(Story from June 27 issue) By Amanda Waldroupe
One of the reverberating aftershocks of the three-week-long homeless protest outside City Hall is the question of whether Portland needs another "tent city" to solve the problem of homelessness.
"It's necessary because of the amount of poor people who need a place to be other than outside," says Larry Reynolds, one of the protest's leaders.
The resolve and desire may exist at the street level, but another question begs raising: is there the support among the people who can actually make another tent city happen?
"There's a million other questions I would ask," says Mark Lakeman, the founder of the City Repair Project and the architect and designer of Dignity Village.
"Shall people be engaged in converting their own problems into their own solutions? Shall a group of people living in streets see themselves as having value? Can they contribute to the world? Of course," he says.
"I'm really interested in exploring it, definitely," says Sally Erickson, program manager at the Bureau of Housing and Community Development.
Erickson thinks there is an urgency to the protesters' concerns that has been absent in the past. Between the national economic recession, the lack of affordable housing in Portland, and the inaccessibility of areas underneath bridges and other out of the way places where homeless people used to camp, Erickson thinks another tent city is one of many potential options.
"We have to do something," Erickson says. "We need a short term plan for people who are sleeping outside who have nowhere else to go."
City Commissioner Nick Fish, the new housing commissioner who entered office on June 10, is more hesitant about declaring support for another tent city.
"This is a good time to think creatively about other options," Fish says, adding that he has not been in office long enough to be specific. "I'm willing to consider any good idea that's out there."
In the wake of the protest - which shook the city and housing bureau's confidence in the effectiveness of its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness - a number of proposals for another tent city exist.
One of the earliest proposals developed by the homeless protesters is the concept of a "green zone," where the City's anti-camping law would not be applicable, thus allowing individuals to camp at night without the danger of being harassed or swept by the police.
What would such a green zone look like?
Katie Nilson, a homeless advocate, tentatively described it as "an area of the City that's basically between certain streets on certain blocks."
"It would be unwise to not moderate something like that," Nilson says, adding that questions regarding public safety and sanitation need addressing.
Reynolds, referencing the number of empty buildings and warehouses in Portland, is not sure that it would be ideal for a green zone to be exclusively outside.
"I envision it as being a building," Reynolds says. "I don't think everyone wants to be outside."
"There's lots of options," Erickson says. "Considering safe camping should be one of those options. We need options for families with kids, youth, couples and unaccompanied women."
One of the problems an outdoor green zone immediately faces is the lack of support from the City if it were in a park.
Mayor Tom Potter and City Council have refused to consider repealing or suspending the anti-camping ordinance, despite the fact that the tension between the law and lack of affordable housing is recognized as one of the principle causes of the protest.
"(City Commissioner) Dan (Saltzman) thinks it's not possible to get people camping in parks and (then) cleaned out in the morning," says Shannon Callahan, director of social policy in Saltzman's office. "It would lead to less support of homeless issues than more."
One of the most developed proposals currently existing was created by Wesley Flowers, 31, another of the homeless protesters.
He calls his proposal "Camp Opportunity." Camp Opportunity would be a self-managed tent city providing 350 shelter beds and 80 campsite lots for those who do not prefer shelter throughout the year. During the winter months, the numbers could swell to 525 with additional shelter.
The proposal calls for six tents that would house different populations of homeless people, including men, women, couples and families.
In addition to housing people, Camp Opportunity would also have a kitchen facility serving breakfast, shower facilities, and an area called a "skills share center," providing Internet access and space to look for a job and develop other important life skills.
Camp Opportunity also proposes developing its own garden space in a 130-by-140-foot plot, divided into four-by-four plots for each individual. Flowers also proposes developing a barter system similar to Sisters Of The Road's work-for-food exchange.
By sourcing all of the equipment and material from Army surplus gear, Flowers thinks Camp Opportunity would cost somewhere around $100,000.
In general, Lakeman thinks that building a tent city is not cost prohibitive.
"We dumpstered Dignity," Lakeman says. "The material that's necessary to build the village could just be sourced out of the waste stream."
Support for the general concept of Camp Opportunity exists in the streets.
"I would like to see something similar to this happen," Reynolds says.
Reynolds raised concerns with the size of the tents, as well as how Camp Opportunity would deal with drug and alcohol issues and maintain "law and order."
"There's some surrounding details that need to be worked out," Reynolds says.
"It's just a concept at this point," Flowers says.
"It's open to change, and what it needs at this point is the community to complete the overall vision."
If implemented in its current form, Camp Opportunity would easily be the largest shelter in Portland and would house more people than the city's yet-to-be-built resource access center, but Erickson sees difficulties in such a large number.
"The problem is going to be finding a place to put that number," says Erickson. "I think that's going to be the biggest challenge."
