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Nov 10 - PDX City Council testimony (draft/notes) 

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Good afternoon Mayor, Councilmembers. 

My name is Tim McCormick. I'm director of Housing Alternatives Network and the Village Collaborative national group. 

I want to thank city & county officials & staff for their hard work on this, and for making homelessness the top priority it should be. 

However, what I see in this budget revision is a *huge* expansion of street outreach and cleanup services, but still no provision of secure, legal places for unhoused people to be, at anywhere near the scale of need.

There is funding for new shelter, but it appears to be largely funding for congregate shelter, which we know large portions of the unhoused will NOT go to. I think we need to find a new trajectory here

First, it's unclear to me how current policies would pass muster under Boise v. Martin, and Oregon HB 3115. We see planned a 5x expansion of camp clearances, in the clear absence of sufficient legal, alternative places to be.

Second, we see longstanding, broad community support for a clear alternative direction, which is citywide safe areas or villages, which would give all residents of our city a non-criminalized place to be.

Polling indicates 85% support, among Portland likely voters, for "50 new safe, sanitary villages, with housing for unhoused residents." That was from our friends at People For Portland's polling.

We see WeShinePDX, and Harbor of Hope, building innovative plans for citywide villages networks, and we see them struggle to get even recognition from the city.

I believe these are not only sensible, but are avenues to tremendous community activation, and creativity, in creating new housing alternatives, and continuing Portland's uniquely rich tradition of leadership in this. 

We made the Portland Loo, used now all over the country, now let's create the Portland PAD, and pioneer widely a home over troubled waters. 

The key need, and moral obligation, is city support and cooperation, and provision of the services to all, not only those on your selected sites. 

thank you

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Nov 3, 2021 AHFE testimony

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on Weds I gave public comment at AHFE (Multnomah County's CoC), Coordinating Board meeting. I plan to testify similarly at PDX Fall budget revision hearing this Weds.

My public testimony 

https://youtu.be/SU3GmfjUWuQ?t=1598 (26:35- )

Hi. Tim McCormick. I'm now director of Housing Alternatives Network and Village Collaborative. 

First of all I want to say thank you to Dr. Zapata [Dr. Marisa Zapata, Portland State University, who had just announced her resignation from the Board]; and to the Board: If this might make space for some people recently and imminently unhoused, representing others such, with a bottom-up view, then I could suggest some people.

About the budget, anticipating the agenda today, I watched the City/County press conference yesterday, and read the materials, and just wanted to comment that what I see is a *huge* expansion of street outreach and cleanup services, but still no provision of secure, legal places for unhoused people to be, at anywhere near the scale of need.

There is funding for new shelter, but it appears to be largely funding for congregate shelter, which we know large portions of the unhoused *will* not go to.

But for future directions I'd like to suggest a few things -- if not for the current budget. First, it's unclear to me how the current and proposed policies would pass muster under Boise v. Martin, and Oregon HB 3115. The city is talking about a 5x expansion of sweeps, in the clear absence of sufficient legal, alternative places to be.

And then secondly, we see longstanding, broad community support for a clear alternative direction, which is citywide safe areas or villages, which would give all residents of our city a non-criminalized place to be.

We've also seen polling indicating 85% support, among Portland likely voters, for "50 new safe, sanitary villages, with housing for unhoused residents." That was from our friends at People For Portland's polling.

I believe this vision is not only humane and urgent, but is an avenue to tremendous community and creativity, in creating new housing alternatives, and continuing Portland's uniquely rich tradition of leadership in this. And it was for this that we spent years revising the city's code under S2HC. [Shelter to Housing Continuum].

So, just want to say that the city's citizenry is ready to step in here. The government mainly needs to step out of the way and provide services to all in need.

thank you.