PORTLAND, Ore. -- Dozens of people who live on the streets will have to find some other place to sleep Tuesday night.
Early Tuesday morning, the city told them to move, but many of them said they don’t know where to go.
“Today they came over here and told us it's time to move,” said Caen, who is homeless and lives in a tent and is part of the camp that’s located under the west end of the Steel Bridge in Portland. “Where are we supposed to move to?”
The City of Portland is trying to clear the area so that homeless people will be able to more easily access a storage container that’s meant to help them keep their belongings safe while they work or look for jobs. The area will also have a bathroom, safe disposable containers for hypodermic needles and access to other resources in a few weeks.
Still, many people living in the area are unhappy about the move and say they're staying put.
“We're willing to meet in the middle, but relocating to another spot, say for instance across the river? They're just going to make us move again to another location,” said Amanda who is also homeless and living under the Steel Bridge.
She and others living in the camp said there's been a lot of confusion about what they can and can't do.
“We don't know exactly what is going on,” said Phillip Ogle, who is also homeless.
People we spoke with said they're getting different answers from different people.
“The left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing,” Caen said.
They've heard the city will allow camping. However the mayor's office said they're only allowing small groups of campers, and the one under the Steel Bridge is just too big.
Still, the concern is if they move, they'll have to keep moving.
“They never tell us where we can go,” said Caen.
The city said they understand that moving is a burden, but the space that’s getting cleared out is meant for their benefit. According to the city, homeless people living in the area were told they'd have to leave weeks ago.
But what if people don't move? The city said outreach workers will help those who want to stay with other available options.
Meantime the mayor's office said they're trying to open up more shelter spaces in the city.
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