The city has become a relatively unresponsive bureaucracy; what exactly is the best way to report an issue with the shelter?
Comment on my own comment: is there a neighbor here who has had good results in the past when lodging comments on any particular issue with the city? I don't mean that you hot the result you wanted, but just that you got a timely response. What's the appropriate city office to call to make a complaint about city shelters? What's that office's phone number? Etc.
Yes. I use pdxreporter.org for various things and usually get a response. Last year had a camper on the sidewalk outside my building - he was gone quickly (it was a case of the entire sidewalk being blocked by a defiant but clean tent, not a "these people are disgusting and everything is getting worse" kind of complaint.) PBOT and PP&R also usually answer my reports. Also spoke with a 311 dispatcher at Hoyt about a guy yelling on the trails this week: the Forest Park ranger showed up before I was finished talking with the dispatcher. Someone yelling in the Arboretum is a more concerning issue for me than someone yelling on the street.
I'm all for giving people a place to sleep and seeing if the city, not to mention other entities with resources (like neighbors) can figure out the best ways to manage the problems.
Connie, thank you so much for your response. I iive quite close to the about-to-open shelter on NW Northrup, and am very concerned about the city's promises to keep the surrounding areas safe and clean. Your experience gives me some hope, but also some resources for reporting problems. Here's hoping for the best!
The thing I am sorry to see is that the promises of cleaning, fencing, and lights appear to be last minute promises. They only became common knowledge after push-back. If they had been a serious consideration or a part of the plan from the beginning, there would already have been something done and - with the roll out coming tomorrow - I see no change at all below 405. I was also surprised to hear the city making a promise regarding the area below 405 which I understood to be the territory of ODOT, and not PBOT. This has been a problem in the past and particularly now that ODOT funding and staffing has dropped. The city can't conduct cleanups on ODOT property and ODOT itself may not get around to it for an undetermined amount of time. It's obvious that the word is out among the transient population.
Weird, if the city can do all this why weren’t they already doing it? The Pearl has been neglected for years now as far as clean-up efforts (volunteers do that or residents pay out of pocket for NWCC, etc). We’ve been asking them to clean up the 405 area as well. Why not do all these things BEFORE they open the shelter to enter into more of a good faith agreement with the neighborhood? I think we all know why.
Most of the area under 405 and at the abutments of the Willamette River bridges is ODOT's domain. The city cannot conduct cleanups there, thus the lingering mess.
An interesting resource: https://gis.odot.state.or.us/OdotOwnedProperties/
And I have some swamp land in Florida.....