The City of Portland today announced that it has reached Mayor Keith Wilson's ambitious goal of creating capacity for 1,500 emergency overnight shelter beds through a strategic blend of stable and flexible sleeping units.

"Mayor Wilson needed 1,500 lifesaving beds deployed on time, and on budget, and that's exactly what Portland Solutions delivered," said Taylor Zajonc, Deputy Chief of Staff for Mayor Wilson. "Every night of safe sleep we now provide is a chance to restore the livability of our neighborhoods, stabilize our public safety systems, and provide a compassionate, dignified path off the streets."

City officials confirmed that, after reviewing comparable efforts nationwide, Portland believes it has developed shelter capacity faster than any other major U.S. city in recent years. This is an achievement made possible through coordinated partnerships and a tenacious team of City professionals at Portland Solutions. Skyler Brocker-Knapp, Director of Portland Solutions, recognized her team's effort in delivering on this goal: "Portland Solutions is about meeting the need of our community whether it be livability or homelessness issues. My team executed on the vision by our Mayor. With these beds delivered, we're excited to refine our work through continuous improvement."

Capacity Built to Meet Community Need

While reaching 1,500 beds marks a significant milestone, the Mayor emphasized that the number itself is not the City's primary focus.

"1,500 was just a number," Mayor Wilson said. "What matters is maintaining real capacity so we can offer a safe bed for every Portlander, every night, for everyone who wants one. We'll flex up or down as needed, and over time, I anticipate we will flex down as more people transition into stable housing."

Mayor Wilson underscored that the work does not end with reaching a target. "We have to take big swings at big problems and move forward with constant and continuous improvement," he said. "We cannot get complacent during a crisis."

Partnership-Driven Success

Mayor Wilson praised the extensive collaboration that made this rapid scale-up possible.

"This achievement also belongs to our partners, our service providers, Metro, the State of Oregon, and Multnomah County," he said. "Building trust, aligning priorities, and working side by side allowed us to move at a speed many thought impossible. Portland is at its best when we work together."

Wilson also acknowledged the human impact of the effort: "Every warm bed is an opportunity to save a life this winter. Our responsibility is to protect our neighbors, and these beds will help us do exactly that."

Flexible Beds Allowing Strategic, Cost-Saving Operations

The City previously announced the development and openings of 1,090 low-barrier, family-only, as well as recovery-oriented beds. The City's emphasis for the remaining tranche of emergency overnight beds is on strategic flexibility. Flex beds, which have providers already slated for previously secured sites, allow the City to quickly increase or decrease available beds based on need. The strategic flexibility of these new beds are cost-conscious in providing beds only as required. Bed availability is analyzed daily with utilization trends providing ample time to bring online additional beds as use increases.

The following cluster of beds were announced at these locations as well as their associated providers:

96 beds – Centennial Neighborhood Shelter (District 1) – Sunstone Way (Provider)
200 flex beds – City-Owned Property – Urban Alchemy (Provider)
180 flex beds – Additional Capacity at Existing City Shelter Sites – Varying Providers

With these new sleeping units, the City's emergency overnight shelter capacity will reach 1,566 beds. Additional details on these new locations will be released in the next few weeks.

Next Focus: Housing Development

With emergency shelter capacity now stabilized, the Mayor noted that the City of Portland must channel its energy into long-term solutions.

"Now, we must turn our focus to housing development with the same tenacity, urgency, and coordination that we brought to delivering shelter," Mayor Wilson said. "Shelter saves lives today, but housing provides stability and dignity for a lifetime."

Source: Portland Mayor's Office

Mike Jones