by Laquida Landford, Tim McCormick, and Les Wardenaar

Landford is the leader of the AfroVillage PDX Project. McCormick is co-founder of PDX Shelter Forum and lead organizer of Village Collaborative. Wardenaar is chair of the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty and co-founder of Shelter Now.

"The plan should also allow for permanent villages rather than insisting that they be just temporary/shelter installations. 

The city could incorporate these solutions in the next iteration of its Residential Infill Project, an ongoing effort to review housing types and density in neighborhoods throughout the city. 

Together these changes could greatly help the plan before Council to fulfill its goal of supporting transition “from shelter into permanent housing.”