I am a lifelong Portlander. My family moved to the Nason’s Corner neighborhood when I was in high school, and my sister attended both Hall and Breakwater schools. I am an avid runner and frequent Fore River and Capisic Pond, and also the woods behind Evergreen Cemetery and Hall School.

And I am writing to express my strong support for the new homeless services center on the Barron Center campus. For me, it all comes back to the quote, often attributed to Gandhi, that “a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.”

The vast majority of shelter guests are only there because something went wrong. Over three-quarters of guests stay at the shelter for fewer than 60 nights. These are people who are living on the edge, paycheck to paycheck, and for whom a broken furnace or eviction notice pushes them to the streets. There but for the grace of God go I.

Right now, these same guests must sleep on floor mats 6 inches apart from their neighbor. During the day they’re traversing the streets of a fractured and densely populated neighborhood while trying to get their lives in order.

The proposed shelter will centralize services and care to this vulnerable population while providing a secure location to launch these individuals back into society. Service providers who interact daily with this population overwhelmingly support the proposal.

But the neighborhood’s concerns must also be heard. There must be reassurance of a community policing center and a barrier between the shelter and residential abutters. The city should clarify why a single shelter is the right approach. And there must be a sober conversation about crime – and a strong case for why the crime in Bayside won’t come to Nason’s Corner.

This isn’t an easy one, but let’s assume best intentions and all work together.

Simon Thompson

Portland

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