Food fight in the complex

I wrote a few weeks ago about Urban Alchemy, the California "nonprofit" that's going to run the managed camp for the "homeless" in southeast Portland. At that time, I noted that they were going to collect northward of $34,000 a year per camper from the city to run the joint. And that doesn't include food, utilities, construction, or startup costs.

The tab being discussed at that time was $5.1 million for one camp for one year. But I see now that the city has approved a five-year deal, at $50 million, which as you math majors can figure out, works out to about double that annual number. I don't know if that means they'll run several camps, or if the price tag per squatter just went up. Not that it matters – this is Portland City Hall, and these are tax dollars, and so anything goes.

But what's even more interestng from my perspective is that Sisters of the Road, the outfit that serves free meals to street people in Old Town, is jumping up and protesting Urban Alchemy's getting so solid a foothold in the Portland homeless industry. The "Eat the Rich" kids at the Merc are quick to tell the Sisters side of the story, here:

Rhea Hannon serves on a systemic change team with Sisters of the Road – a social justice organization well known for its barter cafe that previously operated in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood offering meals and community support to unhoused residents.

“We believe that this financial decision is an unsustainable and wasteful use of community resources,” Hannon said. “Sanctioning camps will not solve the housing crisis, nor will they make housing more affordable.”

Hannon, echoing a handful of other people who addressed the council Wednesday, questioned Urban Alchemy’s capacity to serve Portland’s homeless population. 

“Before bringing an organization rife with controversy into our city, did you plan to invite anyone with lived experience to San Francisco to tour Urban Alchemy shelter sites…?” Hannon asked. “Why do our unhoused residents have to go through a more arduous process to prove they are ready for housing than Urban Alchemy had to go through to win this RFP?”

It's the second time this month that Sisters has popped up on my screen getting loud in local politics. They're mailing out election porn, too, these days, as I noted here. It's a bad look for them. It seems they're worried that some progress might actually be made in eliminating the hideous street conditions that are the reason for their existence. I share their skepticism about their new competitor, but the scratching and clawing for public money and the relentless lobbying are more than a bit unseemly.

In any event, pass the popcorn. This could be amusing to watch. But do so from a distance; above all, for your own good, stay out of Old Town.