'Last 5 years at Navigation Center has been hell'

Some people who live and work nearby blame the increased camping, crime, violence and drug use in the immediate area on the navigation center.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- When Harbor of Hope opened the River District Navigation Center in 2019, many who live near the shelter on SW Naito Parkway bought in to the project. But as Harbor of Hope's lease expires on December 31 -- and the City of Portland poised to take over management on January 1 -- residents voiced their ongoing concerns at a contentious public meeting.

In short, they are fed up.

"We are here to request the city stops this nonsense and put a halt to this," said Joan Neice with Neighbors 4 Safe Smart Shelters.

Some people who live and work nearby blame the increased camping, crime, violence and drug use in the immediate area on the navigation center.

"The last 5 years as a building manager right there at the navigation center has been hell," said Joel Miller.

Other neighbors say it's not that simple and point to the pandemic playing a role in worsening many issues across the city.

Stan Penkin, the president of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association, has mixed feelings about the future of this shelter. He said they'd need a stronger 'good neighbor agreement' going forward.

"Unless the city can give us some sort of guarantee, again, a binding agreement, I don't know what that exactly would look like. I don't think our neighborhood association will be able to support the extension of this facility," Penkin said. "And that is sad, because we need this facility. We need more of it across our city."

The City of Portland said it will continue operations at the site to prevent the current 90 people who are there from possibly ending up back on the streets.

The River District Navigation Center, a low-barrier congregate shelter, is on property owned by Prosper Portland. It's been managed by Transition Projects.

Since it opened it has served more than 1200 people who stayed on average 65 days. About 19% of them left directly to housing, Transition Projects data showed. More than half of those who stayed at the shelter were between 50-80 years old, and 77% self-identified as having a disability.

City officials insist that when it takes over the River District Navigation Center it will do better by the neighbors, increasing services, cleaning up the surrounding area, addressing serious livability concerns, creating a new 'good neighbor agreement' and a direct line of contact to the impact reduction team, plus regular community meetings.

But all of these promises come at a time when neighbors who have endured serious livability issues for 5 years are fed up. They say any goodwill that was built up has been destroyed.

A handful of neighbors once again asked for the River District Navigation Center to close and to transition the 90 people over to Bybee Lakes Center instead. But the city said Bybee Lakes is a high-barrier sobering shelter that wouldn't be the right fit for the majority of the disabled and elderly clients currently at the navigation center.