<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=23A4CZ_0lREHJyT00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23A4CZ_0lREHJyT00" width="1320" height="743" ></figure>PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler hosted the first "Community Conversation" about the proposed sanctioned camping site near Southeast Powell Boulevard, and residents in the forum asked a lot of questions about safety. “There’s nobody on this call who doesn’t understand that the homeless crisis is the most significant social issue facing the city of Portland,” Wheeler said at the beginning of the webinar Tuesday. "I appreciate seeing so many, actually hundreds of people, on this call tonight.”Several people at the forum asked why the camp was being placed so close to the route many students take to get to school. “We know that there is a Safe Route to School immediately adjacent to this proposed site," Wheeler acknowledged. He went on to say there had already been problems with unsanctioned camps near that Safe Route to School.But he brought up the fact that this sanctioned camping site will have a 1,000-foot buffer zone around it where camping won't be allowed and where security will patrol 16 hours a day.“My personal view is with the safety protocols in place, the patrolling and monitoring, and if we can work with your neighborhood on some other strategies around guards and crossing guards, I actually think it will become more secure, not less,” Wheeler said.Nearby resident James Bloom asked how they're going to enforce the "no weapons" policy in the camp. Urban Alchemy is the nonprofit the city has contracted to run the camp. Jeffers Dickey is their Portland operations director and in response to the question explained the process. “We’re asking folks not to bring weapons into the village, but we’re not searching them. But we are asking them to check weapons at the gate,” Dickey said. He went on to say there would be "penalties" for those who were discovered to have weapons inside the camp. Bloom later followed up and asked how much access people will have to weapons that they check at the gate."Will they be able to check out guns and drugs at an at-will basis? Or will they be locked up for the duration that they’ll be residents?” Bloom asked. “We’re not going to deny people access to their property. We do a really good job of creating safe environments inside,” said Urban Alchemy's Chief of Community and Government Affairs Kirkpatrick Tyler. Another resident brought up concerns about the number of people who will be at the camp and the mental health issues they may be dealing with. In the first phase, the camp will have space for 100 tents and 150 people. Wheeler acknowledged the city's struggle to connect people in crisis to much-needed services. “We have not done a good job of connecting them to services," he said. But he said the staffing ratio at the camp will be one staff member for every 15 campers who will work to give wraparound services to people there. Urban Alchemy will also have a 24/7 hotline for residents to call for any concerns or complaints about activity involving the camp. Wheeler and his staff said the forum was for community members to voice their questions and concerns and did not offer any time for journalists' questions. They will hold another "Community Conversation" this coming Thursday at 5:30 p.m. You can sign up for the webinar here, under the heading "Community Conversations."</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Safety big concern for those living near Powell Blvd. sanctioned camping site, forum shows

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler hosted the first \"Community Conversation\" about the proposed sanctioned camping site near Southeast Powell Boulevard, and residents in the forum asked a lot of questions about safety. “There’s nobody on this call who doesn’t understand that the homeless crisis is the most...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler hosted the first "Community Conversation" about the proposed sanctioned camping site near Southeast Powell Boulevard, and residents in the forum asked a lot of questions about safety. “There’s nobody on this call who doesn’t understand that the homeless crisis is the most...