By Nancy Tannler
On December 17, 2024 the Board of Multnomah County Commissioners approved $4.1 million for the construction of what is being referred to as the “Harrison Community Village,” a tiny home village shelter between SE Mill St. and SE Harrison St. on 82nd Ave. This money comes from the Supportive Housing Services Tax passed in 2021 that raises $250 million annually for this purpose.
On February 18, Zack Kearl, Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS), gave a presentation about the project to the 82nd Ave. Business Association. He said the facility will be functional by December of 2025. Those in attendance were supportive of the shelter project.
JOHS worked with the Facilities and Property Management (FPM) of Multnomah County to develop the design of the Harrison Community Village. At the first meeting neighbors expressed concern about the design and the county took that feedback into consideration. Julia Comnes, Multnomah County Communications, said, “[T]the County has also incorporated feedback from the community to make changes to the design, including moving the location of trash containers further away from the property lines, adding participant lockers, adding landscaping outside the shelter near the bus stop and adding additional fencing around the property.”
Kearl said there will be three more community and business engagement meetings to discuss issues about the design, the name, the non-profit facility operators and also to work on a Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA). “The GNA is not a legally binding contract, but is used to guide the behavior of shelter residents and minimize the impact on the community.”
SE Mill St. is on a Safe Routes to School Street because of the light crossing 82nd Ave. At the present time, SE Mill St. does not have sidewalks. Part of this project includes Multnomah County working with Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to build sidewalks on SE Mill St.
Comnes said that there have been no negative reports from local schools and the surrounding communities and businesses where village style homeless shelters are located. “One example is the St. Johns Village shelter in North Portland, which opened in 2021, with support from the surrounding community. To this day, the community continues to support the village.” It should be noted that shelter operators are on site 24/7.
Nancy Chapin, co-chair of the 82nd Ave. Business Association, asked Kearl if Harrison Community Village would be amenable to the elderly since it is so conveniently located. Kearl said that will be determined by the operator and what the best demographics would be. “We usually try to house the elderly in motel shelters where it is easier for them,” he said. Using motels as temporary living quarters began during COVID-19 where over 400 rooms were acquired for this purpose. The motel shelters have continued to house people in need, especially the elderly and teens.
Harrison Community Village, along with the two other alternative shelters in development, will bring the total to 27 year-round shelters and 3,000 shelter beds. In the next two months JOHS will decide upon the non-profit shelter operator company, who will be on site 24/7.
According to the homelessnomore.com there are 11,000 homeless people living in Portland. The passage of the Supportive Housing Services Tax has enabled the City and the County to become more proactive in building alternative shelters to meet this need. The 2023 Alternative Shelter Evaluation Report studied how well these temporary living shelters are working to move people into permanent housing. According to the report, the proposed Harrison Community Village-style of shelters are proving to be the most successful–offering privacy, safety and support.
There’s an unspoken worry that because the City and County provide housing and services to the homeless population we are attracting more people to come here from elsewhere. Comnes shared some statistics from a Point In Time Count published in 2024. According to the report, 60.8 percent of people unsheltered in the region that night were from the tri-county area, 17 percent were from a state other than Oregon or Washington and the majority of folks report coming to Portland to be closer to family and friends, or for jobs or housing opportunities.
Harrison Community Village will have 38 shelter pods, including eight that are ADA accessible. Kearl said that assembling these temporary homeless sites is efficient and cost effective. “The wiring and plumbing takes the most time.” The modular units will provide office space for staff and participant services, bathrooms and showers, kitchenette amenities and laundry facilities, all of which will be ADA accessible. Outdoor spaces will include a green space and a covered outdoor community area. The site will be fenced with privacy inserts on all street sides. More on the JOHS website, bit.ly/4b8PSye.
Image by Multnomah County.
