In April of 2023, funding was provided to Multnomah county to help combat the homelessness epidemic. The proposed site was made possible with a 50 million dollar contract from a company called Urban Alchemy, a “social enterprise that engages with situations where extreme poverty meets homelessness, mental illness and addiction.” The California based company aims to rehabilitate “neighborhoods, streets, and intersections” that may be considered dangerous or unvisitable.
The city and Urban Alchemy are working together to provide electricity, plumbing, and camping grounds for houseless individuals; despite the recent full city camping ban. The city argues that these will act as “temporary alternative shelter sites,” but the decision seems to be in conflict with the recent push for aggressive sweeps and strict no camping policies. Despite this effort, the shelter site will only be able to hold a limited number of individuals and there will need to be serious work done to ensure some sort of movement into permanent housing for protection from the increasingly deadly winter weather.
In an annual city review from 2021, it was reported that “at least 193 people died while homeless in calendar year 2021. The figure is an increase from 126 the previous year.” As the homeless population increases the number of deaths from exposure and incidents relating to their situation will also increase, and it is important to ensure that there is planning for some sort of long term indoor housing to ensure people are protected from the elements. - Cole Marshall
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