App users, tap here to view
PORTLAND, Ore. -- For years, a graveled lot directly north of Kenton Park in North Portlands Kenton neighborhood, sat vacant. But on June 5, a work crew arrived on North Argyle Street to begin transforming the empty site, roughly an acre in size, into Kenton Womens Village, a temporary intentional community the likes of which the city has never seen.
A half-dozen neighborhood residents spread across an adjacent southern slope. Some tore out invasive blackberries and other weeds; others used picks and shovels to clear way for a staircase that would connect the lot to Argyle Street.
Related: How the Kenton Women's Village's roots came from a protest in Southeast Portland's Lents neighborhood
Three small bulldozers zipped around the site, delivering piles of dirt and gravel and leveling the packed ground.
Standing in the middle of the lot,MargiDechenne, program manager of the housing transitions program of Catholic Charities of Oregon, watched a truck hauling two small shipping containers pull into the lot. Oh good, she said, the restrooms are here.
Debbie Haskett, a 55-year old-woman who has been homeless for eight years, walked to the far end of the lot where 14 sleeping pods, super-tiny homes approximately 96 square feet each, stood in an oblong semi-circle.
Haskett, one of 14 homeless women chosen to occupy the structures, was deciding where to live. She chose a pod at the far end of the semi-circle that was painted black and turquoise. Turquoise is my birthstone, she said.
She rubbed her hands together at the thought of a home, however small, that she could claim as her own. Im so excited, she said.
Portland has been a leader in the homeless village movement since a group of homeless agitators wrested control of a vacant city-owned property near the Portland International Airport in 2000, cobbled together a cluster of shacks on it, established a system of self-government, and named it Dignity Village.
Dignity Village had antecedents in Seattle and Los Angeles, which it outlived, establishing itself as what appears to be the longest continuously sited community of its kind in the country.
Although the model didnt immediately proliferate in Portland, it persisted. A second group of homeless individuals pitched tents on a prominent Old Town/Chinatown corner in 2011; that settlement, Right 2 Dream Too, recently moved to a parking lot near the Moda Center. A third group launched Hazelnut Grove, to much controversy, in late 2015 in North Portlands Overlook neighborhood.
But Kenton Womens Village, which opened to residents on June 10, is different from these predecessors.
Its physically different. Tucked on expendable lots out of public view, Portlands other villages evolved from tent encampments and share an improvised, homemade look. Kenton Womens Village sits on prime real estate in an established residential community, a tidy collection of clean-lined, sturdy tiny homes designed by 14 different local architecture firms, shepherded by Portland State Universitys Center for Public Interest Design.
Its socially different. Portlands other villages are resolutely self-governed communities; residents make up their own rules and hold one another accountable to them. Residents of Kenton Womens Village will do the same, but within limits that dont apply at other villages. The village is operated by Catholic Charities, which has a contract with Multnomah County to do so. Each resident had to pass a criminal background check, will have an assigned case worker through Catholic Charities, and will agree, as a condition of her residency, to actively work toward moving back into permanent housing. There will be 24-hour security and a full-time, professional village manager.
And its politically different. Dignity Village, Right 2 Dream Too and Hazelnut Grove were founded as acts of civil disobedience. Groups of homeless individuals built settlements on public properties, without permission, in protest of city laws prohibiting public camping. But its creators conceived Kenton Womens Village as a publicly backed, community-supported venture. It is sited on land loaned by the city, funded with city and county dollars, approved by a vote of the Kenton neighborhood association, and designed and built with the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Not coincidentally, Kenton Womens Village is designed to be temporary. Organizers promise to remove the settlement within a year. The sleeping pods will be hauled to another site, if an appropriate one can be found. Catholic Charities aims to help at least seven of the 14 residents find permanent homes, but its possible some will be referred to shelters at the end of the year.
Thats a risk the residents, who would otherwise spend the coming year sleeping in shelters, alleys or in the woods, appear more than happy to take.
Catholic Charities case manager Bernadette Stetz contacted the women to let them know theyd been accepted. Their reactions were crying, screaming, like I feel like I won the lottery, Stetz recalled on June 9, her voice quavering.
Whether one classifies Kenton Womens Village as a mainstreamed homeless village or as a radically reoriented homeless shelter, organizers consider it a model strategy for addressing the citys out-of-control homelessness crisis one that could be replicated in other neighborhoods.
