FAQs
Ordinance #896 regulates camping in unincorporated Washington County on public property including natural areas and parks, tax foreclosed properties, lands purchased for public projects, and the public right-of-way.
Private property owned by individuals or businesses, including HOA owned parks, will continue to report camping activity to law enforcement to trespass individuals as needed.
City jurisdictions implement their own Public Camping ordinances. For individual city approaches, see links below:
With the increased availability of housing resources including emergency shelter, we have already seen the impact on unsheltered homelessness in Washington County. In 2021, Washington County began addressing three active encampments county-wide, all of which have since been permanently closed.
Ordinance #896 gives law enforcement and housing partners clarity on next steps for supporting unsheltered individuals transition into shelter and housing.
Washington County will clean abandoned sites as needed and may store belongings collected on public property.
As we learned through the temporary Encampment Management Program (EMP), an unmanaged encampment is not sustainable or effective to connect individuals with housing. In order to protect the best interests of surrounding neighbors and people experiencing homelessness, Washington County has instead prioritized identifying additional emergency shelter.
Through managed shelter programs, safety is ensured through 24/7 staffing and guests are intentionally connected to needed services. Currently, Washington County offers 400+ shelter beds/rooms county-wide and we are actively exploring and planning for additional shelter capacity. This approach makes unsheltered homelessness a low point in time for individuals experiencing homelessness, and not a long-term reality.
Washington County currently offers 400+ beds/rooms of shelter with a variety of options including congregate (shared space) shelter, non-congregate (separate rooms) shelter, pod style shelter, and shelter for specific populations such as youth, families, or veterans.
Our shelter capacity fluctuates depending on many factors such as weather and outside temperatures, seasonal capacity, and the need for specific types of shelter. Our team is constantly evaluating the needs of our shelter program and exploring additional locations to continue to meet that need. We do offer emergency beds or "e-beds" specifically for law enforcement and first responders to have alternative options to immediately offer people experiencing homelessness during their patrols or when responding to calls.
We also know that shelter is just one component of addressing homelessness. While shelter is an invaluable steppingstone for people experiencing homelessness, our end goal is to help people transition to long-term, affordable housing.
Washington County contracts with experienced shelter operators to meet needs of our shelter guests. Shelter staff are trained in monitoring safety, recognizing signs & symptoms that indicate behavioral health needs, and deescalating crisis situations. We are also planning for two transitional housing facilities, one located in the Cedar Mills area for participants who opt in and are referred to a recovery-focused program, and one located in Hillsboro for participants in need of stabilization focused transitional housing for behavioral health needs.
We also recognize our behavioral health services are challenged across the state with needs that outpace available resources. We partner closely with the Washington County Health & Services department, the Hawthorn Walk-In Center, and the Center for Addictions Triage & Treatment to align systems of care. We recognize that just addressing housing instability can have a profound impact on the behavioral health for the program participants we serve.