Accept 2022-2023 Safe Rest Villages Annual Report
Letter from Commissioner Ryan:
After two years of intense focus to build much needed services, I am honored to share the 2022-23 Safe Rest Village Annual Report with the community. A dedicated team, led by Chariti Montez, listened and learned from each community engagement meeting. They kept adapting to build seven villages across the city. We will continue to study the results and improve as we strive to move people from the streets to stability.
This report reflects one full year of data collection from the sites in operation, roughly 50% of what we can expect next year as we move to scale. Early data reveals that of the 143 people who have moved through our program in the past year, roughly 50% moved to temporary or permanent housing (70 people). It shows that of those 70 people, 35 had been chronically homeless. It also reveals that 57% of our program participants reported being non-white or multiracial. There’s a great deal more to learn from this report.
Behind the data are people, and this report represents direct impacts on their lives. It represents Brad’s story, who in his early 70s and after 22 years living under an I-5 ramp, was ready to make a move towards housing by accepting a placement in one of our villages. We hear Manny’s story, who moved into a village distraught and suicidal following his divorce, who got a job and eventually moved into housing, and now returns with homemade asada for his village friends. We hear how the staff and villagers have built community and resiliency as they connect with behavioral health services, re-enter the work force, and build healthy relationships with fellow participants and with nearby neighbors. Simply put, village participants are going from the isolation and dangers of life on the street to connection with community as they build a much better life.
This report also represents incredible volunteerism and support for village participants through donation of services, supplies, and other acts of love – THANK YOU!
With this Annual Report, we share with you the foundation of a program that will give hope to many who were hopeless. We are just getting started. I look forward to the day when those healing will use their life experience to give back and serve others who need an on-ramp to a stable life.
Here's to more stories that offer hope, inspiration, and LOVE,
Commissioner Dan Ryan
Official Record (Efiles)
Impact Statement
Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information
This report from the Safe Rest Village program reflects both the current status of the program as well as data regarding participants and program outcomes from one year’s collection of data.
Housing has been a declared emergency in Portland since 2015, with the visible symptom being those experiencing houselessness. Many programs work to support people at risk of houselessness, with others supporting those who are experiencing it. However, for many years there was a gap in these services, as not everyone is ready to move from the streets to a home of their own.
The Safe Rest Village program launched in August 2021 with a small team focused on building something new. It was something to fill a gap in a system of services that helps people avoid houselessness, and support those who are experiencing it. At that time, the system supported by many of our partners did not offer outdoor shelters with 24/7 onsite support and services. That’s what the Safe Rest Village program was built to offer. Services vary by village, but all provide safe and stable temporary shelters with services, ranging from basic amenities to case management, mental and behavioral health supports.
Safe Rest Villages are among a range of services and program models employed to address our houselessness crisis. The City and Multnomah County—through the Joint Office of Homeless Services with federal funding and revenue from the Metro Supportive Housing Services Measure—are expanding that system to serve tens of thousands of people every year.
The entire Portland City Council has supported the policies that set the stage for this new effort. In April 2021 the Shelter to Housing Continuum provided City Code changes that codified outdoor shelters and allowed them outright across the city. Then staff from across the development review bureaus collaborated to create the Temporary Outdoor Shelter Program Guide, which serves as a how-to for nonprofits and jurisdictions wanting to build outdoor shelters, and a rule book for inspectors to ensure they meet safety and other code considerations. Several emergency declarations along the way helped move the program to reality – addressing camping near shelters, confirming use of specific city-owned properties, and extending the housing state of emergency.
The Safe Rest Village team has since sited, developed, and provided for site management (through direct funding for some, and through a partnership with the Joint Office of Homeless Services for others) at seven villages. This report reflects the data collected during one entire fiscal year (during which five of the seven sites were open). The data spans the year from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, in sync with the reporting requirements of the federal American Rescue Plan Act grant that funds the program.
This Annual Report shares program outcomes, finances, and stories of those whose lives have benefited from the Safe Rest Villages.
Financial and Budgetary Impacts
This report has no financial or budgetary impacts on its own, though it does reflect spending on the for the Safe Rest Village program.
Total Budget (2021-24): $56.3 million
Funding sources include:
- American Rescue Plan Act: $52.3 million
- General Fund: $3 million
- State Grant: $1 million
Fiscal Year 2022-23 total Expenses: $19.9 million
Expenses break out generally into three categories:
- Acquisition and Construction
- Site Maintenance
- Shelter Operations
Community Impacts and Community Involvement
The need to provide safe, supportive shelters with services has been heard loudly from the media, at City Council, and at coffee shops around Portland for years. The Safe Rest Village program was designed to serve those living unsheltered who are not ready to move directly to housing. While the cry for these services was universal, there was also pushback at every location proposed to offer them. Given community concerns, and a desire to ensure best practices, site selection criteria were vetted and used to determine viability for locations as they were considered as possible Safe Rest Villages.
The team of five included two community engagement staff as well as a communications staff person, to ensure robust capacity to engage and address all issues brought forth. Staff include those with lived experience being houseless.
In the first year, before sites were open and operating, community engagement focused on developing program materials, convening, and engaging with stakeholder groups, addressing concerns about potential impacts and operations, and educating the community about what the program would and would not be. As the sites opened, engagement moved towards shelter operations, community-building efforts between the villages and their neighbors. We also broadened our outreach materials (mailings and website) to include 4 safe harbor languages in addition to English. The project website has a page that captures all community engagement efforts since we began two years ago.
Concerns raised ranged from potential spillover impacts to proximity to various businesses or residences. City Council addressed spillover impacts by providing additional funding – and directives – to the Impact Reduction Program on addressing camping near Safe Rest Villages. Specific neighbor concerns were addressed on a case-by-case basis, based on the content of the concern.
The Safe Rest Village system is geographically distributed, providing services to those in need, where they are. We know that historically underserved communities are over-represented in the population of those experiencing houselessness, and the demographic data (reflected in the Annual Report) shows that the Safe Rest Villages are serving those most in need from these same historically underserved communities.
Invited testimony for this presentation include shelter operators, some program participants, and neighboring institutions and partner groups.
100% Renewable Goal
Although it is incorporated into the sustainable procurement policy, this specific report does not impact the city’s use of energy or pursuit of the 100% renewable goal.
The Safe Rest Villages procure power from local power companies.
Financial and Budget Analysis
There are no financial or budgetary impacts of accepting the report. In FY 22-23, Safe Rest Villages had $19.9 million in expenses (out of a total budget of $56.3 million for 2021-24). Due to its reliance on one-time ARPA resources, alternative funding will need to be secured for this program’s operations to continue beyond 2024.