On an early Monday morning on SW Alder and 13th Street, a crowd of people gather in front of the Julia West House, smoking cigarettes, talking to one another, and waking up. The air is crisp and cold but the sky is blue, and soon the sun will rise above the buildings and light up the small, gated courtyard adjoining the building.
At 8 a.m., Tom Wilson opens the door, and some 30 homeless people file in. The blinds are drawn from the window, the "Closed" sign is switched to "Open," and the waiting help themselves to coffee, juice and pastries.
It’s an average start at Daywatch, which has now become the pro tem day shelter as proposed by the City of Portland’s Street Access For Everyone (SAFE) Workgroup. According to their December 2006 recommendations, the day access center was intended to serve up to 150 adult women and men during the day, with adequate bathroom facilities and storage lockers, and provide "experienced, trained housing outreach/engagement/housing placement staff with access to flexible client/rent assistance funds," all within the first six months.
However, a lack of funding forced the city to narrow its vision, and with only $90,000 ($45,000 requested by Mayor Tom Potter and an additional $45,000 matched by the Portland Business Alliance), all that resulted was a contract with the First Presbyterian Church to expand the hours of Daywatch an additional 43 hours a week. Tom Wilson, the only full-time staff member and coordinator of the food box program, has been with Daywatch since before it started, when he supplied coffee to drink for those waiting for food boxes, in 1989. "We’ll try to stretch on for as long as we can," he says.
This morning, people have continued to trickle in, and by 8:30, with nearly 40 people inside and out on the patio, there are no more empty chairs. Many sit on the ground outside or lean against the wall. Some people talk with friends, some sit and draw with crayons and paper, and some sit by themselves, drinking coffee.
Myrna, a young man in a heavy, brown Carhartt jacket, a gray beanie and blue jeans, explains that his caregiver just kicked him out. He comes to Daywatch about three times every two weeks, but prefers not to spend too much time here. "Sometimes I like it," he says. "I don’t really come here that often. It’s a place to get a cup of coffee before I have an appointment or something, but that’s about it." When asked about a proposed site where there would be access to shower facilities and lockers to store their belongings, he says, "That’s a really good idea. I’d definitely check it out. (Right now) if you’re not standing in line for a shower, you’re not going to get one."
"They need a place where you can go drink and smoke," insists Rick, seated across from Myrna. "Not be kept in a cage." Proudly wearing a baseball cap with the profile of a headdress and "Native" written on the side, Rick is an amiable man who punctuates everything he says with a hearty laugh. "I sleep where I can," he says. "I slept out last night. (In the daytime) there aren’t too many places to go. Go up to the library or find someplace dry. They shut off the fountains and it’s like the desert here." Another man overhearing the conversation chimes in, "It’s cruel. It’s mean. It’s unforgiving."
On April 17, Mayor Potter revealed his proposed budget for 2007-2008. Among the earmarked funds was $940,000 for the SAFE program, including $350,000 to provide day centers for the homeless and $300,000 for public restrooms and benches, as designated as part of the original "sit-lie" ordinance (the retooled sit-lie ordinance, otherwise known as the "High Pedestrian Traffic Area" ordinance, came up for a vote on May 2). The $350,000 would go toward continued funding for Daywatch, as well as securing a secondary service facility/provider. According to Liora Berry of the City of Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development (BHCD), an additional condition was incorporated by SAFE Workgroup member and Sisters Of The Road co-founder Genny Nelson that the planned shelter offer shower facilities and storage space for lockers, services that were called attention to by the homeless in Voices From the Street, the upcoming Sisters Of The Road book.
In addition to Daywatch, many homeless find daytime shelter at the Central Library. John Cabrera, Operations Administrator for the library, believes that of the homeless that use the library, 95 percent come in "primarily to use the facilities," check their email, keep in touch with people, use the restrooms appropriately, and get information. "Very few come" simply to kill time or just hang out, but if they do, they’re welcome to be here all day if they want; it’s a public building. "This building is the melting pot of downtown Portland," he says with an air of pride. However there is a list of behavioral rules. "They can stay here all day long," he says, but there is no sleeping, disruptive behavior, and they can’t use the bathroom to do laundry or change clothes. He says problems with these rules are "not notable," and only occur from time to time.
Showers and hygiene facilities are still needed, and one site that has become a model resource is the Urban Rest Stop in Seattle. As its name suggests, it serves as more of a pit stop than an actual shelter, but it does provide five washers and dryers, five private shower rooms, and a restroom and toiletries, with an upcoming expansion that will broaden the site to include double the laundry service, two additional restrooms and a health resource room with a half-time Licensed Practical Nurse. Since opening in the spring of 2000, the Urban Rest Stop has provided services to 21,873 people, which translates to over 600,000 showers and 165,000 loads of laundry. The site cost an estimated $715,000 to get off the ground and has an annual operating cost of $620,000, but according to Ronni Gilboa, manager of the Rest Stop, "The effects of keeping people healthy spread out. There’s a nice little ripple. If you’re looking at doing this, you don’t want to do it on the cheap. You can’t. You’ve got to keep the place up to hospital-like standards. Folks are living on the outside and they’ve got compromised immune systems." She adds, "We are a way for people to take care of themselves and become self-sufficient, to get a job, to get into school, to be presentable if you need to go to court or a counselor; to be at your best."
Gilboa is critical of the 10-year plan to end homelessness; Seattle has one as well. "Homelessness is merely a side effect of poverty," she says, "and poverty does not go away. That isn’t going to change because someone has a little plan."
Across the street from the Julia West House, two men sit on the sidewalk, smoking cigarettes and talking to each other. Band, a tall man in a red jacket and a baseball hat, rests against the wall and explains he’s been kicked out of Daywatch. "I’ve only been banned for three or four more days," he says. "I sit here all day long. I like the neighborhood. It’s quiet, not like Old Town." He looks up. "It’s the first place the sun hits." He continues talking about a recent altercation, highlighting the need for some kind of storage system: "The wagon came. (They) shipped me to Hooper when I’m not even intoxicated. ‘We’re here to help you–we’re from the government,’" he laughs wryly, recalling what they said to him. "I wasn’t drunk or high, just asleep. My bicycle was still there when I got back, but my gear was all gone."
When asked what they think about the proposed day center, his friend, "Isotope" Keith, says, "I heard it was gonna be across the river. I won’t show up very much. I hardly ever go across the river. If they get more than one shower, I’ll use it," he says.
The proposed site "across the river" has been rejected. For the moment, there is still no permanent site for the Day Access Center, though the city is actively looking for locations. Says Berry, "I’m not sure where it’s going. I know a lot of people want this to go together, but there are a lot of aspects to it. The SAFE committee is saying we want people to be able to walk on the sidewalks. Some people who are lying on the sidewalks are there because they don’t have anywhere else to go. Those who don’t have any alternatives need alternatives." At a recent SAFE meeting, Portland Police Officer Jeff Myers proposed one such alternative: a 30 foot by 20 foot site under the 405 bridge at NW 15th and Lovejoy, donated by ODOT, where lockers could be installed for the homeless to store their things. It’s a far cry from the Day Access Center, but according to Berry, any lockers are better than no lockers, even if they are under a bridge.
"Whenever you talk about construction and facilities," says Berry, "it always takes two to three times more than anticipated, it costs about three times as much, and you get a couple of side projects as a result."
The mayor’s budget proposal will be decided on July 1.
