Mayor Wheeler & City Officials,

I am writing to express my deep concern over the ongoing situation with the homeless encampments in the Lents neighborhood. These camps have become unsafe, undignified, and unsanitary for both the housed and unhoused.

It’s a sharp contrast from the headlines appearing around the time I purchased my home in 2018. Leading up to our move into the neighborhood, Chad Rennaker was developing the area, the Belmont goats had a home here, the Portland Pickles were gaining momentum, and Lents was touted as one of the country’s most up and coming neighborhoods. Over the past four years, my sense of community and safety has shifted to fear and anxiety due to the encampments that are routinely right outside my doorstep.

The impact on our usually quiet street has been severe. One elderly neighbor, who had lived in her home for 60 years, recently moved out due to safety concerns. Drug deals and use are rampant, including in broad daylight, adding to the sense of insecurity. Theft, violent threats, and gun shots are a regular occurrence. On three occasions, I have been attacked by off-leash and aggressive dogs from the encampments. Multiple times, I have had to call 911 at the request of camp residents due to physical altercations and my husband has called for welfare checks on individuals who were in dangerous situations and possibly dead. Some of my neighbors have experienced worse.

It is important to note that our street is predominantly occupied by people of color, and all but one house is lived in by a family with children or is woman-owned. The hub of these encampments stretches along SE 96th from SE Harold to SE Holgate, of which Lents Elementary School sits in the middle. These areas are not included in the Safe School Passage program, so it has proven to be ineffective and insufficient in addressing the real dangers posed by the encampments. Additionally, the pedestrian bridge at SE Steele, which connects two community parks and sports fields is consistently overrun and unsafe.

My once strong sense of empathy for those struggling to access long-term shelter and resources has been fatigued by daily threats to my and my neighbor’s physical safety and mental well-being. While generalizations cannot be made about those at the heart of the homeless crisis, we and our neighbors have felt fear from the individuals living in the encampments outside of our doors. The situation is untenable and requires immediate and decisive action from the city.

A KATU article from this summer summarizes our community’s experience with, “Bottom line; Lents has to live with it, for now.” This cannot be the answer.

Prevention is crucial as our city struggles with limited resources to repeatedly dismantle encampments and restore cleanliness and safety, only to have the cycle begin again within hours. To address this urgent issue, I earnestly request the removal of the current encampments as well as the implementation of barricades, no overnight parking signs, and increased patrols by PBOT, ODOT and City of Portland officials. These measures are essential to discourage the establishment of camps that can rapidly escalate beyond control.

I implore you to take meaningful steps to prevent the establishment of encampments in residential areas. The safety and well-being of our community depend on it.

Sincerely,

Joanna Campa