Cities seek to control camping amid growing homeless crisis

By CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press/Report for America

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — City officials in Portland, Oregon, have voted to ban street camping. The aim is to move homeless people from about 700 encampments across the city to a few large, designated campsites where they can access services. Portland joins the growing number of progressive West Coast cities that have moved to ban camping and create sanctioned camping areas, after years of struggling to tackle homelessness.  In the past couple years, Republican-led states such as Texas and Missouri have passed similar laws that also divert money from affordable housing projects to short-term shelter solutions. Opponents say the restrictions effectively criminalize homelessness without addressing the root causes.