At an April 17th community meeting, project planners announced that Do Good Multnomah will open a clean and sober sleeping pod shelter in the Multnomah County-owned property at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue. The 38 single-occupancy shed-style shelters will support people recovering from substance use disorder in an environment where residents and staff receive routine urine testing for compliance with the site’s drug and alcohol-free requirements. Six converted shipping container units will provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities so the recently unhoused residents can focus on the first steps to finding stable housing.
Nicole Jackson from the Montavilla headquartered nonprofit Do Good Multnomah spoke to the meeting attendees about the plans for the site along SE Mill Street, located between two Portland Public Schools. She explained that they would screen residents before placing them at this shelter to verify sobriety and exclude applicants with sexual offender convictions. Although this site is not low-barrier like the Oak Street Village shelter down the street at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, it still removes obstacles for people transitioning into shelters. The primary difference between most other sleeping pod communities in Portland and this location is its sober requirement and that units are limited to one occupant. Jackson said the group hopes to support residents for around 90 days before finding them sober housing or other placement on the road to stable housing. However, she noted that recovery can sometimes include relapsing. If that happens, residents are not permitted to stay but can transfer to another location until they are ready to return to the program.
As a safe location for people to recover from addiction, Jackson explained that it is essential for the other residents to follow the rules and not jeopardize others’ recovery efforts with their choices. She said that people they work with have requested a sober shelter option for years, noting it is hard to control an addiction while others around you are using. The site has a single entry and exit point for residents; staff search bags and request people empty pockets on reentry. Three staff will work onsite 24 hours a day, every day. Do Good Multnomah intends to have one of those team positions staffed each shift by a trained peer support person, helping people with recovery challenges from a position of personal experience.
In June or July, Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) –soon to change names to Homeless Services Department (HSD)– intends to begin work on a Good Neighbor Agreement with the Montavilla Neighborhood Association and the 82nd Avenue Business Association among other stakeholders to determine responsibilities and communication practices around the operation of the site. Do Good Multnomah is currently working on finalizing its site rules but noted they have years of experience running these types of shelters to make them safe for residents and the surrounding community. For instance, Nicole Jackson said that all dogs living in the shelter with their owners must be leashed at all times when answering a meeting attendee’s concerns about loose and aggressive dogs. She also explained that they will implement a quiet hours policy from 9 or 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
At the meeting, some residents expressed concern about the lack of parking for residents at the site. Jackson said she anticipates few people living in the shelter will have cars. Staff have onsite parking, and any residents needing to park will need to use street parking, but Do Good Multnomah will make sure they are parked legally in the neighborhood. Others had concerns about camping around the site. JOHS staff at the meeting said that the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) could include an enhanced services Engagement Zone like the Oak Street Village GNA, where City service providers resolve issues with the highest priority allowed by law to clear the zone around the shelter site.
Work on 1818 SE 82nd Avenue has not yet begun. Demolition crews will remove the existing building before other workers install electrical and plumbing underground for the temporary structures. The site will receive new chainlink fencing around the perimeter with plastic privacy slats. On the east edge of the property, crews will build a seven-foot-tall cedar fence set in several feet from the property line to provide extra buffer between the shelter site and an adjacent residential property. The team will construct a new fence line set back five feet from the sidewalk on SE Mill Street to allow a green zone of trees and plantings. The JOHS anticipates residents could move in by November or December 2025.
Disclosure: The author of this article servers on the 82nd Avenue Business Association’s board.