As residents of the Rockwood community for over 20 years, we recently learned of plans to develop a new homelessness resource center near Davis Elementary School. While we recognize the importance of providing resources for the houseless community, we have serious safety concerns—especially since children walk along this street to school every day.

In the past 2-3 years, our neighborhood has experienced incidents where houseless individuals harassed children aged 5 to 10 walking to Davis Elementary. These issues arose when a nearby church behind the school offered resources to the houseless. While the church’s intentions were kind, the situation quickly became dangerous, leading to the program's shutdown with the support of the neighborhood association due to the risks posed to our children. Unfortunately, it was the neighborhood—particularly the children—who paid the price.

Furthermore, the planned development is situated directly across from the Salvation Army, where young children regularly use the basketball court. This proximity raises additional concerns about the potential risks to the children who gather there daily.

After our neighborhood sources attended the "open house" for the new development, we left with even more concerns. It became evident that the lack of public awareness in our neighborhood was not accidental. The Multnomah County team overseeing this project acknowledged that our community had not been properly informed. This was particularly clear when one of the project managers mentioned that in other neighborhoods, such as Montavilla in Southeast Portland, the team had canvassed the area before seeking approval for their homelessness resource center projects—a courtesy that was not extended to our predominantly BIPOC community.

During a charged one-on-one conversation, two young residents of the neighborhood were asked by Dan Fields, “What if the neighborhood supports this development? Will you support it as well?” They reluctantly responded that if the neighborhood supported it, they would follow suit. However, when our male source specifically asked Dan Fields, “Would you consider moving the development to another location?” Fields responded, “Absolutely, yes!”

Later, when asked the same question in front of an associate—this time seeking a unified response—“If the neighborhood says ‘no,’ will you find another location?”—he refused to answer. This inconsistency made it clear that his earlier promises were just words. How can we trust this team? We can’t. During the first meeting alone, they repeatedly demonstrated that the decision had already been made without our input. It’s clear that our voices don’t matter in this process.

After discussions with nearly every member of the Multnomah team present, it became clear that a unified message was not part of their strategy. When team member Rebecca Stavenjord, a counselor for Milwaukee, was asked about alternative locations for this development, she stated that “60 other locations were considered.” In response to a follow-up question—“How many of these locations were less than a quarter of a mile from the school?”—she replied, “Many.” This prompted a surprised “Really?!” from a young woman, leading Rebecca to backtrack slightly and say, “Well, some.” 

Later, Dan Fields contradicted this by stating, “That was not true. We don’t know who gave you that information; we did not look into 60 locations,” revealing a concerning lack of alignment within their team.

The mayor of Gresham, Travis Stovall, was also in attendance. When asked to comment on his endorsement of this resource center and the potential negative impacts, he responded, “I have not endorsed this houseless community; I was only made aware of it a week ago.” It appeared he, too, was there to gather information. However, our male source followed up by saying, “The moment you spoke into that microphone and said good things about this project, you supported it, because your words, as the mayor, carry power.” Ultimately, Mayor Stovall stated he was neither “for nor against” the development. Once again, we were faced with another uninformed official advocating for a project—until confronted by the people actually living in the community.

When the mayor was asked why he hadn’t informed the community about the process of this development, he stated, “It’s not my job to inform the community until permits are submitted and approved.” Yet again, our community was disregarded and pushed aside; not given a voice. 

It’s clear that this development is being rushed through, is disorganized, and is taking advantage of a local community they assume won’t speak up. We are here to say that we won’t be overlooked, and we WON’T LET OUR CHILDREN PAY THE PRICE AGAIN. While security measures, de-escalation strategies, and cleaning initiatives were discussed, these only serve as protections for a problem they intend to impose on our neighborhood. Please sign our petition to prevent this dangerous decision in our neighborhood, and move it away from schools. 

Our demands are simple. While we acknowledge the importance of providing resources for the houseless, this development does not belong in a neighborhood densely populated with children—children who use the park next to the school, walk to school daily on this street, and deserve to feel safe. This neighborhood has a history of children being harassed by the houseless who once occupied the area, and we can’t let that happen again. This project must be relocated to protect the children of Rockwood.

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