The driving force of the project is the Village Coalition, whose members include residents of Dignity Village, Right 2 Dream Too and Hazelnut Grove. They say villages offer something shelters dont: a secure, reliable place to sleep and store belongings. More than that, villages give residents a sense of self-determination, common purpose and belonging, keys to healing and self-transformation that even transitional and permanent housing options cant often match. Those benefits, coupled with villages relatively low cost of construction and operation, make villages a better public investment than shelters, advocates say if they can be structured, as Kenton Womens Village has been, in a way that appeals to neighbors.
That hopeful idea has attracted a small army of supporters, while eliciting skepticism on various sides.
At one extreme are Portland residents who say that homeless villages, government-backed or not, are public nuisances: unlawful, unsafe, unhygienic and apt to attract criminal behavior that burdens surrounding neighborhoods.
At another extreme are some longtime homeless activists who see the transitional-housing model being attempted at Kenton Womens Village as a watered-down version of first-generation homeless villages: politically palatable but, without homeless residents truly in charge, unlikely to sustain momentum.
In between are policymakers who see villages as a helpful but incomplete model for addressing homelessness, better than some alternatives but not proven effective at moving chronically homeless people 46 percent of whom experience severe mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness into permanent affordable housing or true self-sufficiency.
But regardless of whether they can cure mental illness, make neighborhoods safer or advance the movement for homeless empowerment, many are betting that enclaves modeled after Kenton Womens Village could be a scalable answer to an undeniable and pressing conundrum: With permanent affordable housing in short supply, and mental health and addiction treatment services limited, chronically homeless people must live, sleep and move their lives forward somewhere.
Mayor Wheeler discusses Kenton home pod
This story is part of Giving Ground, an investigative series exploring the rise of the homeless village movement. It is produced by the Open: Housing Journalism Collaborative, a joint project of Open: Housing, Pamplin Media Group and KGW. Look for other stories in this and related series at OpenHousing.net.
Published June 12, 2017
More:
The path from Dignity Village to the new Kenton Women's Village ... - kgw.com
- Twin Oaks Intentional Community - Twin Oaks Intentional ... [Last Updated On: December 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 8th, 2016]
- The Camphill Assocation of North America Communities [Last Updated On: December 9th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 9th, 2016]
- Cohousing - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: December 11th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 11th, 2016]
- Communes: the pros & cons of intentional community ... [Last Updated On: December 21st, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 21st, 2016]
- Jewish Intentional Communities Conference - Hazon [Last Updated On: December 25th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 25th, 2016]
- Common Fire Beacon-Newburgh | Creating diverse ... [Last Updated On: January 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 2nd, 2017]
- Intentional Housing Communities | www.hampshire.edu [Last Updated On: February 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 5th, 2017]
- A First Gen Lawyer-Turned-Entrepreneur Pioneers New Standards for College Freshmen - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Disparities in minority unemployment targeted by Iowa officials - DesMoinesRegister.com [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- ACE program benefits low-income communities - Observer Online [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Want a happy old age? Get your friends to be your neighbours - Independent Online [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Coalition Calls Itself The 'Eyes, Ears & Voice' Of Pittsburgh's Black Community - 90.5 WESA [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- 'A community remembers' coming to Hesston - Butler County Times Gazette [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Krista Tippett February 01, 2017 - America Magazine [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Serving the most diverse urban area on the planet - New York Nonprofit Media [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- To truly serve the public, community stations must apply standards for what's said on-air - Current [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Here's what went down at the NYC launch of Ashley Biden's charitable clothing line - Technical.ly [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Appalachian's Alternative Service Experience among nation's top 10 higher education institutions for number of programs - Appalachian State University [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Pastor: We must build bridges between police and local black communities - Fort Worth Star Telegram (blog) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Chris Wood: Now more than ever localize! - vtdigger.org [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- A Business Plan for Healthy Communities - Hospitals & Health Networks [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- The Death of the Ski Bum and Intentional Tourism - The Catalyst [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Heroin hits home: Highways provide "easy access" for drug trafficking in Franklin County - Herald-Mail Media [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- How Anarchists and Intentional Communities Are Reacting to ... [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Ohio Continues with Next Phase of InsideOut Initiative to Combat Win-at-All Costs Sports Mentality - Norwalk Reflector [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Microsoft Executives to Keynote Summit EMEA 2017 Conference - Yahoo Finance [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Marnita's Table set for Wednesday - Daily Globe [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- David Littlewood, guest columnist: Time to repeal Dodd-Frank Act and free up our community banks - Waco Tribune-Herald [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Ithaca organization encourages people to participate in National Random Acts of Kindness Week - The Ithaca Voice [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Portland groups form coalition to eradicate hate - KOIN.