Local officials clash with Mayor Wilson over homelessness strategy
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Homelessness in Multnomah County increased 67% between 2023 and 2025. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Some local officials are criticizing Mayor Keith Wilson's decision to reinstate a controversial outdoor camping ban as well as his push to add more shelter beds despite high vacancy rates.
Why it matters: The tension exposes an ongoing rift between city and county leaders over homeless shelter strategy, as the number of people experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County rose 67% in the last two years, according to a newly released point-in-time count.
Catch up quick: The previous City Council unanimously passed Portland's camping ban in spring 2024. Wilson put the ban on pause in February, shortly after he took office, and began efforts to increase emergency shelter bed counts.
- The city began enforcing the ban again over the weekend, restricting activities such as building fires and blocking pedestrian rights-of-way, including sidewalks and business entrances.
- Camping is allowed only if a person does not have the "means to acquire reasonable alternate shelter," per the ordinance.
- If shelter is available and someone refuses, they can face penalties such as fines or jail time.
By the numbers: Portland has added 1,090 overnight shelter beds since the start of 2025, roughly two-thirds of the way to meeting Wilson's campaign goal of creating 1,500 by Dec. 1.
- That brings the countywide total to more than 3,500, per OPB.
Yes, but: The city-run overnight emergency shelters, which have 40 to 100 beds, often have occupancy rates between 20% and 70% on any given night, according to the Oregonian.
Between the lines: Several reports have shown that while congregate shelters — where many people stay in one big room for up to a few days— are cheaper to build and operate, they aren't as enticing as other forms of shelter that have higher success rates at placing people into permanent housing.
What they're saying: Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson told Willamette Week last week that while she admires Wilson's "ambition," she wants to work with him to "troubleshoot how to fill these vacant beds before opening more overnight shelters."
- Wilson recently told OPB, "Having a system with no empty beds means our system fails," framing shelter vacancies as a prerequisite for enforcing "community standards."
Meanwhile, City Councilor Mitch Green criticized Wilson's move to reinstate the camping ban, calling it "a failed policy of criminalizing poverty."
The bottom line: There are still far more people living on the street than there are shelter beds.
- Plus, both the city and the county are facing major funding cuts that could impact their homeless shelter systems — potentially leading to the reduction of beds, emergency rent assistance and other housing services.