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Multnomah County is planning to open a new homeless shelter on the edge of Sellwood in a building they'll purchase for $2.3 million.
The building, at 5120 Southeast Milwaukie Avenue, is currently owned by St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic charity that has private social services in the building.
The county shelter will open as soon as four months from now, and will eventually be open 24 hours a day and include services for the homeless along with shelter beds.
"Our hope is that people—women and couples—will come in for a place to sleep and be quickly rehoused," said County Chair Deborah Kafoury.
The plans to include services alongside the shelter are similar to Mayor Charlie Hales plans for what he's called a Homeless Navigation Center in the Buckman neighborhood in Southeast Portland. That proposal is based on a San Francisco shelter that allows the homeless to bring their possessions, their partners and their pets.
Women and women with partners will be allowed at the county shelter; no word yet on pets.
The county is planning to use funding from its $9 million settlement with Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., a giant bookkeeping service banks use to facilitate mortgage transfers. In all, $6.3 million of that settlement went to the county, the rest went to cover legal expenses.
Willamette Week
