11/25/2025
This message comes from our Executive Director, Michael Larson, who shared these reflections earlier this month on LinkedIn. We are passing them along here for our community as the camping ban to takes effect.
"On November 1, Portland began enforcing its public camping ban. The ban prohibits people from camping in public spaces when “reasonable” alternative shelter is available. Someone who refuses shelter could be hit with a 100 dollar fine or spend a week in jail. I understand this is being enforced as a step towards bringing safety and livability back to Portland, but I think we need to be clear about its implications.
Yes, we will visibly see less unsheltered homelessness. Less tents and people living outside. The streets might look cleaner and more safe. But by no means does this at all adequately address our homelessness crisis. People who are in shelter are still homeless.
According to Multnomah County, there are currently 16,089 people experiencing homelessness. These numbers increase by hundreds of people each month. While there are people who are experiencing homelessness with intense mental health and addiction needs, our increases to our overall homeless population are largely driven by our chronic lack of affordable housing. In Portland, more than half of all renters are cost burdened (paying over 30 percent of their income for housing) and 25 percent are severely cost burdened (paying over 50 percent). We have been in a housing emergency since 2015, despite many powerful efforts to combat our housing shortage.
The Welcome Home Coalition just released a groundbreaking report interviewing 429 people experiencing homelessness and found that 91 percent of people would move into a home if they could afford it.
We have failed as a region to adequately provide the homes that are needed for the people who need them most.
As our city asks the question of what does compassion and accountability look like for our neighbors on the street, we must also ask what does compassion and accountability for our inadequate housing systems look like. They have failed to produce the affordable homes at scale we need in this region. If we do not succeed with building a healthy housing continuum, families, older adults, and people of all demographics will continue waiting in shelters as they sit on housing wait lists that are months and many times years long.
I understand November 1 is a step for Portland’s businesses and downtown to stabilize and for housed residents to feel safer enjoying them. But I hope the city of Portland makes just as strong of an effort to spur and invest in housing access and production as we currently are in enforcement and shelter.
What does it look like for Portland to be compassionate enough not just to move people to shelter, but to make sure they make it back to stable housing. To truly thrive.
If not, I fear we become like New York City, which has the largest homeless population in the country, you just do not notice it as much since they are all in shelter. Over 130,000 people living in shelters. Are we sure that is what compassion and accountability really look like."
