PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland City Council will meet Monday night and vote on "Order 68," an amendment that would allow camping in certain public areas of the city. Those areas will not include downtown streets or sidewalks, playgrounds, City Hall Plaza, Monument Square, or anywhere within 250 feet of schools.
Jess Falero organized a rally happening Monday in support of Order 68, which allows people to stay in tents up until April 30 of next year. Falero said she herself was homeless in Portland for eight years, and cramming the 200 people who are in an encampment near Harbor View Memorial Park into shelters is not the solution. She said Portland shelters have specific rules, and many unhoused people have mental health and other issues that will not be solved by putting them in shelters.
"If we want people to access the shelter, we need to build trust, because people are severely traumatized. They don't trust people when you are bringing dumpster trucks and policemen throwing out their documents and their loved ones ashes and whatever it is they have in their home, whether its a tent or an actual dwelling," Falero expressed to NEWS CENTER Maine. "It doesn't make people trust you to go to the shelter. You have people that have been outside for a long time."
Sarah Michniewicz is one of the leaders of another rally happening Monday against encampments. She said this specific amendment is not the solution because, aside from the dangers that come from encampments, she feels it distracts people from getting the mental health resources and permanent housing they need by enabling them to stay there. She also said this approach is not supported by many federal and state providers.
"So if this goes through, we are on our own. Portland is already an outlier. Portland is already not getting the support it needs from the state, and if we make it official, we are going against all the best advice," Michniewicz said. "The state is not going to help us, and that's exactly who we need to step up to bring us resources to help solve homelessness for good."
Along with Michniewicz, Andrew Bossie plans to be at the rally Monday in favor of ending the encampments. He said his brother died from an overdose and knows firsthand how dangerous they are.
"It's not good for the people that are in these parks that need services. They are dealing with mental health emergencies and substance abuse. They don't need to add the winter on top of that," Bossie said. "On top of this, we have already seen hepatitis A outbreak that is taking place, and we absolutely need to move in a better direction of addressing homelessness but this proposal is not the answer."
The rally organized by Portland Voices against Order 68 starts at 4 p.m. Monday at Lincoln Park, next to the Central Fire Station and just a few blocks from City Hall.
The rally in favor of Order 68 to Stop the Sweep starts at 3:30 p.m. Monday at 15 Casco Street and will make its way to City Hall ahead of the city council meeting, which starts at 5 p.m.
If Order 68 passes, encampments would be allowed in specific areas in Portland until April 30.
If the amendment doesn't get enough votes, councilors will find a date to clear the encampment near Harbor View Memorial Park, and the Encampment Crisis Response Team will try to get as many people as possible to accept beds in shelters.
The Maine CDC recently reported a hepatitis A outbreak in Portland, saying 18 people in the city had the disease, The Portland Press Herald reported that most of the cases were within homeless encampments, but a representative for the Maine CDC wouldn't confirm that.
Jess Grondin, a city spokesperson, said the city has taken some steps to try to prevent the spread of disease.
"What I can say is that we installed a water system at the Fore River encampment for drinking and hand washing to help prevent the spread of any disease and we looked into that for Marginal Way as well, but could not do it as the available hydrants are on the other side of the street," Grondin told NEWS CENTER Maine in an email. "We continue to focus on getting people into shelter as we know that large encampments are not healthy or safe."
“The council has continued to ignore experts within city government. There is plenty of evidence that camping creates a dangerous environment for those living in tents and everyone living and working adjacent to large encampments," Enough is Enough spokesperson Matt Marks told NEWS CENTER Maine. "It’s time to have a real discussion on criminal activity, including many unhoused victims, and what actions will be taken right now. Concurrently, the city needs to begin planning for long-term solutions for helping those in need secure safe, clean shelter and the necessary services."
Marks also brought up the issue of fire concerns as unhoused people at the Harbor View Memorial Park encampment area try to stay warm.
The City issued a memo on Nov. 15 on the projected fiscal impact of the encampment legislation policy, which will cost $1,226,518 in city-related services.
“Changing the city policy to allow camping isn’t the humane solution," Marks said. "Some councilors believe the policy will create smaller sites, which defies logic and if it happened would only strain city resources. It’s difficult to believe that when April arrives the council will have a better solution and this policy will simply get extended throughout summer."
Click here for details on Monday night's Portland City Council agenda.