On April 17th, Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) will host its second community meeting, seeking public input regarding the alternative shelter planned at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue. The event will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Portland Community College Southeast Campus’s Community Hall at 2305 SE 82nd Avenue. Attendees should pre-register for this open community meeting through the online RSVP form. Participants will learn more about the project and have opportunities to provide feedback to planners.

This proposed shelter site will have a capacity for up to 38 adults living in sleeping pods. Six converted shipping container units will provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities. Residents and their pets will have onsite access to green space. The site will receive upgraded fencing with privacy inserts on all street sides and a wood fence between the adjacent residential property to the east. New designs from earlier this year also relocated the planned garbage recycling building and parking further away from the eastern property line.

Onsite parking offers eight spaces for staff and visiting service providers only. Operators will reserve two of those stalls for vehicles with accessibility permits. This configuration differs from the other county-owned shelter, Oak Street Village, which is located several blocks north of this site and features significant resident parking. Crews working for the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) began constructing new sidewalks on SE Mill Street east of SE 82nd Avenue. They have completed most of the work along the future shelter site’s Mill Street frontage and will soon work on the north side of the street before repaving. These sidewalks will be a welcome addition for the parents and students who often use SE Mill Street as a route to the two nearby schools.

The JOHS has yet to announce a service provider to offer 24-hour support for shelter residents. The County representatives have said they intend to open this location by the end of 2025. Presenters at the April 17th meeting will likely offer updated plans, more details about who will operate the site, and other operational information.

Note: On July 1st, the JOHS will take on its new name and be known as the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department (HSD)