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Nash says 'there's more to do' on diversity at State of the County address - Gwinnettdailypost.com [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Anson County community meeting to fight poverty planned for Feb. 18 - Ansonrecord [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Spreading the Faith: Moving Coins and Moving Communities - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- If It Walks Like a Duck - ChicagoNow (blog) [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Immigrant Round-ups Stir Fears - Consortium News [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Pace: What Should I Give Up This Year? - Covington News [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- J Mase III of #BlackTransMagick seeks to redistribute resources - Daily Illini [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- South Side getting trauma center, but it'll be far more than just an emergency room - Fox 32 Chicago [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- St. Louis Park cohousing community welcomes home all ages - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- The Benedict Option and Rod Dreher's LGBT Challenge - The Atlantic - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Mark Sundeen looks for a better way to live - Missoula Independent [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Cohousing communities gain popularity, including here in Nashville - WKRN.com [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- The Christian Retreat From Public Life - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- New senior living community eyeing Waxahachie - Waxahachie Daily Light [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Better health needs a diverse workforce - Greenville Daily Reflector [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Businesses: State needs more immigrants - Mankato Free Press [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Cohousing communities gain popularity - WDTN [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Letters: Dismiss Schimel, others for maps - The Sheboygan Press [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Drums, Voices, and Circles - Memphis Democrat [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Food: Four Short Talks brings community to the table - Dailyuw [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Family School rebuts report on lack of diversity - Coastal View News [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- The Wall Street Journal explores trends in Christian community life sort of - GetReligion (blog) [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Renting land to highest bidder stumbling block for young people looking to start in agriculture - INFORUM [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Transportation/Traveling While Living Off Grid - Mother Earth News [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- New School Board President Believes Schools Belong to Communities - The Exponent Telegram (press release) (registration) [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Worcester's retiree health costs 'unsustainable' - telegram.com - Worcester Telegram [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- 12 on Tuesday: Leslie Orrantia - WISC - Channel 3000 - Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3 [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- By walking the beat, Kalamazoo officers nurture genuine ... - Michigan Radio [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Sometimes the Grass Really is Greener - Memphis Democrat [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Is Clallam opening the door to tiny houses? | Sequim Gazette - Sequim Gazette [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- New St. Paul police program aims to mentor recruits - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- A New Kind of Homeless Village is Coming to Kenton. It's a Big Deal. - The Portland Mercury (blog) [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Why We Need the Benedict Option and How It Doesn't Have to ... - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- National Expert Shares Thoughts on Environmental Justice - WUWM [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- The Promise of Paradise features area - 100 Mile House Free Press [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Speak out about your experiences - Hibbing Daily Tribune [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Trust comes in several varieties - Muncie Star Press [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Intentional neighborhoods take root across country - LancasterOnline [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- my family did the benedict option before it was cool and here's why it doesn't work - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Saint Benedict's Mandate - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Cohousing Part I: Creating community and reducing social isolation - Michigan State University Extension [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Searching for a greater interfaith understanding - Seattle Globalist [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- The fight for affordable housing in Jefferson Park continues - Chicago Tribune [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- A 'Justin Option'? Justin Martyr and the Ben-Op - National Catholic Register (blog) [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- The Groves of Academe: On Keep the Damned Women Out - lareviewofbooks [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Curating Community through Intentional Placemaking - Urban Land [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Local ties: New tailgate market locations highlight business and community connections - Mountain Xpress [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- How Power Street Theatre Company is taking on representation in the arts - Generocity [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Open house will celebrate Folk Art Guild's 50 years - News - The ... - Penn Yan Chronicle-Express (blog) [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Archbishop: In 'post-Christian world' fidelity, charity, truth stand out - CatholicPhilly.com [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]