HAND meeting Tues Nov 11 @ 7PM @ St Philip Neri @ 16th & Division
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Christopher Eykamp
Nov 10, 2025, 1:44:37 AM11/10/25
to HAND Announce
Hello,
This is your monthly announcement for the HAND board meeting on Tuesday Nov 11 at 7PM at St Philip Neri at 16th & Division. We meet in the building on the NW corner of the parking lot.
It's feeling very frenetic. The People's Depot, which we discussed at the last meeting, continues apace, and we'll be discussing what we want to see in a Good Neighbor Agreement, as well as deciding whether to send a letter asking our state senator/representative to help us slow things down. The Oregonian also reported that City Council is considering cutting the city's Impact Reduction Program fairly significantly. If they do, it will reduce the city's ability to attend to their commitments on the Good Neighbor Agreement with the Clinton Triangle shelter site, and will also make it harder for them to help us with any impacts from The People's Depot should they arise. Therefore, we'll be discussing a letter asking our D3 reps not to make those cuts, which could get voted on as early as Wednesday. The proposed text of the two letters is below.
Finally, we'll be hearing from our neighborhood's NET team -- these are the volunteers who will help us in the event of a major emergency such as an earthquake. Two NET members will be telling us a bit about what they do and how to get involved. It's a really interesting program many of us know nothing about.
Hope to see you on Tuesday,
Chris
Full agenda here:
https://handpdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HAND-Agenda-2025-11.pdf
=====
Dear Rob / Sen. Taylor,
We’re reaching out regarding the proposed relocation of the People's Depot to 1041 SE Brooklyn St, just off SE Powell.
We’ve been in active conversations with neighbors, businesses, and other stakeholders, including The Clinton Triangle TASS, and we’re deeply concerned about how quickly this process is unfolding, especially given how little concrete information is available at this time. SB 992, the legislation motivating the expansion and relocation of The People’s Depot, does not appear to strike a reasonable balance between the needs of communities hosting these alternative bottle drop sites and the interests of the Grocery Association. Approval criteria remain vague, OLCC’s discretion seems limited, and there’s no clear mechanism for addressing problems that may arise — as they have in other neighborhoods with centralized redemption centers.
It’s difficult for us to engage meaningfully with agencies like the OLCC when we don’t yet understand key factors, such as what support the city might provide or even what the approval criteria for the depot are. These will all take time to work out.
The timing is especially challenging. With the holidays approaching, our board will not meet again until January. That leaves us with very limited capacity to organize a formal response during what may be a critical decision-making window.
We’re asking for your help in slowing the process down, ideally by 60 to 90 days, so that we can better understand the implications, coordinate with city and state agencies, possibly find a better site, and ensure that the neighborhood’s concerns are heard and addressed. We’d also like your assistance in finding a different site -- not necessarily one outside of HAND, but one less likely to impact residences and neighborhood businesses.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your continued support of our community.
Sincerely,
The HAND Board
=====
Dear D3 Councilor,
The HAND Board urges you to oppose any reduction in funding for the city's Impact Reduction Program (IRP). Our residents and businesses endured years of unmanaged street camping and accumulating garbage, with little meaningful response from the city. The IRP was the first initiative that truly began to address these issues and make a significant improvement in our community. We do not want to return to the days of unregulated camping everywhere with few resources from the city to help manage it.
The city has clear rules about where camping is and is not allowed, and it is not unreasonable to enforce those, so long as it is done in a compassionate and humane manner, including offering shelter to all who need it. Bringing people into shelter makes it easier to offer them services and assistance to help resolve the issues that led them to be on the street.
Defunding the IRP would take us back to the days when neighborhoods like ours were overwhelmed and residents felt abandoned. The program has provided a balanced approach — one that respects the dignity of unhoused individuals while also protecting the health, safety, and livability of our community. We urge you to preserve full funding for the IRP so that this progress is not lost.
Thank you for your service and for considering our input.
Thank you,
The HAND Board
This is your monthly announcement for the HAND board meeting on Tuesday Nov 11 at 7PM at St Philip Neri at 16th & Division. We meet in the building on the NW corner of the parking lot.
It's feeling very frenetic. The People's Depot, which we discussed at the last meeting, continues apace, and we'll be discussing what we want to see in a Good Neighbor Agreement, as well as deciding whether to send a letter asking our state senator/representative to help us slow things down. The Oregonian also reported that City Council is considering cutting the city's Impact Reduction Program fairly significantly. If they do, it will reduce the city's ability to attend to their commitments on the Good Neighbor Agreement with the Clinton Triangle shelter site, and will also make it harder for them to help us with any impacts from The People's Depot should they arise. Therefore, we'll be discussing a letter asking our D3 reps not to make those cuts, which could get voted on as early as Wednesday. The proposed text of the two letters is below.
Finally, we'll be hearing from our neighborhood's NET team -- these are the volunteers who will help us in the event of a major emergency such as an earthquake. Two NET members will be telling us a bit about what they do and how to get involved. It's a really interesting program many of us know nothing about.
Hope to see you on Tuesday,
Chris
Full agenda here:
https://handpdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HAND-Agenda-2025-11.pdf
=====
Dear Rob / Sen. Taylor,
We’re reaching out regarding the proposed relocation of the People's Depot to 1041 SE Brooklyn St, just off SE Powell.
We’ve been in active conversations with neighbors, businesses, and other stakeholders, including The Clinton Triangle TASS, and we’re deeply concerned about how quickly this process is unfolding, especially given how little concrete information is available at this time. SB 992, the legislation motivating the expansion and relocation of The People’s Depot, does not appear to strike a reasonable balance between the needs of communities hosting these alternative bottle drop sites and the interests of the Grocery Association. Approval criteria remain vague, OLCC’s discretion seems limited, and there’s no clear mechanism for addressing problems that may arise — as they have in other neighborhoods with centralized redemption centers.
It’s difficult for us to engage meaningfully with agencies like the OLCC when we don’t yet understand key factors, such as what support the city might provide or even what the approval criteria for the depot are. These will all take time to work out.
The timing is especially challenging. With the holidays approaching, our board will not meet again until January. That leaves us with very limited capacity to organize a formal response during what may be a critical decision-making window.
We’re asking for your help in slowing the process down, ideally by 60 to 90 days, so that we can better understand the implications, coordinate with city and state agencies, possibly find a better site, and ensure that the neighborhood’s concerns are heard and addressed. We’d also like your assistance in finding a different site -- not necessarily one outside of HAND, but one less likely to impact residences and neighborhood businesses.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your continued support of our community.
Sincerely,
The HAND Board
=====
Dear D3 Councilor,
The HAND Board urges you to oppose any reduction in funding for the city's Impact Reduction Program (IRP). Our residents and businesses endured years of unmanaged street camping and accumulating garbage, with little meaningful response from the city. The IRP was the first initiative that truly began to address these issues and make a significant improvement in our community. We do not want to return to the days of unregulated camping everywhere with few resources from the city to help manage it.
The city has clear rules about where camping is and is not allowed, and it is not unreasonable to enforce those, so long as it is done in a compassionate and humane manner, including offering shelter to all who need it. Bringing people into shelter makes it easier to offer them services and assistance to help resolve the issues that led them to be on the street.
Defunding the IRP would take us back to the days when neighborhoods like ours were overwhelmed and residents felt abandoned. The program has provided a balanced approach — one that respects the dignity of unhoused individuals while also protecting the health, safety, and livability of our community. We urge you to preserve full funding for the IRP so that this progress is not lost.
Thank you for your service and for considering our input.
Thank you,
The HAND Board
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