NEW HOUSELESS MEASURES DEHUMANIZE IN THE NAME OF COMPASSION PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL’S ACTIONS AREN’T LIVING UP TO THEIR RHETORIC ALEX ALDRIDGE Not much is more politicized than the rising number of people who are experiencing houselessness—particularly those who are considered unsheltered and living in tents. In the latest tri-county Point in Time Count, conducted on Jan. 26, a total of 6,633 people experiencing houselessness were counted in Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah Counties. Multnomah County represents the largest number of people experiencing houselessness at 5,228 people—with 3,057 considered unsheltered, 1,485 in shelters and 686 in transitional housing situations. It is important to note how these numbers should be considered an undercount, as it doesn’t account for those who might have been doubling-up that night, those who were missed in the count or various other reasons which might affect these numbers. It is meant to be a snapshot estimate. In response, the City of Portland claims to address the issue with a plan to help people, though it hardly seems like a viable solution and contains elements which are inhumane and far from compassionate. On Oct. 26, City Council held a sevenhour meeting, which was open for the public to comment on the proposed plan, with hundreds of members of the public having signed up to testify. This meeting was rigged to push a narrative which supported the passing of the plan, as it was later revealed how Commissioner Dan Ryan pushed 16 real estate brokers and those in the business industry toward the front of the public testimony line. Although it’s common for commissioners to invite people to testify their opinions in the public comment portion of these hearings,
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OPINION
Commissioner Ryan remained silent when Mayor Ted Wheeler asked if any of the council members wished to invite anyone to speak. The whole thing was a charade, as it was later revealed that Mayor Wheeler’s office facilitated Commissioner Ryan’s request of prioritizing those 16 speakers. Pushing people who signed up to speak days in advance down the list in favor of real estate brokers reveals Mayor Wheeler and Commissioner Ryan’s corrupt nature and manipulation to create an early narrative which supported the plan. Despite being a public forum organized by Street Roots for people with lived experiences to speak against the proposed plan, the proposal was ultimately approved two days later. On Nov. 3, Portland City Council approved a plan consisting of five resolutions with the aim to address houselessness in Portland. The plan—created by Mayor Wheeler and Commissioner Ryan—made a speed run from its announcement to its passing in less than two weeks. All five of the resolutions passed unanimously except for one, with Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty casting the lone opposing vote to the resolution which included the inhumane camping ban. Before going deeper into the resolution containing the proposed camping ban, it would help to get a basic understanding of what is in each of the resolutions. Resolution 37593 is focused on increasing affordable housing construction. It aims to help increase access to paid non-standard work. The resolution consists of the camping ban as well as the proposal for the construction of six designated camping sites, which would serve a maximum of 250 people per site. It
goes over budget priorities for implementing affordable housing, as well as connecting people experiencing houselessness with mental health and substance abuse services. Finally, resolution 37597 aims to create diversion programs for those experiencing houselessness. While parts of these proposals seem reasonable and positive on the surface, much of what’s in this plan is either questionable, insufficient, unnecessary or just plain cruel. As solutions go, housing-first approaches have shown to be highly effective, as these bypass barriers or preconditions which so many shelters and other transitional services require, all while costing less than similar shelter programs. Knowing housing-first approaches—which connect those experiencing houselessness with permanent housing solutions—are highly effective, resolution 37593 may seem like a good idea at first glance. The crux of the resolution is to create 20,000 affordable housing units within the City of Portland by building a landbank of 400 publicly-owned sites, working with state partners to acquire local and state funding for affordable housing programs and finding vacant and under-utilized privately-owned buildings—all by the year 2033. While all of this seems nice and dandy, it doesn’t mention anything about how to keep affordable housing affordable. Just a month ago, 31 low-income residents of the Prescott Apartments in North Portland were notified their rent had sharply increased—up to 50% in some instances. Though Commissioner Ryan facilitated an agreement with the new owners of the Prescott Apartments to not
raise the rent for another 18 months after tenants protested the proposed rent hikes, the fact that the apartments were legally allowed to do so in the first place is a huge red flag. These units are part of the Multiple-Unit Limited Tax Exemption (MULTE) program, so these are only required to remain affordable for 10 years, upon which the landlord can then raise rents to the market rate. To make matters worse, more than 800 apartments in Portland are about to lose the same affordable housing protections for low-income tenants. Is Commissioner Ryan going to negotiate with all of those parasitic property owners as well? On top of this ridiculous 10-year limit, buildings under the MULTE program don’t have to adhere to SB608, the state’s rent control legislation. Let’s also be clear— SB608 is hardly rent control in the first place, as Portlanders are poised to see possible rent increases of up to 14.6% in 2023, which is legally allowed under the supposed rent control bill. SB608 also doesn’t include buildings which are 15 years old or newer, prompting questions about any new construction of affordable housing units in the City’s plan and whether these will see the same fate as those 800 residents will be facing here shortly. For a county with a minimum wage of $14.75—well short of the calculated living wage of $21.60 for a single adult with no children—this problem is like so many others. The solutions require addressing the larger structures at play, which are the root of all this suffering. Even with the calculated living wage of $21.60, the average rent in Portland is above $1,700 per month.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 30, 2022 • psuvanguard.com