PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland City Commissioner Dan Ryan announced Monday that his office has selected the former SFC Jerome F. Sears Army Reserve Center on Southwest Multnomah Boulevard as a Safe Rest Village Site.
The city council adopted a plan in June to create six Safe Rest Village sites by the end of the year. The villages will provide outdoor shelters for sleep as well as basic hygiene and access to case management and behavioral health services.
"I am thrilled to announce this additional Safe Rest Village location, and I am so proud of our Safe Rest Villages team," Ryan said in a statement. "Our team continues to overcome obstacles, site these vital villages, and move forward on this work that will benefit all Portlanders."
Ryan's office has struggled to identify viable candidate sites. Three initial sites were announced last month, but one of them had to be removed from the list a few days later after officials discovered that the site was located in a floodplain.
The new site announced Monday, referred to as the "Sears" site, has been used as an emergency shelter in the past and is ideally situated near a Safeway and TriMet's #12 bus line, according to a press release from Ryan's office. The site can accommodate up to 60 individual shelter "pods."
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The other two announced sites are at the Menlo Park "Park & Ride" in East Portland and the 2300 block of Southwest Naito Parkway. Ryan's office said the Sears site's west side location will help ensure an equitable geographic distribution of sites in the city.
