PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s been roughly two weeks since Portland crews removed one of the city’s largest homeless camps along Northeast 33rd Drive. Some escaped the tow trucks and moved two minutes away to a stretch of Northeast 17th Avenue off Columbia Boulevard.
“This is going on week two,” said Jacob, one of the people who moved his vehicle from 33rd Drive to 17th Avenue.
Others couldn’t remember when they showed up.
“Since 33rd... however long that’s been,” said another homeless man, Chris.
Eric Morillo, who runs a neighboring business, knows exactly how long it’s been: “Within a day, it almost looked like the whole neighborhood moved over here to 17th.”
He manages the steel manufacturing company next door. RVs now line the company's gates.
The company has reached out to the city and police asking for help.
“We’re kind of frustrated because there is no answer back of what we can do,” he said.
“We will continue to assess and remove as many sites as we are able to each week, and we’ll continue the work of connecting people to shelter options as much as possible along the way,” the spokesperson said.
They added Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) tow team is two weeks behind due to Portland's recent ice storm.
“It’s only a matter of time before the garbage piles up and the police are like, 'OK, go somewhere else,'” said Jacob.
On Wednesday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the city had removed 64 RVs so far this year — all from Northeast 33rd Drive.
“The ones that we are removing, a lot of them are burned-out hulks. Many of them do not meet even the most basic environmental standards. Some of them are used for illicit activity,” Wheeler said.
He added the city is on track to remove 450 by the end of the year.
“If there are people living in them, we always provide outreach opportunities,” Wheeler said.
57 people who lost their RVs during the removal on 33rd Drive have since moved into shelter. However, KGW found some people either didn’t get the chance or turned it down like Chris, who’s been on the streets in Portland for five years.
“They offered me to go to the little tiny homes which ain’t really helping you in a way because you’re still homeless,” Chris explained.
“It’s a two-way street. They need to make sure that they can get help, which the city is offering, but they also have to be willing to get help,” added Morillo.
People camping in the RVs said they understand the impact camps can have on businesses like Morillo's.
“I don’t want to be here either. I hate being out here…Just a home. We need a home. I’m tired of being homeless,” Jacob said.
The city is building a large, sanctioned camp for people living in RVs about ten minutes away from 17th Avenue off North Portland Road. An opening date for that site has not yet been set.