Right 2 Dream Too, a resident-governed village and shelter for homeless Portlanders, says it needs financial support to sustain its operations.
At a site near the Rose Quarter Transit Center, the shelter’s model offers tiny homes and spaces for homeless Portlanders to sleep, with dedicated spots for those willing to help run the village. R2DToo members run the shelter’s security and are part of decision making to address rule violations and daily operations. The organization’s board of directors manages the site’s monthly bills and fundraising.
Among a variety of approaches to address homelessness in the city and county, R2DToo has persisted since it opened in 2011. Mayor Keith Wilson vows to end unsheltered homelessness by opening temporary congregate shelters run by private contractors, where people check in each evening for a bed, sleep in big rooms filled with many others and leave early each morning. R2DToo is different, with its self-governed model, and both permanent tiny homes for members and spaces for people to check in and sleep for a night.
The city’s budget does not include funding for R2DToo, according to Rob Layne, spokesperson for Portland Solutions, the city’s shelter services team. Still, research shows shelters like it are more successful at transitioning residents into permanent and transitional housing than the large overnight shelters the mayor’s office is currently prioritizing.
Alternative shelter models like micro villages offer the services of a shelter on a smaller scale. Residents also have opportunities to build leadership skills and work on themselves, according to Michael Moore, R2DToo co-founder and current board secretary. Moore worked on a 2024 report created by the Micro Village Expansion Project, a collaborative effort between current and former villagers of different village shelter models in the city.
“What we found was that self-managed villages really work best because they give people a stake in, and a sense of ownership of the place that they’re living, which everyone loves to have,” Moore said.
Micro villages have a unique ability to provide shelter and services, by building community and through a democratic structure, according to the report.
“They are excellent at creating community, which I think the unhoused in Portland are (already) excellent at creating community anyway, because they do so under really, really dire circumstances.”
A Portland State University report evaluating alternative shelter models found “smaller shelters often lead to better client experiences and outcomes, so integrating a range of small, alternative shelters across a community is likely to be a more effective path to scale than focusing on a few large shelters of any type.”
When comparing the outcomes of alternative shelter models against congregate shelters, the former showed higher rates of exiting their residents into permanent and transitional housing, according to the report.
Financial squeeze
R2DToo is all volunteer run — a testament to residents’ commitment to keeping the self-governed shelter afloat.
But Trillium Shannon, one of R2DToo’s cofounders and current board member, says the organization can’t keep going without more recurring monthly donors.
“Our most sustainable source from the beginning, from the very start, has been from people in our community, from small donations coming together,” Shannon said.
Shannon said running the organization costs between $5,000 and $6,000 each month. The site includes tiny houses and bathrooms. It also serves as a mutual aid distribution site, giving out food and other life-saving materials like clothing, sleeping bags and other donations to people living on the streets.
At $6,000 a month, R2DToo’s operating costs appear to be higher annually than a Joint Office of Homeless Services (now Homeless Services Department) congregate shelter. However, comparing cost disparities within or between shelter types does not necessarily point to a more or less efficient model because of the varying service needs of those experiencing homelessness, according to the report.
Options for grant funding as a self-governed village are slim, according to R2DToo’s board treasurer, Grant Swanson. R2DToo’s current model does not fulfill the requirements for grant funding from the Homeless Services Department.
The members see their role as part of a larger community service, with the site as one puzzle piece in the larger effort of solutions to address homelessness. They also see this as an opportunity for the local government to support a group of volunteers who have been doing this service for 14 years.
But organizers say there are ways local officials could help. The city could alleviate the cost of the village’s garbage collection, for example, or pay for the site’s porta-potties. R2DToo is in District 2, represented by Sameer Kanal, Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Dan Ryan.
Dan Ryan did not comment on R2DToo specifically, but said he is a champion of the city’s Safe Rest Villages. R2DToo is not a city-sanctioned Safe Rest Village.
Pirtle-Guiney is open to hearing about the other costs, like garbage and toilets, needed to run the village, but is uncertain about whether this request would be best fulfilled by the city or Multnomah County.
“We need to invest more in all parts of the system that provide people shelter, that provide people privacy, that provide people security, because that is the absolute first step in getting folks the stability in their own lives that then allows people to transition into housing,” Pirtle-Guiney said.
She sees the value and success of these models.
“Self-governed micro villages should absolutely be a part of our sheltering ecosystem,” she said.
Kanal offered general support for the concept of a self-governing model.
“These villages work and enhance Portlanders’ dignity during a challenging time for them,” Kanal said in a statement. “Self-governance is a good way to ensure people who are living in the villages are able to have some control over their daily lives.”
A celebration of resilience
In the last 14 years of the village’s existence, a carousel of electeds and city officials have offered their own version of solutions to the city’s homelessness crisis. Congregate shelters, day shelters, other clinics and services have all been the subject of debate. Meanwhile, R2DToo has remained constant.
“At its heart, our mission is to provide people with a safe place to sleep, and that shouldn’t be too difficult for us to do with just a little bit of support,” Moore said.
Jamie, who did not give her last name, a member of R2DToo and a recently appointed board member, speaks highly of her experience in the community. She recalls looking for a place to stay for the night and needing a shelter that would allow her and her partner to stay together. With all the spots for couples filled up at other shelters, R2DToo was the only place available to her and could quickly meet her needs. She became a member after three weeks of staying there, and has remained for two years.
“This place saved me,” she said.
R2DToo will celebrate its 14th anniversary on Sunday, Oct. 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the village at 999 N. Thunderbird Way. Described as both a call to action and a celebration of resilience, the board invites Portlanders to learn more about the village.
R2DToo began as a protest against the city’s sidewalk management ordinance in 2011. Something that was once a temporary protest has lasted much longer due to residents’ conviction to sustain the space, Moore said.
“Something we thought would last three months has been around 14 years now, and that’s all due to the people who live there,” Moore said.
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This article appears in October 1, 2025.