Justice
What a State-of-Emergency Declaration Means for the Homeless
Local governments are trying to do the right thing, but don’t put it past them to do the wrong one.
Portland, Oregon, Mayor Charlie Hayes declared a housing emergency for his city on Wednesday afternoon. It’s an after-all-else-has-failed effort to do something, anything, about the spike in people experiencing homelessness. Nothing the city’s tried has brought down the number of Portlanders sleeping without shelter: some 1,800 people for the last two years running.
If and when the council approves the declaration, it will allow the city to “waive zoning codes, convert city-owned buildings into shelters quicker, and work with the county to ask Governor Kate Brown to declare an official state of emergency,” The Portland Mercury reports.