Days before Portland begins enforcing its public camping ban, some of those closest to the work — and its impact — are largely in the dark about how penalties will be carried out.
“We’ve gotten no information from the city about what this means,” said Katie O’Brien, the executive director of Rose Haven, a day center for women and non-binary people experiencing homelessness. “People are worried, and we don’t have a lot of answers. If there’s a plan, we would love to know what that looks like.”
The camping ban, adopted last year, prohibits people from camping in public spaces when “reasonable” alternative shelter is available. If someone camping refuses to move into shelter, they could be hit with a $100 fine or spend up to a week in jail…