Portland could close nearly 450 permanent sleeping spots for homeless people, or about a quarter of its pod shelters, overnight-only beds and RV safe parking spots, according to a staff presentation delivered at a City Council budget meeting Tuesday.
Under the budget proposed by Mayor Keith Wilson, Portland’s street services coordination center, which is responsible for community engagement around city-run shelters, will also face a significant cut, including its contracted street outreach teams. The city will also slightly reduce its capacity to open “flex” beds to handle extreme weather emergencies and its camp and street clean-up programs.
Skyler Brocker-Knapp, who oversees the city’s homelessness related services, said her division was created in 2024 “to address the humanitarian emergency of homelessness” without a permanent budget…