Latest news with #homelessshelter
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pearl District residents opposed to homeless shelter
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A new 40-bed homeless shelter planned for the Pearl District brought about 200 people to a public meeting to voice their concerns about crime and drug use. Despite getting a tour of the proposed shelter site around Northwest Northrup, area residents packed the to make their thoughts known even though, they said, city leaders aren't interested in their input. Mayor Keith Wilson was invited to this meeting but 'respectfully declined,' his office told KOIN 6 News. But Wilson's team also said they've been in almost daily communication with some of the neighbors for this proposed shelter, providing information and trying to set up meetings. Neighbors distressed over planned homeless shelter in Portland's Pearl District The shelter will expand from 40 beds to 200 beds by the end of the year. It's part of the broader city initiative to help nearly 600 unsheltered Portlanders off the streets in the Northwest and Pearl District. 'I think what the neighborhood wants and what I would want is people to get back to living healthy, productive lives. And the great question is how to do that, especially when people are deep into, chemical dependency,' Northwest District Association President Todd Zarnitz said. 'And, you know, there's no easy answers, of course. But what we want is to not make the problem worse and make it worse in our backyard, basically.' Kevin Kahn has lived in Portland for nearly five decades. He was one of the hundreds of angry neighbors who packed the Lucky Labrador Monday night. 'Most of that time, I would say, the city has changed incredibly for the better,' Kahn told KOIN 6 News. But he's concerned about the city right now. 'If you don't catch the spiral early, it's a long way back. And I'm really concerned that Portland is in the spiral,' he said. 'And you know, Band-Aids don't fix spirals.' City officials said they're working with the Salvation Army, which is slated to be the site's operator. Portland Solutions is aiming for a late summer opening date, but no specific date is set at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Site for two emergency homeless shelters secured, charity says
A site to house homeless shelter pods has been found, the chairman of a charity has said it had been aiming to provide immediate shelter for those with nowhere safe to sleep and no other housing States revealed there were more than 60 people on an urgent waiting list for housing - one islander recently said she was "extremely lucky to live in a garden shed" when she had nowhere else to Graham Merfield said the charity had secured a site to place two pods, subject to planning approval. He said: "We are now working through the planning process and the planning team are being very helpful in helping us through that. "We're anticipating our application will go in over the next weeks and our goal is to have the first two pods here for next winter, which would be September, October time." Mr Merfield said the sleeping pods had a bed, a chemical toilet, a charging point but no plumbing and were "for emergency use only" to house one person at a said: "Those pods are really intended for the people who are really in desperate need of accommodation. They're not intended to be temporary accommodation."Our longer term goal is to build a community of modular homes to address the need for temporary accommodation."The charity said it still aimed to provide modular homes, or "tiny homes", which would have a sitting area, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and plumbing. 'Cautiously optimistic' Following the recent Guernsey general election, the new president of the island's housing committee, Deputy Steve Williams, said he wanted to get spades in the ground and hundreds of homes under construction within his first Merfield said the charity were "cautiously optimistic" by what had been promised so said: "We've already had some positive dialogue with some of the new deputies and we're looking forward to meeting with the new housing committee under Steve Williams' leadership. "I think having the responsibility for housing under one committee rather than spread across numerous committees should bring what I think they're terming a 'laser focus' onto the housing issue."Clearly, we need see what they can do both in the short term and the longer term to address the urgent needs and the longer-term needs of more affordable accommodation in the community."
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Plan for homeless shelter in Oakland's Chinatown dropped after pushback
Days before California's Oakland was expected to give its approval for a large homeless shelter to be built in Chinatown, the proposed deal is dead. Local non-profit organisation Cardea Health was lined up to run the 'interim housing' site at the Courtyard Marriott on Broadway, a US$20 million real estate deal that would convert the hotel into 150 shelter beds for those experiencing homelessness. The hotel was sold last year for US$10.6 million, a value that took a nosedive in recent years amid the local hospitality industry's decline. But business leaders in Chinatown successfully lobbied their new city council member, Charlene Wang, whose district includes the downtown neighbourhood, to pull a planned letter of support from next week's council agenda. 'To be frank, this is a perfect example of institutional racism,' Wang said in an interview about the nixed hotel-to-housing proposal. 'You're placing a shelter right beside this vulnerable population.' City leaders now have two weeks to endorse an alternate shelter site in Oakland, where crime fears and a battered economy have fuelled contentious politics among Chinatown residents in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
‘Something … set him off': Mass stabbing at Orgon homeless shelter leaves 11 people injured
