Today the City Council voted unanimously to endorse the CEIC proposal for a new district. The revised proposal, which incorporated many but not all of the recommendations of the Compassionate Change District is a chance for local businesses to join together with houseless folks in the neighborhood to come up with solutions to their mutual problems. Here are some of the highlights from the revised proposal that would not have happened without the consistent effort by the Compassionate Change District people, and Right2Survive in particular:

• 3 houseless people will be on Board of new District.

• "Safety Ambassadors" will be unarmed, will not conduct sweeps, and will receive trauma-informed training for how to interact with people suffering from mental illness.

• The CEIC will be a partner with the city in establishing a self-governed homeless village.

The proposal is surely not everything we wanted, and it will require vigilance to make sure that what was agreed upon actually happens, but the very same people (CEIC) who prevented R2DToo a couple of years ago have not agreed to work with the city to establish such a site in the Central Eastside District.

Thanks to the efforts of commissioners Hardesty and Eudaly, and ongoing efforts by houseless activists and houseless advocacy groups, this new vision of a compassionate change district is a win for Portland.  We hope that such a model of collaborative change can be replicated in other parts of the city, and turn other harmful Business Improvement Districts into compassionate change districts.

Cheers,

Elliott Young

See Street Roots story by Kaia Sand for more information: