Portland Courant

Community members,

We are pleased to provide a summary of last week’s Street Services Coordination Center’s activity. This is a collaborative team that streamlines services offered to those living outside and to expedite homelessness related cleanup efforts throughout Portland in a compassionate manner. Our team is comprised of the Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program, Fire & Rescue, police, transportation, parks and recreation, and Multnomah County. Together we’ve taken a collective approach to remove campsites that pose the highest risk to health and safety.

Shelter referrals

The Street Services Coordination Center has designated shelter beds available to those impacted by campsite removals. We have offered shelter beds to thousands of people experiencing homelessness since April 2022. The data below only represents the number of people who said they were interested in a shelter referral last week and a call was made to determine availability.  

• 29 people expressed an interest in a shelter referral
• 17 people accepted shelter referrals
• 9 people used a shelter bed for at least one night  
• Total shelter referrals since April 11, 2022: 2519
• Total people who have used a shelter bed: 934

Campsite assessment, cleanup and removal highlights

The Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program assesses reported campsites, picks up garbage, provides resource referrals, and removes sites that pose health and safety risks. Using empathy and innovation, we minimize the impacts of homelessness while partner programs expand long-term access to safe, affordable housing. 

From July 3 - 9, 2023, the Impact Reduction Program:

• Received  2130  new campsite reports; including  190 of people living in vehicles
• Observed about 569 active campsites, accounting for duplicate reports about the same locations and including vehicle campsites
• Assessed approximately 583 campsites, engaging with people living there, collecting garbage and biohazardous materials, and coordinating with service providers
• Removed 87  campsites that posed a risk to health and safety, safely storing campers' personal property 

Summary

• Shelter referrals offered: 29
• Shelter referrals accepted: 17
• Shelter beds used: 9
• Campsite reports received: 2130
• Total active campsites observed: 569
• Campsite assessments: 583
• Campsites removed: 87

Take a look at the new Impact Reduction Program Dashboard 

View the dashboard

Read more about the dashboard

Original source can be found here