1) OKNA signs letter regarding homeless camps
2) Overlook pandemic vignettes
4) N Going Street on-ramp to I-5 south will close for five days
6) Big backyard photography contest
1) OKNA signs letter regarding homeless camps
At their monthly meeting last week, The Overlook Neighborhood Association Board voted to sign onto a letter of support for homeless camps throughout Portland. OKNA joins other North Portland neighborhoods in endorsing the letter that was developed collaboratively among the chairs of neighborhood associations.
Specifically, the letter asks the city to pursue a three-pronged approach to dealing with the current homeless crisis, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the recommendations are the following:
In the short term, Portland should expedite permitting for the opening of a privately run homeless shelter and services at the never-opened Wapato facility. It also should create safe, sanctioned locations for camping and increase the delivery of sanitation resources to sanctioned homeless camps.
In the long-term, Portland should pursue more legally sanctioned, managed camps akin to Dignity Village and the Kenton Women’s Village. Such sites would include managed self-governance, access to social services and transition services to permanent housing.
During both the short and long term, Portland should clear campsites in all parks, waterways and public paths, as well as camps where illegal activity has been documented. It also should ask every neighborhood in the city to identify one or more potential sites for local managed camps and seek to install them in every sextant of the city.
Read the full letter here. Continue reading “Overlook Neighborhood Update (May 10)”