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In the background is an image of an orange fence and text in the foreground reads, "The Orange Fence Project" and below that, "Homelessness policy, enforcement, and impact in Portland.

Homelessness policy, enforcement and impact in Portland

Street Roots

About the project:

The Orange Fence Project seeks to improve public understanding of the daily lives of homeless Portlanders and the systemic and personal circumstances through which people became homeless. By reporting on personal experiences, testimony, data and improving accountability for public officials, Street Roots will identify and report more feasible steps to address homelessness.

Homelessness and the enforcement of local laws on homeless people are almost entirely untracked by independent groups. As a result, the effects of these laws and enforcement — positive or negative — are largely unstudied and unknown. By engaging community members and implementing a solutions journalism framework, this project will address gaps in public knowledge while revealing potential solutions to systemic issues. 

Through rigorous reporting, public record gathering, crowdsourced information and continued observation, Street Roots will provide a comprehensive overview of homelessness policy, enforcement and impact in Portland.

  • Street Roots
    A large room with designated markers for people to reside during severe weather.

    County and advocates disagree on sufficiency of severe weather shelter guidelines

    By
    Jamie Arcelay
    January 25, 2023
  • Street Roots
    A garden area fenced off. Trees and planter boxes are in the enclosed garden area.

    How tenants around Portland fight back against landlords

    With help from mutual aid group Don’t Evict PDX, tenants receive rental assistance funds, guidance on eviction notices and support for tenant advocacy and organizing
    By
    Christine Menges
    January 4, 2023
  • Street Roots
    The outside of the New Avenues for Youth Portland building. It has a brick facade.

    New Avenues for Youth workers want a union

    Nonprofit workers assisting homeless youth await recognition from management
    By
    Aurora Biggers
    December 28, 2022
  • Street Roots
    An illustrative mock up rendering of an apartment building

    Housing for frontline social service workers addressing the homelessness crisis

    The Atomic Orchard Experiment aims to honor what people do as workers and as Portlanders
    By
    Ellen Clarke
    December 21, 2022
  • Street Roots
    Portland city council building in the background and a cutout of Dan Ryan smiling in the foreground.

    Dan Ryan yet to respond to June call for new tenant protections

    An attorney tasked with enforcing similar protections tells Street Roots why protections work and how they serve to level an uneven playing field
    By
    Piper McDaniel
    December 14, 2022
  • Street Roots
    An illustration of a conveyor belt with houses falling off the conveyor belt. Each house has a label that says, "eviction" on it. In the background are a pattern of scales filling the space.

    Eviction court favors landlords

    Oregon is in a housing crisis. Experts say eviction court is part of the problem.
    By
    Piper McDaniel
    December 7, 2022
  • Street Roots
    Lil B Raps is rapping into a mic on stage while Talilo Marfil raps into a microphone, standing to the left of him.

    New, innovative project offers lifeline to youths after foster care

    Ascending Flow uses music and mentorship to support youth aging out of Oregon’s foster care system
    By
    Libby Dowsett
    December 7, 2022
  • Street Roots
    Photo showing Commissioner Dan Ryan and Mayor Ted Wheeler flanked by staff and volunteers during Nov. 1 town hall at Blanchet House

    Senior policy advisor for Commissioner Dan Ryan resigns in response to plan for mass camps

    A resignation letter said the recently passed plan to ban unsanctioned encampments and construct mass camps will lead to 'irreparable trauma and unnecessary deaths'
    By
    Piper McDaniel K. Rambo
    December 2, 2022
  • Street Roots
    Ron Wyden talking. His image is overlayed over a photo of an outdoor encampment with an American flag.

    Sen. Wyden says housing is a human right

    Sen. Wyden's DASH Act languishes in committee, despite being among most comprehensive current proposals to address homelessness
    By
    Piper McDaniel
    November 23, 2022
  • Street Roots
    A driftwood structure built on sand.

    The Driftwood Castle at Kelley Point Park

    A homeless Portlander, dubbed ‘the Driftwood Wizard,’ began building a driftwood shelter in late summer. He left with nary a trace, an impermanent structure and indelible impression in his wake.
    By
    Aurora Biggers
    November 23, 2022

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