Many of Mayor’s Emergency Shelter Beds Are Unoccupied Every Night

Data released by Mayor Keith Wilson’s office last week shows that over half of his emergency shelter locations are struggling to reach 50% occupancy on any given night.

The release of the data comes as critics, including some members of the Portland City Council’s progressive caucus, question both Wilson’s shelter strategy and his decision to reinstate the city’s camping ban, which has so far this month resulted in dozens of shelter placements, along with dozens of arrests on outstanding warrants unrelated to camping.

Three of the mayor’s shelters failed to reach 50% occupancy in the fall months, the data shows: St. Stephen’s Church in downtown Portland, Central Church of the Nazarene in Southeast Portland, and the SAFES Shelter run by the Salvation Army on W. Burnside Street.

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