Homelessness is a serious issue in our community: every day residents and business owners must handle the fallout of homeless living in the neighborhood. The Office of Neighborhood Involvement recently offered a training to East Portland business leaders about dealing with the homeless population.  Sgt. Randy Tieg from the Neighborhood Response Team shared resources and tools for business owners and residents to use.

1.  To report campsites, two websites can be used.  The first is the One Point of Contact:  www.portlandoregon.gov/campsites.  The second is to use the Prosper Portland (formerly PDC) reporter app.  Either option works, but the One Point of Contact site is more comprehensive and allows for more information.
2. If your problems are ongoing, begin an incident log, especially if you have trespassing people. Information to include: incident log are date, person’s name or description, and reason for exclusion or incident (unreasonable noise, interfering with rights, comfort or convenience of others, unlawful activities, vandalism, open containers, littering, etc.).
3. If you must report someone who is loitering or causing issues for you or your business, report the problem or behavior.  Refrain from using the word “homeless” and describe the behavior – panhandling, public intoxication, vandalism, etc.
4. If needles are a problem, the link to Multnomah County’s Tutorial on collecting and disposing of used needles and syringes is:  https://multco.us/hiv-and-std-services/how-safely-dispose-syringes-and-used-needles
5. Crime Prevention Coordinators offer free trainings to community groups and businesses.  View list of topics and request a training by visiting www.portlandoregon.gov/oni/trainingrequest and Crime Prevention Partners with Multnomah County Mental Health and Addiction to offer education on mental health and addiction.