Auto Show Fundraiser Fuels Hospital Lodging
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BEAVERS SAY: PLAY IT AGAIN, SEAN QB Mannion’s return buoys Oregon State hopes — SEE SPORTS, B8 PortlandTribune THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014 • TWICE CHOSEN THE NATION’S BEST NONDAILY PAPER • WWW.PORTLANDTRIBUNE.COM • PUBLISHED THURSDAY ■ Reports of drug dealing plague Old Town homeless experiment Bud Clark Commons Drugs put commons tenants in a bind Formerly homeless people say illegal deals spoil safe haven By PETER KORN The Tribune “I’m getting a second chance,” says Judy Dietrich would change 56-year-old musician only one thing about life at Bud Jon Hall, homeless Clark Commons Apartments. since 1977 until he She’d like to see the drug deal- qualifi ed for an ers kicked out. apartment at Bud “The less dealers we have, the Clark Commons. better off we are,” says Dietrich, Portland police say 49, one of the fi rst tenants placed they are getting called at the commons. to the building too Before taking a test that rated her among the city’s most vulner- often. A number of able and qualifi ed her for one of residents say drug the 130 apartments at the Old dealing inside is out Town complex, Dietrich spent of control. three years living on the street. A TRIBUBNE PHOTOS: heroin addict, she says she is be- JAIME VALDEZ ing treated with methadone. Dietrich’s studio apartment at Police the commons is crammed full with her stuff. She feeds barbecue-fl a- vored potato chips to her pet rat, ortland police are concerned that building were set aside for those among Mother, and her pet mouse, the city’s highest profi le public Portland’s homeless who scored highest on threaten housing project is becoming un- a vulnerability test that predicted who, if See TENANTS / Page 3 P manageable. left out on the street, would be In early December, Portland Police Chief the most likely to be assaulted Mike Reese told the city’s Housing Commis- or die. complaint as sioner Dan Saltzman The commons complex is that he was consider- STORY BY based on a national model called ing filing a chronic Housing First. From the start, nuisance property PETER KORN residents have known they can complaint against keep their apartments for life calls mount Bud Clark Commons even if they never pay rent, and Apartments, the $47 million crown jewel in that drug use and drinking in the city’s battle against homelessness. those apartments will be toler- Two and a half years into housing the ated if kept behind closed doors. city’s 130 most vulnerable homeless peo- But, according to several residents and Judy Dietrich lets her pet rat, at the ple, the apartment complex is putting too visitors interviewed by the Portland Tri- Mother, crawl up her arm. One of the much strain on police, say Portland Police bune, a handful of those once-homeless ten- fi rst tenants at Bud Clark Commons Bureau offi cials. ants are dealing heroin and methamphet- apartments, Dietrich has stabilized The commons opened in June 2011 as a amine from their apartments. Which might her life, but she’d like to see the grand housing experiment. The 130 apart- commons building’s drug dealers evicted. ments in a new, seven-story LEED-certifi ed See COMMONS / Page 2 Auto show fundraiser Portland 4 the fuels hospital lodging Philippines organizers Joseph “Djo” Providence Portland Fortunato and patients’ families will Riannah Weaver check out their have place to stay art auction at last Saturday’s By JIM REDDEN fundraiser. The Tribune TRIBUNE PHOTO: JONATHAN HOUSE Providence Portland Medi- cal Center has increasingly become a destination for out- of-town patients and their Artists sketch a better families since opening its Cancer Center and Children’s Center in recent years. But there are few affordable COURTESY OF ZIMMER GUNSUL FRASCA ARCHITECTS LLP places near the hospital at 4805 An artist’s rendering shows the new Patient and Family Guest House to life for typhoon victims N.E. Glisan St. for visitors to be built by Providence Portland Medical Center at Northeast 45th stay. The closest motel is more Avenue and Glisan Street. After the trip was postponed, of its own. It turned into a than a mile away and advertises Portland 4 the however, Weaver was shocked group called Portland 4 the rooms for around $100 a night. to hear that a devastating ty- Philippines, a collaborative of The hospital has tried to fi ll due to lack of funds. Philippines plans phoon had hit the Philippines, artists, dancers, musicians, this gap for the past decade or “The guest house will give The site at Northeast 45th leaving more than 6,000 dead, performers and other creatives so by offering inexpensive Avenue and Glisan Street was fourth fundraiser millions homeless, and