The Market Street and Wy’East shelters were on the chopping block as of last spring’s budget process, but the board at the time opted to fund them through March.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two sizable homeless shelters in Portland will close by the end of March, leaving the future uncertain for dozens of people who’ve been able to get off the streets and find a safe place to stay.

Both the Market Street and Wy’east shelters have been bankrolled by Multnomah County, but for reasons unrelated to “performance issues” needed to be phased out within the year after the budget process in the spring, officials said.

An amendment proposed by Commissioner Shannon Singleton last year opted to fund both shelters through March — after that, the funds will go into supportive housing. The board approved Singleton’s proposal unanimously.

Though the closures are something the county anticipated, those who stay at the Market Street shelter in Portland’s Central Eastside told KGW they’ll be losing more than just a bed — they’ll be losing a community.

That’s especially true as the cold sets in, and living on the streets becomes increasingly inhospitable.

“My name is Jesse, and I’ve been homeless for like five years now,” said one man who stays at Market Street. “This shelter has opened a door for me and has been a blessing for me, because I’ve got a place to sleep, because I’ve been sleeping in a wheelchair.”


Crystal, another guest of Market Street, said she lost her home in a fire five months ago.

“It has been absolutely the most important thing right now,” Crystal said. “My husband is in the hospital. If we didn’t have this place, we wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”

But that’s a reality which Crystal will have to face by the end of March, when the Market Street shelter closes.

“Shelter shutting down is not the answer right now,” she said.

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“This is a really big loss for the community,” added Alicia Hovanas, COO of the nonprofit Sunstone Way, which operates the 120-bed shelter. But, she acknowledged, “We’ve always known that we couldn’t stay in this building forever.”

The county’s lease on the building expires in March, and officials said they don’t have the option to extend it. So instead, the county will put that funding toward permanent supportive housing.

“The lack of financial resources at both the city and the county means that more people are going to go back on the streets, unfortunately,” said Hovanas.

“Going back out there, having nowhere to go … no telling what might happen,” said Jesse.

Staff at Market Street are now trying to get people like Jesse into other forms of shelter. Meanwhile, they city of Portland is fast-tracking more overnight emergency beds.

“I’d like to see them to put money into keeping this shelter open longer instead of new ones,” said Lea Morrisey, another guest of Market Street.

The county-backed Wy’east shelter off Southeast 122nd will also close at the end of March, and for similar reasons. It’s a 90-bed shelter catering to veterans.

County officials said they are working with both shelters as they prepare to shut down.

It’s unclear how many people will end up back on the streets due to these closures. But Sunstone Way has been tapped by the city of Portland to run Mayor Keith Wilson’s newest overnight shelter at a church in East Portland.

“We are really excited to open up another shelter for sure and get more people off the streets,” said Hovanas. “It is really ideal, though, to have a 24-hour shelter instead of just an overnight one.”

Market Street is a 24/7 shelter, meaning people have been able to stay and store their things all day long — helping to foster that feeling of community and build a sense of trust with the people staying there. That’s the case for Wy’east as well.

The city of Portland has not formally announced when the new East Portland shelter will open, but it’s expected to happen before March.