No Home for Portland Homeless Camp a Month After Leaving Lents

No alternative to future food-cart pod for women's camp.

It's been more than a month since Mayor Charlie Hales promised to find a location for an all-women's homeless camp.

Six women briefly set up tents an unauthorized campsite on city-owned property in Lents on Mother's Day. (The Portland Development Commission property that they picked as their home is slated to be developed as a commercial property and a food cart pod.)

They left two days later, after securing a pledge from Hales to get them a new site within two weeks.

The women are still waiting.

"Unfortunately, no new outdoor shelter locations to report," Hales spokeswoman Sara Hottman tells WW in an email.

That delay is part of a larger struggle to find locations for sanctioned homeless camps.

As part of the new camping policy announced in February, Hales legalized some street camping and promised to set up authorized campsites. This year's city budget has plans for services to six different sanctioned campsites.

Yet no new sites have been announced, four months after the mayor's new camping policy was announced.

And just this week, the mayor added to his work of locating more campsites. The Oregonian reported Hales is looking for a new location for the city-sanctioned site Hazelnut Grove near the Overlook neighborhood.

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