Portland Mayor Keith Wilson expressed his increasing frustration with Multnomah County officials regarding the ongoing homelessness crisis during a recent meeting on July 18.
In a passionate address, Wilson criticized the lack of clarity and repetitive discussions about the outcomes of homelessness initiatives, urging a more direct approach to tackle the issue.
“We have got to flood the market with shelter to provide basic lifesaving care to address the crisis,” Wilson asserted.
He emphasized that it was time to leverage the resources available in the room to implement bold strategies, saying, “We do an awful lot of talking, but we have so much firepower in this room to make big swings and I think it’s time to shake things up.”
The Mayor’s comments were made during a session of the Steering and Oversight Committee of the joint city-county Homelessness Response System. This system is designed to guide government efforts to reduce homelessness, and the committee includes various elected officials from both the city and the county.
Throughout the meeting, committee members engaged in an exercise where they assigned stickers to indicate their priorities for the revised homelessness plan.
The meeting echoed many others before it, where discussions often veered toward generalities about long-term goals and strategies, particularly whether to prioritize shelter or housing in addressing homelessness.
Wilson highlighted his stance on the need to focus on both homelessness prevention and emergency shelters, reiterating, “We can’t let our streets be a destination, ever.”
He added that while the end goal must remain focused on housing, immediate shelter options are critical in the fight against homelessness.
In response to Wilson’s remarks, Anna Allen, the government affairs director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and a committee member, presented an alternative view.
“Accountability for public dollars is investing in strategies that reduce homelessness, not just moves it,” Allen argued, highlighting the differing needs of varying communities.
She acknowledged that while shelter might be an effective solution in downtown Portland, the approach might need to change in areas like east county and Gresham where it may not be as effective.
The ongoing debate between city and county leaders regarding the prioritization of shelter versus housing reflects a longstanding divide over how best to combat homelessness.
Currently, the situation in Portland is dire, with a recent count indicating nearly 3,944 individuals sleeping unsheltered on city streets and an additional 2,300 finding refuge in temporary shelters or transitional housing.
Despite leaders recently attempting to strike a balance between shelter and housing in their strategies, the issue has re-emerged, particularly fueled by Wilson’s proposal to add 1,500 new shelter beds by year’s end.
He has initiated this plan by opening three new shelters with three more in the pipeline, including a controversial site in the Pearl District.
Funding for these shelters has been sourced from the current city budget, supported by contributions from Metro and the state, although the county has not provided any financial support for Wilson’s shelter initiative.
Wilson emphasized the need for the city and county to establish more immediate goals in tackling the crisis.
“We need to be down to the ground with those outcomes,” he insisted, advocating for regular accountability on progress towards effectively addressing homelessness.
With evident urgency, Wilson stated, “In the first eight months I’ve been here, we have to focus on the back end, which is housing. But we can’t take our eye off of the front end, which is shelter.”
Matt McNally, a spokesperson for County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, reaffirmed the county’s commitment to reducing homelessness despite facing significant budgetary constraints.
“There is not enough ongoing revenue to pay for the full scale of shelter and services that we all desire,” McNally stated.
He noted the county’s efforts to keep existing shelters operational and to assist people in maintaining housing, citing a $15 million investment from Metro to support Wilson’s shelter initiative as an example of collaboration.
As the meeting concluded, Wilson made a final plea for immediate action, recalling a recent tragedy where an individual was found dead on the streets of Portland.
“This is more important than a conversation. This is about immediate action,” he declared, expressing the emotional weight of the crisis.
After describing the severity of the situation, Wilson urged his colleagues not to view the discussions merely as bureaucratic exercises but as opportunities to mobilize efforts in an urgent and meaningful way.
In a poignant moment, Wilson shared, “When I go into my office, I close the doors and I cry.”
He concluded by emphasizing the necessity of collective action to enhance the city’s response to the homelessness crisis, stating, “We have to shake things up.”
image source from：wweek
