What Are Safe Rest Villages?

“We are facing a humanitarian crisis on our streets,” Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan said during a February 24th press conference announcing four of the six planned Safe Rest Villages (SRVs) planned for the city of Portland. “We are facing a housing crisis. We are facing an unprecedented drug crisis. Together, they have knocked us on our knees.”

 

He continued, “They’re not the only thing that's needed, but they are an important part and we cannot afford to wait. We cannot keep talking about the perfect solution and let it get in the way of good action.”

 

What They Are

 

Commissioner Ryan – who oversees the Joint Office of Homeless Services – introduced the SRV initiative last year, which describes itself as “temporary, managed outdoor shelters for Portlanders experiencing houselessness.” 

 

In addition to shelter, privacy, and – importantly – hygiene services like showers, these villages will offer “case management with wraparound behavioral and mental health services.” (Oregon is one of the worst states in the country at providing mental health services to its population.) 

 

These SRVs, it is stressed, are “not unmanaged tent or vehicle camping,”  but instead are a safe alternative.

How They Work

 

According to the website, all the Safe Rest Villages, as well as the three emergency (pandemic) outdoor shelters that are evolving into temporary outdoor shelters akin to the SRVs, will share some distinct features:

  

• New Service Model: SRVs are a different kind of service model than has been used in Portland, of outdoor shelters with on-site case management.

• For people in need: SRVs provide an option for people in need, particularly from high-impact encampments.

• Referral only: Entry is by referral, for adults only (18+), partners, and pets OK. Referrals will be made by first responders, Park Rangers, Portland Street Response, among other social service providers engaging with those living outside to a referral program to be managed by the Joint Office of Homeless Services.

• On-site services for villagers only: Services and programs offered on-site are only for villagers; these are not walk-up sites, not day sites, and are not meant to be disruptive to surrounding neighbors.

• At least one meal a day provided: Shelter operators are expected to provide at least one meal a day, and a shared kitchenette space is provided for all to use.

• Services are offered, participation is encouraged, but not mandatory: Villagers are encouraged to take advantage of the programs and services offered along with the stability and safety offered by life in the Villages.

   

Will They Succeed?

 

We hope so. However, Taylor Griggs, writing for Street Roots, explains some concerns:

 

A main point of concern for homeless activists regarding the SRV project is the fear that unhoused Portlanders will be required to move into these shelters or risk prosecution. As a result of the landmark Martin v. Boise case, cities cannot cite or arrest people for sleeping on public property if the city doesn’t have enough shelter space for each homeless person.

 

Advocates are concerned the city is creating more shelter space with the ultimate goal of justifying a crackdown on homeless Portlanders, rather than providing a stable starting point for people navigating their way to permanent housing.

 

If shelter is made available to all unhoused people, whether that’s through sites like the SRVs or mass shelters city officials have proposed, will people who don’t want to move into these shelters be criminalized?

In addition to these fears, the proposed SRV sites continue to run into community pushback.

Undaunted, Commissioner Ryan recently told Willamette Week to expect three villages operating by Labor Day.