At our August 13th meeting the Board passed the following resolution on homelessness. As noted, this was after a year of listening to the many concerns of the community and this resolution is a call on our elected officials to act now to address those concerns. We hope to add video of our 4-hour Housing & Homelessness Forum that was held on June 30th soon.
If anyone has any questions or comments they can email the Chair at david@montavillapdx.org.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association
August 13th, 2018
Public but a call to action by:
Oregon Governor Kate Brown
Oregon State Senator Michael Dembrow
Oregon State Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer
Oregon State Representative Barbara Smith Warner
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury
Multnomah County Commissioner District 3 Jessica Vega Pederson
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
Portland Commissioner of the Office of Community & Civic Life Chloe Eudaly
Whereas the issue of homeless in Montavilla has persisted for years and the perceptions around the community are that it is getting worse;
Whereas our homeless neighbors continue to suffer from lack of adequate shelter, lack of access to basic facilities for everyday human needs, and a lack of any safety or stability with which to build on;
Whereas many of our neighbors continue to suffer the consequences of all the negative aspects of people seeking shelter in public spaces such as trash, human waste, needles, and most importantly for some a sense of safety in their home and community;
Whereas Portland neighborhoods and community groups have held numerous forums and town halls on the issue of homelessness and public safety. Montavilla held a four hour community forum on June 30th, 2018. At these events, whether by law enforcement or by homeless social workers, there was a repeated message that there is far too few resources dedicated to every level of the system. Another consistent message was that “sweeps” are just a short term reaction and a diversion of resources that could be better used elsewhere. The head of the PPB union said as much in a recent statement sent to all neighborhood associations (1) ;
Whereas Oregon ranks number one in the US for homeless children and homeless students in Oregon numbered over 22,000 last year (2).
Therefore, the Board of Directors of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association passes this resolution to:
-Demand our state, county & city leaders convene to craft a plan to end all homelessness in the metro area, along with a plan to acquire the resources necessary to complete the plan. We cannot continue to deal with half of the problem and declare victory.
-Demand creating enough shelters and alternative housing options to replace the need for people to be in our city parks, bike paths, and other public spaces. These resources need to be distributed throughout the city to address each area’s need.
-Demand our legislators prioritize efforts to ensure people now in homes are not displaced into homelessness.
-Until the resources are available to provide shelter for everyone seeking it, the city should end its policy of “sweeps” of individuals, and instead focus its limited resources on getting people off the street and into some form of housing.
-While this plan addresses issues in our community, it does not call for the non-enforcement of any laws outside those for homelessness. All city personnel (and especially the PPB) should have a consistent message to the community that crimes between persons and theft of property are not tolerated or condoned due to this policy and everyone should feel safe in reporting these crimes.
Resolution Passed with one abstention
Montavilla Neighborhood Association Board of Directors
1 Press Release Portland Police Association “Weekly Update” President Daryl Turner, July 30th, 2018
2 Portland Tribune, August 8th 2018, Oregon Ranks 1st for Homelss youth,
https://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/403002-299906-oregon-ranks-first-for-homeless-youth
