How to House Homeless in Six Months Or Less
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Beavers have believers Oregon State among nation’s best in women’s basketball — SEE SPORTS, B10 PortlandTribune THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2015 • TWICE CHOSEN THE NATION’S BEST NONDAILY PAPER • PORTLANDTRIBUNE.COM • PUBLISHED TUESDAY AND THURSDAY HOW TO HALES HEADS HOUSE TO PARIS FOR HOMELESS MEETING ON IN SIX CLIMATE CHANGE Mayor invited to speak at U.N. MONTHS Climate Change Conference By JIM REDDEN OR LESS The Tribune Mayor Charlie Hales plans to attend the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Con- ference set for Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris. According to Hales’ spokesperson Sara Hottman, the mayor has also been invited to speak at the conference. Hottman said the talk has not yet been written, but Hales will attend with Michael Armstrong, the planning and sustainability policy research and opera- tions manager for the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Part of the trip will be paid for by C40, a co- Homeless veteran Allen alition of cities committed to fighting climate sorts through his change. belongings at the Conference organizers hope to achieve a veterans’ shelter inside legally binding universal agreement on reduc- First Congregational ing greenhouse gas emissions. The confer- United Church of Christ. ence is scheduled to be held City and county offi cials under tighter security follow- fast-tracked the shelter. ing the Nov. 13 terrorist at- TRIBUNE PHOTO: JONATHAN HOUSE tacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people and left hun- dreds more wounded, some critically. The conference will begin a little more than two weeks af- ■ NO ROOM AT THE INN: MOST ter the City Council approved New church shelter proves HALES a resolution sponsored by Hales and Commissioner CHURCHES STILL SQUEAMISH Amanda Fritz to oppose infrastructure proj- change can happen quickly ects whose primary purpose is transporting or storing fossil fuels in Portland or adjacent ABOUT TAKING IN HOMELESS waterways. The resolution, which was ap- By PETER KORN proved on Nov. 12, puts Portland at the fore- The Tribune BY THE NUMBERS front of the emerging movement to reduce the ■ About 12 percent of the adult home- By PETER KORN sa would not agree. use of all fossil fuels, including natural gas, Three homeless veterans who less population are veterans. The Tribune The church, Aiosa says, which has been promoted as a cleaner alter- otherwise would have been on the ■ Homeless veterans are predominantly was not satisfi ed with hav- native to coal. street last Wednesday night slept male, with roughly 8 percent being It took the board of di- ing the veterans arrive ev- Hales has taken an increasingly aggressive female. The majority are single and suffer on mats in the chapel of First Con- from mental illness, alcohol and/or sub- rectors of First Congrega- ery evening and depart ev- approach to climate change issues during the gregational United Church of stance abuse, or co-occurring disorders. tional United Church of ery morning with TriMet past year. Among other things, he single- Christ. ■ Roughly 40 percent of all homeless Christ one week to say tickets supplied by the non- handedly prevented the council from consid- On Thursday night there were veterans are African American or ‘yes’ to Do Good Mult- profi t. They insisted that Do ering the permit application needed by the seven. By Monday a full house of 13 Hispanic, despite only accounting for nomah’s proposal for Good purchase a van to take Pembina Pipeline company to build a propane took shelter from the November 10.4 percent and 3.4 percent of the U.S. housing homeless veter- the homeless vets back export terminal at the Port of Portland. storms in the church, in by 8 p.m., veteran population, respectively. ans in their chapel. downtown each morning Hales’ work on the issue has been acknowl- out by 6 a.m. ■ Homeless veterans are younger on That is far from how most and bring them back each edged internationally by the Vatican, which The shelter, which opened Nov. 11, average than the total veteran population. Portland congregations have night. invited him and dozens of other mayors from is notable for a number of reasons. Approximately 9 percent are between the dealt with proposals for tak- “They wanted a guaran- around the world to a two-day climate change ages of 18 and 30, and 41 percent are While downtown and Old Town — between the ages of 31 and 50. ing in the homeless. And it tee that they would be out of conference convened by Pope Francis in July. especially the Park Blocks — are Source: National Coalition for Homeless still is. the neighborhood,” Aiosa The upcoming Paris conference will techni- epicenters for