PORTLAND, Ore. — Nonprofits are collecting supplies to help homeless Portlanders after a new camping ban ordinance went into effect last week.
On Wednesday, the Blanchet House in Old Town handed out 91 suitcases to homeless Portlanders to help them move each day once enforcement of the daytime ban begins.
Officials for the Blanchet House said the suitcases will allow people to quickly pack up belongings if they are forced to move due to the new camping ban ordinance.
"This is my house, right now," James Murray, a homeless Portland resident said of his new suitcase.
Murray said he came to Portland a few weeks ago from Eastern Oregon for a detox program. He is now sober and looking to get his life back on track. Murray said he is now planning to find a job and a place to live.
But for now, the suitcase gives him a place to put his belongings.
"I don't have that much,” Murray said. “But it'll fit all in here and feel safe with it too."
Blanchet House officials said the suitcases should help homeless residents comply with the new camping ban ordinance, which prohibits camping on city property from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Camping is also now banned at all times in parks and on sidewalks. Campers must be 250 feet from schools, childcare centers and high-crash corridors.
"So, are they going to arrest everybody if they can't move quick enough?" asked Carrie Piccirilli-Miller, a homeless Portlander.
There are still questions about how the city will enforce the camping ban ordinance. Mayor Ted Wheeler previously said the ordinance is a reasonable restriction.
His office said there will be phases in the approach to connect people to services before the ban begins. They said there will be a formal announcement when enforcement begins.
But homeless residents said the ordinance is just making their lives harder, when they are already at their most vulnerable.
"They're just pushing, pushing, you know, and not giving us a day of rest more like, so we can get things together," Murray said.