The City Council in Portland, Oregon, is considering a plan to eliminate daytime homeless camps as the city struggles to deal with a large homeless population living in public spaces.
“There are currently hundreds of unsanctioned, sometimes dangerous and often squalid homeless camps across all 146 square miles of the city of Portland,” Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler said Wednesday “These homeless camps … represent nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Under the proposal, homeless people would still be permitted to sleep in public spaces, including parks and construction sites, but would be required to clear out their belongings before 8 a.m. They could then settle down after 8 p.m.