'Incarceration not solution' to Portland homeless camping

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Lauren Armony is interested to find out what the City of Portland and Multnomah County will be looking at over the next 100 days in their enforcement of the city's camping ban.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell met Monday afternoon to develop a plan that encourages Portlanders living on the street to accept local housing services and cites those who refuse.

"I'm curious what they are going to be evaluating during that four months," Armony, the systemic change director for Sisters of the Road. "Is it going to be people who are able to show up for their court dates? Is it going to be repeat offenses?"

According to a joint statement released Tuesday morning, “both leaders believe that connecting people with services and housing is the best strategy to address homelessness in Portland. They also acknowledge for individuals who repeatedly refuse outreach services, the corrections system may offer additional intervention opportunities.”

Armony said the process of getting people off the streets is all about trust. She said there's a lot of trauma for those who are homeless, and a lot of distrust that causes "service resistance."

When Alasdair MacDonald became the first person arrested under the new camping ban, he said he was offered a tiny home but was surrounded by police.

"The tiny home sounded good. I was gonna go for it, but when you have me surrounded and actually under duress, I'm not comfortable," MacDonald told KOIN 6 News in July.

That's the "service resistance," Armony said.

"It can feel very complicated, especially for people who are in crisis, who are not currently housed, who do not have a phone, who do not have consistent access to email, and people have been let down by case workers, by emergency personnel, by law enforcement officers who have promised help," she said.

A lack of shelter beds also makes the camping ban flawed, she said, adding she hopes for some amendments to the ban as the four-month evaluation goes along.

"We as a city need to really recognize," Armony said, "that incarceration is not the solution to systemic failures of our socioeconomic system."