County Clamps Down on the Homeless Along Sandy River

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Joanna Evoniuk, GoLocalPDX Contributor and Taya Alami, GoLocalPDX Reporter

Photo Credit: waferboard via

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office is stepping efforts to clear an area around the Sandy River Delta that has become an favorite camping spot for the region's homeless population.

Carolyn Grenere, who works at a hotel across from the park, said the homeless encampments bring huge headaches for Troutdale residents, including thefts and attacks by homeless people’s stray dogs.

“It’s kind of out of control, in my opinion” Grenere said. “I’ve had my car broken into twice, and there have been there multiple times when I was floating the river [and] someone has come running up saying a friend’s car was broken into.”

There are now approximately 20 transients residing in the area according to counts by JOIN, a Portland nonprofit organization that works to support and house the homeless. However numbers are significantly higher during the spring and summer months, according to Troutdale residents and JOIN staff.

Dan Hinatsu, the Columbia River Gorge Scenic area recreational program manager, said homeless people camp illegally and often create problems for guests in the area. Visitors are often weary to enter areas of the park were homeless people are known to camp out, Hinatsu said.

Litter is another issue caused by homeless camps. Trash piles, human waste, animal carcasses, abandoned homestead sites, and discarded supplies are affecting the land’s environment, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sandy River Photo credit: Portland Corps on Flickr

Many homeless people have chosen this particular park outside of Troutdale because of its isolation and distance from the city. "Transients like to stay where things are familiar once they set up," JOIN Executive Director Mark Jolin said.

JOIN has been working on increasing outreach efforts outside the Portland city limits, where homeless people are further away from shelters and community assistance.

Jolin said they have worked with law enforcement in the past, but the new program will help with consistency and add additional resources to benefit the homeless.

“From my perspective, we don’t want to see people treated as criminals just because they are sleeping outside,” Jolin said.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has received $60,000 to reach out to a park referred to by locals as a “tent city” because so many homeless live there.

The funds for the project, part of the county’s General Fund Contingency, will support a joint effort by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Department of Human Services (DHS) to assist the homeless population and remove trash and abandoned homeless homesteads in the Sandy River Delta.

The area, also known as Thousand Acres has a multi-use recreation area used for camping, hiking, biking, horseback riding, fishing and hunting located and is located on the East side of the Sandy River past Troutdale on Interstate 84.

Captain Monte Reiser of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s office said law enforcement plans to increasing patrols of the area.

Genere said she thinks getting the county involved will be a big help.

“They need it,” Grenere said. “It’s a huge thing to people who live in Troutdale and have to deal with it.”

Mary Li, manager for the Multnomah County Department of Human Services, said the outreach was a step forward for Multnomah County.

“The [county] board recognized the challenge of homelessness is everywhere, not just in downtown Portland and recognized that increased resources means increased effort and that means increased success,” Li said. “A collaborative relationship is much more successful in the bottom line of getting people into housing and reducing negative interactions.”