PORTLAND, Ore. — From the outside, a building on the corner of Southwest Park and Oak Street in downtown Portland blends right in, yet it’s a new lifeline for those sleeping on the sidewalks.
“It’s actually extremely helpful even just to go in there for like an hour or so just to get out of the cold weather,” said Dean, who said he's been homeless for about five months.
Dean has visited the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Resource Center about three times since it opened in December. He was pushing his cart full of supplies, including a tent and tarp, on his way to the center Wednesday only to find that it would be closed until April 17.
“It’s sad, there isn’t anything like that around here anymore,” he said. “I was on my way here to use the facilities.”
“That kind of, like, shocked me. I was like, 'Aw' ... I came here to run into some people, maybe try to sign up for a shower or something,” added another homeless man named Zach. He sleeps around the corner and has come to rely on the center.
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said that the nonprofit running the site, the Mental Health and Addiction Association of Oregon, decided to close it for more staff training time — particularly for things like responding to overdoses, administering Narcan and learning when to call for help. There have also been problems with site security.
“This is a learning as we’re going (situation) — I don’t think this will be the last time that we’re going to need to do additional training hopefully it will be the last time we’ll have to shut the doors to do this, but we want to make sure that we’re continually improving,” said Vega Pederson.
When asked why the staff didn't receive that type of training before the center opened, Vega Pederson didn't have a clear answer.
“Yeah, I think that’s a really good question ... again, when you’re doing something new you don’t know exactly what to expect,” she said.
A spokesperson for the county chair added in a statement:
“This is the time to close those gaps – before the County adds a shelter and transition housing that will add 53 residents to the current day center program later this spring. There are not enough contracted program staff available to both continue to serve participants and facilitate 90 hours of training before new parts of the program open. So, we agreed with the contractor that the fastest way to resolve gaps was to temporarily close. It’s a short-term loss for the long-term good of the program.
"The training staff are undergoing a deep dive into standard operating procedures, code of conduct, being a peer support specialist, providing trauma-informed services, administering NARCAN, using an accountability tool, ethics, when to call law enforcement and public safety partners, etc. We want and we need this program to be as safe and strong as possible.”
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Right across the street from the day center is a small food truck pod. The owners there say they’ve seen an increase in crime and graffiti ever since the facility opened.
“They just broke the window on my car … they tried to break the locks, they urinate on the side,” said Neson Salasar, who owns El Naño Parrilladas.
“The businesses over here are suffering because they are destroying our business, they aren’t giving us a chance to survive anymore,” added Salasar.
He’s now moving his food truck to another part of town.
“I can’t support it. I cannot be dealing with this,” he said.
“We’re engaged in conversation with the neighbors, the building owners and businesses around there in terms of the impact — like I said before, we are committed to being a good neighbor,” said Vega Pederson.
The county and its partners are also focusing on long-term solutions. After the increased training, they plan to open shelter space and transitional housing for about 50 people on the top floors — something people like Dean have been waiting for.
“If they’re going to offer something or some kind of shelter or housing or something I'd jump on that in a heartbeat,” said Dean.