'People still need help': Debate rages on ahead of city effort to curb MultCo-funded homeless tents

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A debate is raging about whether or not Multnomah County should distribute tents to the homeless one day ahead of a Portland City Council vote aimed at curbing such activity.

The City of Portland is in an agreement to provide money to the county as part of the Joint Office of Homeless Services. However, Multnomah County recently passed a nearly $4 billion budget that includes money for distributing tarps, tents and clean syringes to those living on the streets. Portland City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez says those items end up getting cleaned up by the city, costing taxpayers in the process.

Gonzalez wants to put qualifiers on the City of Portland's new three-year Homelessness Response System Intergovernmental Agreement with Multnomah County so that the city has a say in the county's distribution of tents and syringes. The two amendments put forth by Gonzalez will be discussed during a Portland City Council meeting on Thursday.

This all comes after another critic of Multnomah County, attorney John DiLorenzo, says the county is continuing to violate the rights of disabled people by distributing the tents, which he says ends up blocking the right-of-way on sidewalks for people with disabilities. DiLorenzo had previously represented a group of disabled people who sued the county for this same reason and won last May, which resulted in a federal court settlement in which the county agreed to keep sidewalks clear in order to not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"We need to make sure the county is compliant with those requirements," Gonzalez said. "So we're trying to navigate as a community the balance between compassion without enablement."

However, not everyone sees the tents distributed to the homeless as deadweight. Rose Haven, a non-profit that works with the homeless, says tarps and tents represent some people's livelihood.

"Nobody wants to live in a tent," said Liz Starke, a spokesperson for Rose Haven. "For us, regardless of what happens at these city council meetings, the work continues and people still need help."

Starke said she spends her days trying to get resources, like tents, to the unhoused.

"And so what happens when the county doesn't give us tents is that we have to rely on individuals to fundraise for those items."

Starke said when non-profits like hers have to raise money for tents, it puts a strain on their resources.

"This makes a huge impact for nonprofits like Rose Haven, that are triaging people's needs. But there's also products that are better for our community and are intentionally made for folks experiencing homelessness."

As part of Multnomah County's recently passed $3.96 billion budget, it includes $515,000 set aside for clean needles as part of a harm reduction effort and $250,000 for tents next year.

The county's buying and giving out of tarps and tents is costing the City of Portland $14 million to clean up, Gonzalez said, adding he's "very concerned for our tax payers."

"They're spending a lot of money both on trying to alleviate homelessness and cleaning up encampments, and we just want to make sure that when the county is doing it, the joint offices are doing it, and the City of Portland is pursuant of a well thought out policy," he said.

Gonzalez said there have been a lot of negotiations happening at the city level, something he expects to continue right up until Thursday's city council meeting on the matter at 9:30 a.m. Stay with KOIN 6 News as we monitor that meeting and bring you the latest updates.