PORTLAND, Ore. — Large white dumpsters take the place of RVs and broken-down trucks as bulldozers demolish what’s left of a large homeless camp on Northeast 33rd Drive. To some, it’s progress — to others who have lived there for years, it’s a significant loss.
“I think it’s sad, and I think it wasn’t right,” said Liz, who’s lived along the street for seven months. It was more than just a place for people like her to stay. It was her community.
“Everybody knew everybody, and everybody helped everybody,” she said.
For weeks, the city of Portland’s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program (IRP) prepared to remove the entire site on both sides of the street.
In an email, they said, “While IRP conducts dozens of camp removals each week across the city, the 33rd Drive removal is larger in scope than is typical. It required more advanced prep work and a lot of coordination between several different bureaus and entities. Because of the size and scope of the work, this removal will take several days — much longer than usual.”
In the past year, they did 11 smaller, more focused removals along the street but this week, everything is getting cleared. As of Thursday, 64 automobiles and RVs were towed. In the past year, the city carried out at least 30 risk assessments on that road and received more than 60 community reports of campsites and lived-in vehicles there.
“I know it looks like garbage to some people, but to them, that’s all they got,” said Liz.
Her friend, Tim Coates, lost eight vehicles this week, and he admitted the site was getting out of control: “Half of the blame is ours because you can’t leave a mess and expect to not be kicked out.”
During all this, city outreach workers have referred 57 people to a shelter, as of Thursday.
James Michael Rose was one of them: “They sent me to a tiny home village. They actually called down there and got me set up and I was approved before I got down there, so I feel pretty lucky that I had somewhere to go to.”
However, that wasn’t the case for everyone.
“They offered me a tiny home three days before they towed us, and they never got back to me,” said Mark Gardner, who used to live along Northeast 33rd Drive.
During the camp removal, many homeless people, like Gardner, avoided the tow trucks and moved their RVs about a half mile away to Argyle Street.
“There’s not really a plan. We’re on the run again from PBOT (Portland Bureau of Transportation) … it’s like being hunted. It’s exactly like being hunted,” he said.
This feeling leaves some determined to survive on their own.
“I’ve never asked for no help, and I’m not going to ask for help. I’m tougher than that. I can live with this,” Coates said defiantly.
Clearing the area is scheduled to last several more days. Once the site is completely cleared, PBOT and the Port of Portland plan on posting “No Parking” signs in hopes of preventing future vehicle buildup. A “No Parking” sign legally allows PBOT to tow vehicles much faster without giving as much advanced notice.
“If it is a lived-in vehicle, PBOT officers will engage with anyone living there and will work to find a way for them to move on their own before towing. It’s a case-by-case situation, but officers give folks opportunities to move on their own, and those officers also have access to resources and shelter that they can offer,” explained a PBOT spokesperson in an email.