homeless people in Veterans Chris Aiosa, Do Good’s says. “They were nervous cally be the 21st annual session of the Confer- Portland, Portland’s historic down- founder, says that prior to about what their neighbors ence of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations town churches, many centered contacting First Congrega- would say.” Framework Convention on Climate Change around the Park Blocks, have been who served less than the minimum tional’s senior minister, Mi- Aiosa would love a van. and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Par- reluctant to take in those who sleep two years required for most govern- chael Ellick, he had in mind The fl edgling nonprofi t does ties to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Pro- on the street. In fact, First Congrega- ment services for veterans. Also, vet- a larger shelter for veterans. not have money to purchase tocol was ratified by 35 nations but not the tional is now the only downtown erans are allowed to bring their dogs The fi rst church he ap- one. But even if it did, there United States. President Bill Clinton signed church that opens its doors to the into the church shelter overnight. proached was on the city’s was something about the the Kyoto Protocol but did not submit it to the homeless overnight. But what might be most remark- east side, and it was on the east side church’s condition U.S. Senate for advice and consent. President The new shelter also is unique be- able is the story behind the shelter: cusp of agreeing to host the that didn’t feel right to Aiosa. George Bush subsequently rejected it. cause it is the fi rst of what its opera- how a handful of driven and commit- much larger shelter. But in “The idea of sneaking Hales is not running for reelection. His tors call a “low-barrier” veterans fa- ted individuals, working with a city the end, that church, which people in and out of a neigh- term ends in early January 2016. cility, available to men who did not See HOMELESS / Page 2 he will not name, insisted on borhood did not appeal to receive an honorable discharge or one condition to which Aio- me,” he says. [email protected] Silence, resilience belies horror of Paris attacks Tigard resident, across the French capital. crowd, according to CNN. “No one moved for about two The attacks, likely coordi- Portlander see minutes,” DeCosta said via nated by the Islamic State of Facebook message. “Silence. Iraq and Syria (known as ISIS), Parisians trying to get Cars stopped in the intersec- shocked the world and prompt- tion. No sound could be heard. ed an outpouring of grief and back to ‘normal’ life When it was over, everything support. Oregon Gov. Kate carried on as normal. I will Brown and Portland Mayor By KEVIN HARDEN never forget it.” Charlie Hales expressed sor- The Tribune A wave of coordinated at- row at the attacks in state- tacks in the northern neighbor- ments released Friday evening. It was Monday’s moment hoods of Paris shortly after 9 “I am sickened and pro- of silence that Tigard resi- p.m. (noon PST) Friday, Nov. foundly saddened by the vio- dent Nicole DeCosta will re- 13, hit crowds outside a soccer lence infl icted on the people of Dozens of member from her whirlwind stadium, restaurants and the Paris, France,” Brown said in a memorials were tour of Europe that landed Bataclan Theatre, where press release. “Those respon- Sunday in a badly shaken American band Eagles of sible must be brought to jus- scattered Paris. Death Metal was performing. tice, and we must stand togeth- around Paris Near the landmark Arc de Eighty-nine people were re- er as a nation and as members after the Nov. 13 Triomphe in the center of Place ported killed in the theater by of a global community united terrorist Charles de Gualle on the west- terrorists who fired AK-47s, against terrorism.” attacks. ern edge of the famous threw grenades and set off sui- COURTESY: Champs-Elysees, DeCosta cide bomb vests in the concert See PARIS / Page 3 NICOLE DECOSTA joined hundreds of tourists and Parisans who stood in stark si- “Pamplin Media Group’s pledge is to Portland Tribune OBT MOVING IN deliver balanced news that refl ects the lence at noon Monday, Nov. 16, RIGHT DIRECTION stories of our communities. Thank you to honor the 129 people killed in Inside for reading our newspapers.” the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks — SEE LIFE, PAGE B1 — DR. ROBERT B. PAMPLIN JR. OWNER & NEIGHBOR A2 NEWS The Portland Tribune Thursday, November 19, 2015 Homeless: $70,000 in public funds provided ■ From page 1 just beginning to recognize the magnitude and urgency of its housing shortfall, worked to- gether to take an idea and make it work. Fast. Do Good Multnomah, which is operating the shelter, incor- porated as a nonprofi t a little more than six months ago.