Multnomah County halts purchase of tents, tarps as debate rages over homeless services

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson has asked the Joint Office of Homeless Services to pause all tent and tarp purchases, while Portland City Council is expected to make a decision on a new three-year agreement to continue funding the JOHS.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Following a heated debate over tent distribution in Multnomah County last week, the county chair has asked the Joint Office of Homeless Services to pause all tent and tarp purchases.

Chair Jessica Vega Pederson made the request after asking the JOHS to “compile data and information related to purchase and distribution” of the supplies.

“I am committed to setting clear policies around tent and tarp distribution,” Vega Pederson said in a statement to KOIN 6 News. “My goal is to reduce the need to hand out tents and tarps by increasing the number of shelter beds and moving more people off the street and out of shelter back into housing.”

Her request comes as Portland City Council is expected to make a decision whether they want to sign another three-year agreement that would continue funding the JOHS.

Multnomah County recently passed a nearly $4 billion budget that includes money for distributing tarps, tents and clean syringes to those living on the streets. Meanwhile, the City of Portland is also paying millions to remove them in clean-up efforts.

“Last year, the county ended up placing 6,500 tents and 24,000 tarps in neighborhoods while the city was cleaning up 12,000,” Attorney John DiLorenzo previously told KOIN 6 News. “But that also doesn’t make sense. It makes no sense whatsoever.”

In response, Commissioner Rene Gonzalez has advocated for qualifiers on the new agreement so that the city has a say in the county’s distribution strategies.

“They’re spending a lot of money both on trying to alleviate homelessness and cleaning up encampments, and we just want to make sure that when the county is doing it, the joint offices are doing it, and the City of Portland is pursuant of a well thought out policy,” Gonzalez said last week.

However, not everyone sees the tents distributed to the homeless as dead weight. Liz Starke of Rose Haven, a non-profit that works with the homeless, previously told KOIN 6 News that a decision to forego tent distribution could put strain on nonprofit resources.

“Nobody wants to live in a tent. For us, regardless of what happens at these city council meetings, the work continues and people still need help,” Starke said. “What happens when the county doesn’t give us tents is that we have to rely on individuals to fundraise for those items.”

Meanwhile, Monday is when the city intends to enforce its camping ban. Focusing on what the city sees as problem campsites, enforcers will offer an available shelter bed. If its refused, police will show up to write a ticket for $100 and/or put someone in jail for a week.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.