Portland shuts down homeless veteran housing complex
All residents are moved to a nearby motel because of chronic health and safety problems.
The City of Portland shut down a government-funded veteran-supportive housing complex, deeming it dangerous to live in. The decision came after officials and contractors discovered water damage and a deteriorating roof, which led to a serious ceiling collapse and mold infestation.
This action is forcing all of the veterans who lived there out of the property, leaving them with an uncertain future for long-term housing. Those veterans say the building has been neglected for years. Now, they re worried about where they re going to live.
Originally published on April 5, 2021 6:10 am
In the final days of March, the Oregon Health Authority opened up coronavirus vaccine eligibility to more high-risk groups of Oregonians including people experiencing homelessness.
Health officials and homeless service providers are now teaming up to roll out COVID-19 vaccination to unhoused people, in hopes of overcoming the barriers they face not only to accessing vaccines but to health care in general. The efforts come on the heels of a particularly isolating pandemic year for the homeless community.
“If you look around the city, look around the county, a lot of things are shut down. And unfortunately, that means a lot of programs and services are shut down as well,” Do Good Multnomah’s Eboni Brown told OPB.