Portland Homeless: New Shelter Opens, Highlights Deadly Problem

PORTLAND, OR – As pages fall off the calendar and the weather is increasingly colder and wetter, Portland's growing homeless population is in greater need of assistance. A new shelter opened Nov. 19 to help address that problem.

The Walnut Park Shelter on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard has 80 beds available every night for men and women in need.

It's open every day from5 p.m. until 7:30 a.m. and gives special priority to veterans, people with disabilities, and people 55-years-old and older.

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The shelter was opened by Multnomah County in a former storage facility.

"We all have to do our part," Multnomah County Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury says. "It's one of three shelters, with a total of 280 beds, that we've opened alongside county offices in county buildings since last winter."

Kafoury says that the county has been working hard with nonprofits and faith organizations to help get people off the streets as the weather turns.

"Government has an important role but it's our partnerships with nonprofits and faith leaders that are bringing people in from the cold," she says. "They step up to open these new shelters, they expand street outreach to find vulnerable people.

"They get them the gear they need to stay safe."

The Walnut Park Shelter is being managed and operated by Transition Projects, which has a long history of working with the county.

Reservations are required to get into the shelter and can be obtained at Transition's Day Center at the Bud Clark Commons at 650 Northwest Irving. People can also call 503-280-4700.

If a neighbor or community group knows of someone seeking shelter, Transition says that they can call with referrals.

Multnomah County says that, in addition to Walnut Park, there are several other options for people during severe weather:

• Do Good Multnomah is adding 40 seasonal beds to its 40-bed shelter for veterans in Rose City Park. Of those beds, 30 will be set aside for non-veterans.
• Portsmouth Union Church (4775 N. Lombard, Portland) is hosting a 50-bed shelter for the winter. The Church has traditionally provided beds during severe weather. The shelter is operating in partnership with Do Good Multnomah.
• 75 beds of winter shelter for people in families also will open next month.
• Additional beds will also open in the youth homelessness system.

Portsmouth Union Church's pastor, Andy Goebel, says that without their partnerships with the county and nonprofits like Do Good Multnomah, which helps veterans, they might not have been able to keep up their work providing beds for people this year.

"After two winters in a row of extended periods of sheltering, we had reached a crossroads," Goebels says. We knew we couldn't sustain our winter sheltering efforts without some significant help from outside. So we prayed for that help.

"I believe that our partnership with Do Good Multnomah and the Joint Office of Homeless Services is an answer to that prayer."

Officials say that the new shelter will help but is not a cure all.

A report last month found that the number of people who died on the streets reached 79 last year, up from 47 in 2012, the first year that the report was done.

"Every year, we report on homeless deaths," Tri-County Health Officer Dr. Paul Lewis says. "Every year the deaths are too many, the people are too young, and the causes too preventable.

"In every case, a lack of housing played a role."

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says that it's important for people to recognize that there are several ways to help including training to be a severe weather volunteer and by donating winter gear.

"There's so much more that you and your neighbors can do," Wheeler says, directing people to 211info.org/donations to find out about training sessions and information on donating gear.

"You can see lists of the winter gear that our outreach workers rely on to keep people warm," he says. "You can see where and when you can drop it off. It takes all of us. All year long.

"Especially when it's cold outside."

Photo of Walnut Creek Shelter via Multnomah County; photo of SW Portland homeless camp via Colin Miner/Patch.