Mayor Keith Wilson pitches $28.1 million plan to scale emergency nighttime shelters; seeks county partnership

Mayor Keith Wilson told the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners that Portland faces an “overwhelming crisis” of unsheltered homelessness and presented a plan to rapidly expand emergency nighttime shelter capacity as a crisis response.

Wilson said the city proposes a surge model that emphasizes low‑barrier, cost‑efficient nighttime shelters that can “flex up and flex down” with demand, supplemented by day centers, storage and housing navigation. He said the plan is intended to be additive to existing shelter types and not a replacement for 24‑hour shelters, supportive housing or treatment beds.

Key elements Wilson and city staff described: - Target shelter capacity and timing: an initial goal of 3,000 beds across partner efforts, with 1,500 additional nighttime beds the city would flex up to by Dec. 1 and an interim target of about 450 beds by June (the county and city reported roughly 250 beds already stood up at the time of the briefing and 200 emergency beds established in January). - Cost estimates: the city showed an example budget of $28.1 million for the coming fiscal year composed of roughly $15…