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But the neighbors’ hostility has worn on the villagers.
“It’s not comfortable living in a community when you know you’re not wanted there,” said Bob Bremmer, who’s lived in Hazelnut Grove since 2015. “It messes with your own self-worth.”
Combined with the area’s environmental safety risks, this persistent pressure from OKNA encouraged Hazelnut Grove residents to begin meeting with the city in 2018 to discuss a move to a more welcoming plot of land. By then, the city had formed the Joint Office of Homeless Service (JOHS) with Multnomah County to oversee shelter development, including the possibility of alternative shelters like Hazelnut Grove. JOHS and the mayor’s office, now occupied by Ted Wheeler, offered to cover the costs of relocation to another property if the villagers agreed to allow a homeless nonprofit to oversee the program a structure mirroring the Kenton Women’s Village, opened by JOHS in 2017.
After five years, city of Portland vows to clear homeless village Hazelnut Grove
Most of the roughly 15 people living there now have been offered spots in a new tiny house village opening soon in North Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. Author: Maggie Vespa Updated: 7:05 PM PST January 20, 2021
PORTLAND, Ore. More than five years after putting down roots on publicly-owned land, essentially daring the city to make them move amid a newly-declared housing crisis, residents of North Portland’s self-governed homeless village “Hazelnut Grove” have learned their days are numbered.
The announcement came Monday via a news release that quoted both Mayor Ted Wheeler and Housing Commissioner Dan Ryan. Neither was available for an interview.
City closing North Portland homeless village Hazelnut Grove January 19 2021
Commissioner Dan Ryan says most residents will relocate to the St. Johns Homeless Village, but activists have vowed to save the camp.
The end appears to be near for a North Portland tiny home village serving those who seek refuge from life on the streets.
The city s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program quietly announced plans to decommission Hazelnut Grove Village on Jan. 18 saying that many of its 16 inhabitants will move into pods at the newly-built St. Johns Village.
Activists, however, are unlikely to abandon the village without a fight.
Homeless solution debate heats up
Regional push for housing prompts more options, but some are questioning proposed new city policy.
The Portland City Council is expected to vote in February to clear the way for more homeless shelters, sanctioned outdoor campsites and alternative group living arrangements to be established in almost every part of Portland.
The appointed citizen Planning and Sustainability Commission already has held a briefing, two public hearings and a work session on the Shelter to Housing Continuum Project. It is intended to rewrite existing city regulations to allow such housing to be built more quickly, including where it is currently prohibited, such as in commercial zones.