Portland Mayor Keith Wilson is on the cusp of achieving one of his primary campaign promises: Setting up 1,500 new shelter beds by Dec. 1.
As of Sunday, Portland has 890 city-funded shelter beds – most of them overnight-only – that did not exist before Wilson took office. Another 200-bed overnight-only shelter is set to open in eight days. And locations and supplies have been secured for more than 500 additional “flex beds” that can be made available within 24 hours, according to city officials.
“We set an unrealistic goal and then we worked relentlessly to make sure that we were going to achieve it,” Wilson told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an interview Wednesday, crediting his staff for their sustained effort to hit the ambitious target…