major who’ve produced three fund- rooms at a nearby former them a safe, convenient blessed during a ceremony on logistical challenges for relief raising concerts so far and apartment complex. But the place to stay and recover, Sept. 21, 2012. Construction is By JENNIFER ANDERSON operations. have a fourth scheduled for Gilroy House cannot meet the tentatively scheduled to start The Tribune “I was glad I wasn’t there but later this month. growing need. It was built if they need to.” in March. The Providence Port- (I thought) there’s something I The events include lineups nearly 60 years ago and has — Kelly Buechler, land Medical Foundation Riannah Weaver was sup- can do,” she recalls. of at least fi ve bands, spoken- only six units. More than 370 Foundation executive director passed the halfway point in its posed to be in the Philip- So she set up a Facebook word performances, art auc- patients and their families had $4 million capital campaign pines when Tropical Storm page to collect donations for tions, raffl es and education in to be turned away last year. late last year. Haiyan struck in November. her pastor’s organization, the form of updates, photos Nearly half of the patients were House just two blocks west of “Many times when patients The 30-year-old Northeast Christian Frontier Ministries. and blogs from contacts on the in town for surgeries. the hospital. Residents will be and their families come to the Portland artist had been invited Within 48 hours, her social me- islands. The Portand creative The planned solution is the charged a fee on a sliding scale hospital, they’re scared and un- by her pastor’s family to teach dia community was so support- construction of a new 30-unit based upon ability to pay and art at a Philippine orphanage. ive that the effort took on a life See PHILIPPINES / Page 4 Patient and Family Guest nobody will be turned away See LODGING / Page 5 “Pamplin Media Group’s pledge is to Portland Tribune deliver balanced news that refl ects the NOW THAT’S SOME PIG stories of our communities. Thank you Inside — SEE THE SHORT LIST, PAGE B1 for reading our newspapers.” — DR. ROBERT B. PAMPLIN JR. OWNER & NEIGHBOR A2 NEWS The Portland Tribune Thursday, January 9, 2014 Commons: Reductions curtail police visits in Old Town. ■ From page 1 “We don’t really feel like we meet the description of (a nui- explain the growing number of sance property) because of our police calls to the commons. Po- work with police as well as our lice say the types of calls they desire to continue working with are seeing, with an emphasis on police,” Duke says. public disturbances, larceny and The combination of addiction thefts, are consistent with drug and high vulnerability makes dealing in the apartments. the commons a unique place to Portland Police Coincidentally, administra- manage. Duke says she does not Offi cer Jim Bare tors at nonprofi t Home Forward, know how many of her tenants talks to Eric which manages the building, say entered the building as drug or Turner with that police cooperation at the alcohol abusers. The number is Bud Clark building, which might have high because addiction is one of Commons in helped them keep drug dealing the criteria on the vulnerability the background. under control, has been reduced test that determines who gets Bare patrols in the past year. apartments there. Residents in- the area around All kinds of statistics are used terviewed by the Tribune say a The Apartments to measure the experiment at majority among them is dealing at Bud Clark Bud Clark Commons Apart- with substance abuse. Commons as ments. Home Forward adminis- part of a trators point with pride to an 80 Holding people accountable contract with percent success rate, measured Some cities have chosen to the Portland by the number of residents who disperse chronically homeless Business are still housed. addicts to smaller, scattered Alliance’s There is no mistaking the dif- sites rather than designate one Downtown Clean ficulty of housing people who building for the most diffi cult to & Safe Program. have been living on the street, house people. Some experts often for many years, most with voice concern about a negative TRIBUNE PHOTO: JAIME VALDEZ mental illness and addiction. aggregation effect that can take In 2012, management at Bud place when buildings house one acknowledges that discovering port seeing a lot of drug use strict limits on how many guests around the building. Clark Commons issued 123 type of tenant — in this case the who might be dealing from around the Old Town apart- each tenant could have each day “It also impacts our clients “concern forms” and took 262 most vulnerable and addicted. apartments at Bud Clark Com- ment complex, and an increase and how many at one time.