Multnomah County is converting the Mt. Scott Community Center into a 60-bed temporary homeless shelter.

Officials said during a Multnomah County board meeting on Tuesday that the Portland Parks and Recreation site would be the fourth shelter that will take in residents from existing shelters and possibly other places to allow homeless people to socially distance.

Marc Jolin, head of the city-county Joint Office of Homeless Services, said that this fourth shelter might also help Right 2 Dream Too, which allows people to sleep in platform tents, distance its guests who would normally be grouped together to fit as many people as possible.

“Safe social distancing for people in our shelters is a top priority,” said Sonia Schmanski, deputy chief of staff to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. “With the opening of the Mt. Scott Community Center, we are delivering on our promise to spread out hundreds of beds across our shelter system.”

The city and Joint Office are also looking at opening outdoor spaces that could serve as organized camps.

Wheeler has long resisted the idea of designated camping areas for homeless people who don’t have access to shelters. But advocates are increasingly calling for it as a way to protect homeless people and enforce social distancing for people living outdoors.

Officials did not go into detail about the plan at the meeting and a Joint Office spokesman said he did not have the details about where it would be or how it would work.

People who lack permanent housing are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 because many have respiratory infections and weakened immune systems from harsh living conditions. They also have few resources to stay hygienic enough to prevent illness, and they have no place to go to recover.

With the Mt. Scott Community Center, the Joint Office will have opened 375 beds in a few weeks.

“My commitment to slowing the spread of COVID-19 is ongoing,” said Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury. “Opening three shelters in 10 days was a start, and opening a fourth, at Mt. Scott, is by no means the end of our work. As this crisis persists, I will continue to ensure we’re doing as much as we can to protect the most vulnerable people in our community.”

The shelters, plus outreach, supplies and other coronavirus-related expenses will cost the city and count more than $3.5 million a month. Some of that money will come from county contingency funds, according to a breakdown of costs.

That figure also includes projected shelter beds.

Officials also started to move people who are showing symptoms of sickness but haven’t tested positive for COVID-19 into the Jupiter Hotel, where all 81 beds will be used to isolate people until they are well enough to move back into a regular shelter or need hospitalization.

The Jupiter Hotel, as well as two other planned sites, will have medical staff on hand 24-7.

Multnomah County is now trying to hire temporary shelter workers. Anyone who is unemployed or could volunteer who has a background in social services, behavioral health or medical training is encouraged to apply.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com | 503-294-5923 | @MollyHarbarger

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