Proposal would allow homeless to camp at churches

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland City Council will consider a proposal Wednesday to allow homeless people to camp out overnight at churches.

Supporters say the goal is to offer homeless car-campers a safe place to stay.

Each church would be limited to hosting 4 vehicles no matter how big the parking lot is. Vehicles would also have to display a sign indicating they have permission to park overnight.

According to Executive Director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon David Leslie, the proposal is modeled after a similar effort that churches in Eugene, Ore. have already been offering to homeless.

“I think for families in particular, that’s some of the hardest group to serve because there just is not enough shelter space for a lot of the families,” said Leslie.

The proposal would authorize a pilot program to run for one year. After that, the city would evaluate whether church camping causes problems for neighbors.