The homelessness crisis continues to challenge communities across the nation. Redmond, Oregon, is taking an innovative approach by developing an affordable RV park as an adjunct to its Safe Parking Program. According to Mountain View Community Development, organizer of the program, “The Safe Parking Program is designed for adults and families who have lost their homes and living in a car or camper may be their only option besides sleeping on the street. However, finding a safe, legal place to park can be challenging. The Safe Parking Program provides individuals and families living in vehicles with a safe, legal parking place.”
Redmond’s Safe Parking Program
The Safe Parking Program allows people living in their vehicles to park overnight in designated areas. This new initiative seeks to expand the program by providing a more permanent and stable solution for those struggling to find affordable housing.
Rick Russell, Executive Director of Mountain View Community Development, said, “We serve a lot of people in our program. It’s free and accessible to people living in cars and RVs. Many people here have income but cannot afford rent from $700 to $900 per month. Many of their RVs are too old for existing RV parks. We are trying to figure out how to operate something underneath that market rate scale.”
Russell said that more than 60 percent of the people using the Safe Parking program eventually acquire stable housing.
Deciding who will operate the affordable RV park
Deschutes County Commissioner Tony DeBone stated that the next step is to figure out who might operate the low-income RV park and how much it will cost, what services the county may be able to provide, and whether the program would pay for itself.
In addition to providing affordable housing, the park would include essential amenities such as clean water, sanitation facilities, and electricity. On-site resources, such as case management and job training services, will help residents achieve self-sufficiency.
##RVT1097b
This is the same policy solution I have been saying for years with one small difference. Instead of building these Homeless Peoples RV parks in the middle of peaceful, low crime, low unemployement happy idealyic towns like Redmond (pop. 35,000) build them in the middle of the Mojave desert. Power them with solar, pipe in potable water and drop off 1,000 clean port-a-pottys every other week or send a honey wagon to pump them out. The libs can air drop in clean injection packages and condoms to help themselves sleep better. Top it off with a live stream, similar to the TV programs, COPS or Live PD, do a subscription based service to fund the whole thing and with today’s obsession with tictock and YouTube, should get lots of followers.
That’s the dystopia we’re heading towards, in the “keep it wierd” cities and states anyhow so embrace it at the bottom or change it at the top.
SO Well Stated! CancelProof..
Exactly!
I think it’s a great idea. The campers I have met with vehicles still have the hope of working towards stability for their families if they own an RV. The rough campers are not with those even minimal resources to fall back on. It seems a good way to give folks some breathing room to get some money saved if they are working two jobs to make ends meet.
I live in a house that was next door to an unregulated camp on public land for four years straight and can testify to the fact that no one likes being wet, and cold sleeping rough. We need to imagine the best not the worst of people who are going through hard times. I didn’t like being confronted daily with the hand dug latrines, and garbage. At least this idea doesn’t involve shoving people into urban areas; provides needed hygiene stations and some form of rules of conduct.
My guess it’s a big win for everyone; property values don’t tank and the services will be used by the people ready to move up and out into social housing.
Suzanne, your heart and intentions are well placed. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the good people of Redmond Oregon (population 35,000) want Portlands homeless (5,000) Portland’s progressive policies created the problem so they should keep it in Portland. Even if your “working 2 jobs” assumption is accurate, those 2 jobs those hardworking homeless folks have are not in Redmond. Are you going to buy a bus and drive them 300 miles everyday, twice, for 2 shifts they work?
And your right, the property values in Portland will stop tanking if they ship their problems elsewhere instead of shipping the working taxpayers somewhere else.
I hear your compasion, sorry if this was to harsh.
Progressive Dystopian Dreams
My guess most of this issue revolves around the Portland area. I question the quoted apartment rental rates of $700-$900 per month. Perhaps if the state pols addressed their incredible taxes, fees, and overall cost of living in their state there wouldn’t be as many homeless. I’m sure their next proposed law will be to provide the homeless with luxury RVs
to go along with the free campsites.
Redmond is 150 miles from Portland.
And on the the other side of the mountains. Not only does Vincee not know where Redmond is, he didn’t read the story. It will not be free campsites.
This measure by the Redmond community and Deschutes County does not involve Portland at all. Redmond is 150 miles away. And the quote in the article mentioned nothing about “apartment rentals.”
Any chance the Portland Homeless will move to Redmond? It’s not like the Portland homeless need to worry about the 300 miles round trip to Portland for work everyday.
This should work out real well for the people of Redmond.
I can hear the sales pitch now, ” Why move to dystopia when we can bring dystopia to you”.
Certainly a difficult problem. The best solutions are unique, tailored to each individual. But that requires considerable knowledge of those being helped. One-size-fits-all helps most people a small amount and a few are helped a large amount. As Bob Walter notes below, this solution is not a clear winning strategy.
The Cabrini Green if RV living! What a wonderful idea. Crime, filth, chaos all in one place. And I bet the working folks are not welcome due to caps on income – zero. @@
“Russell said that more than 60 percent of the people using the Safe Parking program eventually acquire stable housing.” I wonder how they arrived at THIS claim.
Its Politics! They can Claim (Make Up) Numbers To Fit Theyre Narrative…
Help obtain state benefits (welfare). Then Help obtain housing that except welfare. Then Help obtain a job through unemployment services. There is no guarantee that the 60% won’t return. BUT, DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA.
Yup, they can spin the numbers to justify their job and who’s to check them…same old stuff…if they help a few people they feel good about themselves and condemn u for saying different….it takes one on one for a lot of years to be effective not one person checking on many…..it takes special people to do this…..I for one am not one of them….drugs, free handouts, no accountability , moral decay has gotten us to where we are….to solve the problem is a very harsh one but most don’t want to hear it….
I’m more worried about the 40% failure rate of this program. Are they bragging that 6 in 10 is good. The 4 in 10 failure rate is not nothing. 3 cheers for clearing a bar set so low that 6 in 10 don’t sleep on the street next month. What kind of long term dystopia should we expect from this kind of maddness?
Well, we’re all listening…what is your plan? That’s what I figured. It’s a mess and there’s no clear way out. At least it’s something
Glad you asked. Given that it is bad govt policy that got us into this mess, start by electing different politicians. It will take a while to get things back in order but shipping your high crime drug addicted homeless to low crime, clean, hard working rural communities is not a solution. If it is a solution, then let’s set up a campsite for San Fran-freakshow’s homeless in Marin County and Los Angeles’ homeless in camps in Malibu.