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Establishing a self-organized camp

This is a paper written by Houseless Community Builders.  It was presented to the City of Portland as a model.   Who are the Houseless? The houseless are not just people between locations of residence.  They are those who have no safe location to sleep, to remain.  They are those who could be told at any moment that they must pack up and move.  They have no legal recourse to remain in a place where they are not wanted.  They might sleep on a couch, on a car, in a garage, on a living room floor, on a sidewalk, in a tent, in an RV, a shelter, or hidden under a table in a park.   There are thousands of houseless every night in Multnomah County.  Millions in the United States.  No one can really count them because their number changes every night and they mostly remain hidden from sight. We know that the minimum number, every night in Multnomah County is 4000 individuals.   The houseless face stigma just because of their pover...
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Examples of houseless communities

Temporary Shelter Communities (by Ree H) Temporary shelter communities will fill three needs; spaces for people being swept to go to;  spaces for people to be and thrive while awaiting space in mainstream housing or an organized community space to open or be approved for such space; and a safe place to work on personal growth so they might be ready for the next housing step.  Communities should be capped at 25 people, not including emergency refugees. Residents stay at the community should be used to determine any short or long term needs, on an individual basis. These temporary communities should be built, with complete infrastructure and onsite resident staffing, before the introduction of guests. The resident onsite staffing should be comprised of houseless community leaders, a quorum of three for each community of 25. These leaders are to be selected by the city, oversight committee and management organizations. Prerequisites for any onsite community leader candidate shall...
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Example of a Good Neighbor Agreement

Sample Good Neighbor Agreement Forgotten Realms gives a group of houseless citizens a safe place to live until this housing crisis can be resolved, we know the importance of establishing and maintaining positive relationships with our neighbors. Becoming a member of a community is a social contract. Our neighbors hold us (our residents and those who use the rest area for a temporary respite from the harsh streets) hold us accountable to certain standards of behavior, just as we expect the same from our neighbors. We, the cosigners of this “Good Neighbor Agreement” affirm our shared commitment and responsibility to uphold community values and standards in all of our residents in Multnomah County and the City of Portland.       We will operate a community that is presentable and in view of the streets that boarder our grounds (N. Kerby and N. Graham). We have very limited resources and are surrounded by a fence, but we will address any issues that can be seen by...
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