PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland's homeless will soon have access to storage lockers. City leaders said it's for practical -not just humanitarian- reasons.
City Hall and the Portland Business Alliance were chipping in for the $30,000 program because, they said, it was a sensible way to help homeless people get on a path toward housing and employment.
"How could you ever do a job interview if you had to cart around all your possessions?" asked Nick Fish, the City of Portland Commissioner of Housing. "Would you really sleep comfortably at night if you're also keeping your eye on your clothing and your possessions?"
Many of the 1,600 homeless people living on the streets in Portland carry their possessions in grocery carts or trailers.
The new storage locker program will provide 40 lockers with two staff members at the old Grove Hotel on W. Burnside St.
"I provide for myself," said a homeless person named Freddy while toting a trailer of possessions with a bicycle.
Freddy said he thought the lockers were a bad idea because it's easier to keep his belongings close by.
The storage lockers will be available within 45 days.