A mass stabbing at an Oregon homeless shelter sent 11 people to the hospital as officials said something set the suspect off before the attack. Police were called to the Union Gospel Mission in Salem, about an hour south of Portland, just after 7 p.m. Sunday following reports of a stabbing, police said. Victims suffered 'varying types of injuries' in the attack, and their conditions were unknown Monday morning, Angela Hendrick of the Salem Police Department said in a statement. Craig Smith, the executive director of the shelter, told NBC News the suspected attacker had just arrived at the facility the day before and was going to check in for a second night when he got into a fight. 'Something…set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,' Smith said. The altercation happened just as the man was about to turn over his belongings and check in. At least one staff member working at the check-in desk was injured, Smith said. Bobby Epperly was on the second floor of the shelter when he said he saw the man screaming outside at traffic and holding a knife, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. 'It's like a horror movie,' said Epperly, 48. He said he didn't realize some people had already been stabbed inside the building until he went downstairs and saw 'blood everywhere.' Another witness, Malik Law, said he saw the man stab at least seven people. 'Everybody was basically trying to move out of his way,' Law said. 'He started attacking them.' Police have arrested the suspect but have not named the man. The shelter, a faith-based organization, houses upwards of 150 homeless men and provides support services, food, clothing, case management and counseling.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Small-town war erupts as church land is seized for pickleball: Bishop levels heinous claim against mayor
A legal war has broken out between a local church and pickleball enthusiasts over land development in New Jersey. The drama erupted on April 30 after the Toms River Township Council placed an ordinance to condemn 10 acres of land that is currently home to Christ Episcopal Church to build a new recreational area fit with pickleball court, soccer fields, and playground - among other attractions. Prior to the ordinance, the church congregation sought permission in July 2023 to use the land to build a 17 - bed homeless shelter to help the growing issue in the coastal town. Although governmental agencies have 'the right to condemn property for governmental purposes,' the township 'has never thought of this as a recreational site,' according to Harvey York, the attorney representing the church. 'For them to say they need recreational land flies in the face of the facts and their master plan,' York told Fox News. York and his legal team believe the town chose to make this move in response to the church's attempt to try and build a homeless shelter. 'It is clear that this is being done in retaliation for the church making an application for a homeless shelter,' he said, noting that there are constitutional protections for freedom and religion, along with the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. 'I don't know that you'll find a lawyer who will say, "Oh, yeah, they have every right to do this; they're going to win',' he told the outlet. Daniel Rodrick, the mayor of Toms River, has openly said that the timing of the town's request on the land is just a 'coincidence,' The New York Times previously reported. The ongoing legal battle has taken a toll on the community as locals are divided on who should get the land. Although York believes many are 'thrilled that the mayor is going to condemn the property,' a 'majority of the community is shocked and dismayed.' Bishop Sally J. French, who leads the diocese Christ Episcopal is under, is one of those who is furious about the conflict. According to French, the whole idea of the homeless shelter was 'actually a way to diminish the community concerns' of the growing population. From January 2023 to January 2024 the number of unhoused people has risen 28 percent in Ocean County, according to Monarch Housing Associates, a group that works to address homelessness across the Garden State. 'You've provided them with opportunities and the capacity to do what they need to do to get employment, to begin to contribute to the community in ways they haven't been able to do because of their difficult, painful circumstances,' she told the NYT. Other local religious leaders have all stood up for the church, including Rabbi William Gershon of Congregation B'nai Israel. 'I am outraged,' Gershon told the outlet. 'If you can do it to them, you can do it to any of us.' A petition has also been going around, urging concerned church goers and community members to stand up for the land. 'This action is unjust. It comes while the congregation is seeking municipal permission to build a homeless shelter on their property as an extension of the church's many ministries and programs that serve and support those in need in the Toms River community,' the page read. 'If the eminent domain ordinance goes forward, Toms River will lose a vital source of support for vulnerable residents. 'The church is not for sale. People matter more than Pickleball. We stand with Christ Episcopal Church, Toms River, New Jersey.' As of Monday afternoon, the petition accumulated more than 7,200 signatures. Others took to social media to voice their concerns and anger with the town trying to take over the land. One wrote: 'This is ridiculous! Pickleball comes before a place to help those in need?' 'Not kosher. This isn't kosher at all,' said another. Someone else commented: 'What an embarrassment....' In response to the backlash, Rodrick, a Republican, said his intention to build a recreational area on the land is all about managing priorities in his town. 'When you balance the hardships — you have a whole community without a park, and 65 or 70 people who could probably drive to a different location on a Sunday,' he said in reference to attending church. But, according to Bishop French, weekly attendance at Sunday services - offered in both English and Spanish - are more than twice the figure Rodrick claimed. 'As the guy who is supposed to look out for the welfare of all of the residents of Toms River, when you balance out those two things it's pretty clear which side I should be on.' Rodrick, a former teacher, said he is no stranger to political battles, adding: 'They fill the room and make a jerk out of me in the meeting and, like President Trump, my numbers just keep going up. The people are with me.' Litigation will continue to proceed, York said, adding: 'The plan will be decided by the diocese. But they certainly will litigate the issue, and I believe it will be successful.' He also said the local government should 'mind their own business and stay out of the religious affairs of the community.'