Lakeman also sees zoning and finding land as the main obstacle to quickly moving forward on a tent city, and finds fault with the rules and regulations governing City bureaucracy.
"There's tons of residual space just lying around, but there's always a line or a fence," Lakeman says.
Flowers says there are a couple of places underneath the Hawthorne Bridge where he can envision Camp Opportunity going, or he says there is a privately owned lot on SE 82nd Ave. that would also work.
He says he would like to see assistance in finding land and funding from the city and housing bureau.
Protesters hope to work with the city to explore different options. During the protest, the Mayor and other city officials asked the protesters to do a number of things, including publicly testifying in front of City Council, attending the Housing Bureau's Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness meetings, and ceasing camping in front of City Hall.
Nilson thinks that the City should be more open to working with the protesters in light of the fact that the protesters followed through on the City's requests. "We want some action," says Nilson.
Trying to drum up support for Camp Opportunity within City Hall, Flowers met with Saltzman two weeks ago and found the conversation encouraging.
"It was a good meeting," Flowers said. "He wants to know what a green zone would look like, and what we think a green zone would look like."
"Dan is very intrigued by the idea," says Callahan. "He is open to more discussions about the green zone."
Flowers says the next step for his proposal is continuing to get people at the City and Bureau involved and supportive of it. He says that he wants to formally propose Camp Opportunity at the next Coordinating Committee to End Homelessness meeting on July 16.
Although Erickson does not want to see a lengthy bureaucratic process unfold, she is also adamant about not jumping the gun on Flower's proposal, even if it is the only one currently fleshed out.
"He's got one idea," Erickson says. "I would really like to meet with people at City Repair, Street Roots and Sisters Of The Road and get some ideas jotted down."
One of the problems facing the homeless protesters as they endeavor to develop a concrete proposal for a green zone or tent city is the lack of consensus amongst themselves.
Marshall Runkell, a resource development manager at the housing bureau, who was heavily involved in creating Dignity Village, calls the process that created Dignity Village a "perfect storm" of activist, community, legal and political leadership.
That perfect storm was born from the controversy created by homeless activists in response to the yearly closing of winter shelters in late March and the consequential increase of homeless camps and police sweeps.
In 2000, a number of homeless people doubling as activists later comprising Dignity Village's original population moved their camp after enforcement of the City's anti-camping law, rather than dispersing.
"They simply had camping and camping and camping and they wouldn't give up," says Lakeman. "Dignity Village's approach was unstoppable."
"It was just a spectacle," Runkel remembers. "It was very strategic. Just as it died down, it would heat back up again."
During April and May's three-week protest, protesters split into at least four different groups, identifying themselves as the Homeless Liberation Front, United Poor People, the Portland Coalition Against Poverty and the City Hall Protesters. The latter two groups remain active.
"There have been some decisive moments when certain groups of people didn't agree with other certain groups of people," Nilson says. "It created rifts within the community of protesters."
More along the lines of scattered showers than a perfect storm, the majority of the protesters' messages are unclear, particularly concerning the type of green zone they want. The lack of a coherent message to the city and bureau could effect the progress of creating a green zone.
"We still communicate with each other," Reynolds says, denying that the splintering of protesters has harmed progress.
Nilson and Reynolds both say that each group is talking about the same issues and, says Reynolds, "fighting for the same thing."
Another concern with building a tent city is whether it would turn into a permanent village over time, doing nothing to effectively end people's homelessness.
"We don't want to create another institution that prolongs people's homelessness," Erickson says.
"If it can be set up in a way that is cost effective, where the focus is connecting people to housing and services and moving them as quickly as they can off the streets, that helps us achieve the Ten Year Plan (to End Homelessness)."
Neither Erickson nor Lakeman would predict how City Council would react if a proposal for a tent city was brought forward with strong support.
With Nick Fish replacing former Commissioner Erik Sten, Randy Leonard stepping up leadership with homeless and housing issues, and Mayor-elect Sam Adams' seat open to two candidates in a run-off who both care about housing issues, the issues raised by the protest may not fall of deaf ears at City Hall.
"The people coming to City Hall represent an opportunity," Lakeman thinks.
Ultimately, leadership and willingness to facilitate a dialog between the protesters, the city and other stakeholders is necessary in order for a tent city to get up out of the pages and onto the ground.
"I don't think we need to take a year to think it through," Erickson says. "I am interested and I will do everything I can to meet with people."
If the opportunity does arise, Lakeman would be front and center to see it through to the end.
"I will help anyone to design a village by and for homeless people, for free," Lakeman says. "(And) that's a standing offer. I consider that a responsibility. I challenge every architect and designer in the City to do the same."
Posted by Israel Bayer (July 11)
