Lents Neighborhood community discusses solutions for unsheltered
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — During a community meeting Thursday night, Portland Mayoral Candidate Keith Wilson discussed his plans on how to end unsheltered homelessness. Members of the Lents Neighborhood Livability Association were there to listen and talk about issues they are facing, and they were also able to ask questions.
Community members said it would take everyone working together to solve this crisis.
Wilson is the founder of the non-profit called Shelter Portland. He told KOIN 6 News he wants the city to have more shelter spaces.
“No city can end homelessness until you end unsheltered homelessness,” he said. “The solution is shelter. We must have ample amount of shelter to meet the needs and care for our community.”
Finding shelter is one thing but leaders in the effort to end homelessness in the neighborhood say it’s also about getting the right services in place.
“Show me the results. I have no faith at all in the city government to actually accomplish anything or the county for that matter,” said David Potts, the president of the Lents Neighborhood Livability Association.
According to the 2023 point-in-time count, thousands of people are living unsheltered on Portland streets. It found overall homelessness in the city increased by 65% from 2015 to 2023.
“We are sheltering less people today than we did in 2017. Yet we are spending hundreds, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Wilson said.
People living in the Lents Neighborhood say camping is a big problem and it's not getting better.
“The big camps get moved frequently they just move across to the MUP [multi-use path] or move to another neighborhood,” Potts said.
“They have to have a place to sleep I don't know what else they can do,” said Kimberly Martin, a Parkrose Neighborhood resident.
One solution presented during the meeting was to make churches a nighttime emergency shelter.
“There's enough empty spaces, especially among churches, that can just open up as a shelter at night and go back to whatever usage during the day,” said Matt Huff, a board member of Shelter Portland. “Trying to connect organizations with the appropriate non-profit to help manage a shelter.”
The Lents Neighborhood Livability Association holds meetings monthly on the second Thursday of the month to tackle various community issues.