Portland ends pilot 'safe sleeping' policy, effective immediately

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Mayor Charlie Hales on Tuesday announced the end of a pilot program that allowed homeless people to sleep on the streets undisturbed by law enforcement, saying it created confusion because some believed it legalized public camping.

The so-called "Safe Sleeping Guidelines" policy will end immediately, but several other pilot programs that were also rolled out in February in the famously liberal City of Roses will continue or even expand, his office said in an emailed statement.

"People believed that camping was made legal, and outreach workers and law enforcement struggled to educate people about the difference between a safe night's sleep and unsanctioned camping," the statement read, adding that police and residents felt the policy was "not practicable."

Hales has walked a fine line in trying to address a growing problem with homelessness in the Pacific Northwest city while appeasing homeowners and businesses. His struggles mirror those in other West Coast cities, such as Seattle and San Francisco, where politicians have struggled to address a tide of homelessness.

When Hales announced the safe sleeping pilot program in February, it was immediately controversial.

Neighborhood and business groups, including the Portland Business Alliance, sued. The Willamette Week, the city's alternative weekly, sent a team of reporters to test the policy by pitching tents on the sidewalk in front of Hales' home and the homes of other city elected officials.

The policy was supposed to be a temporary measure while the city found ways to get people into housing. Proposals included sanctioned encampments, RV parks and allowing people to pitch tents at night in a city parking lot.

But those solutions never materialized and Portland has not been able to erase a serious shortage of shelter beds.

While the safe sleep policy is ending, the statement said, the city still hopes to create planned outdoor shelters.

The city would provide basic services such as water and trash, as well as social services. A regional coalition of city and county government, nonprofits and business leaders called A Home for Everyone would establish and manage the shelters once land is identified.

Hales late last week also postponed for a month a sweep of a massive, illegal homeless encampment along the Springwater Corridor that had been set for Monday after homeless advocates said they needed more time to find other housing for the most at-risk residents.

Portland will continue several other programs it started six months ago, including city-serviced portable toilets and garbage disposals, street outreach and a mobile phone app and hotline that residents can use to report livability issues to the city.

Another pilot program that provides day storage for homeless people who have job interviews and medical appointments will expand.

The safe sleeping policy allowed homeless people to unroll a sleeping bag or unfurl a tarp between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on city sidewalks and allowed camping in some specific areas of the city - but never in more than groups of six.

Police will still practice compassionate enforcement of street sleeping, "recognizing that the city doesn't have enough shelter beds for everyone and some people have to sleep outside," the statement said.