Tonight's big story.
A big surprise for people with
three Portland neighborhoods.
See organized Tiny house
villages big enough to fit.
60 people are moving in now.
This is a done deal.
Officials have already made
their decision surprise
shortly after they announced that
decision. Neighbors who live near
these three sites started flooding
our inbox. Here's Maggie Vespa.
They're not talking to anybody,
they're just doing it.
People in three Portland
neighborhoods are grappling with
a big decision made for them,
city officials announced Thursday
amid a mounting housing crisis.
Homeless villages are headed
for three vacant lots,
two in Southeast Portland and one downtown.
Each. Safe Rest Village will
house roughly 60 people.
The city aims to have them
up and running by 2022. Safe
press villages are fenced, fully staffed.
24/7 managed. Outdoor shelters
in other words, this is a done deal
whether neighbors want it or not.
That's stupid.
Jim Weidner does not want it.
He owns a home near one of the lots.
A Tri met property at SE 122nd and
Burnside he's convinced crime will
go up and property values will
go down there just dropping in
our laps and saying deal with it.
And it's putting a hardship on everybody.
Then there's this site along
SW Naito near I-405.
Just across the street sits
the International School of
Portland and Elementary School.
A parent wrote two KGW.
She's beyond appalled and
worries about kids safety.
Honestly, it's not a really good idea. This
man who didn't want to show his face agrees
he's homeless and camps on the lot. Now
it's a safety hazard,
especially bringing kids into the
mix next to a village of homeless
people that are possibly using city
officials have said the villages
will be carefully managed.
The people in them.
Referred by nonprofits.
Still Friday KGW heard concerns
and fears about all three sites,
including this third one
at SE 45th and Harney.
So we took these fears.
Two people with lived experience
where you live next to a
village that the city endorsed.
Cameron Morgan lives about a
block from the Kenton Women's
Village in North Portland,
Kenton neighborhood.
It's housed homeless women since 2017.
You
know it can be a good thing. Could be
a bad thing, Morgan says.
The village itself has
always been peaceful.
But in the last couple years,
crime and camping around
it have gotten worse.
He hesitates though,
to place any blame on
the village itself. It's
since the authorities cannot
police and take care of the
homelessness problem and transients
that I think that's a negative
part of it. Morgan adds.
His property's value has not gone down,
but multiple neighbors are moving,
not from the neighborhood,
but from Portland, where crime and.
Homelessness are spiking citywide. Now
we did reach out to Catholic Charities,
which runs the Kenton Women's Village
and we just haven't yet heard back.
I'd like to stay with the comparison
that was made for just one moment
'cause you spoke to a neighbor,
but it was just one neighbor you.
Also you also talked to the
neighborhood associate exactly I did.
I actually talked on zoom to Vice chair
Tyler Robbie and his take was, you know,
similar to Morgan's overall neighbors.
He says support the village and he also
said property values have not gone down.
But he noted crime has gone up again,
noting that's in line with the
rest of the city. So hesitating?
That on the village.
That said in regards to these new villages,
he made this distinction.
The
Kent Women's Village was a fairly
unique experience and that the
neighborhood had an opportunity to
tell the city to move forward or not.
And through that process not
considered fairly grassroots,
it gave neighbors a real sense
of ownership over the project,
but the safe rest villages is not a
grassroots community driven process.
It's more of OK. We've selected a site.
Here's where it is.
Here's what we're going to do.
In addition,
you have it also scenario where
they're trying to do this quickly and
acting like it's going to be easy,
and I think it's going to be
harder than than people think.
Now we should note and remind
people more villages are coming.
This isn't the end.
Yeah, exactly in the city has said
they want to open 6 total by 2022,
so they say they'll announce the other
three locations as soon as possible.
Maggie, thank you, sorry.