Dignity Village

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Dignity Village in Portland, Oregon (Sunderland Yard location) in 2005. Photo by Miles Hochstein [1]

In the days before Christmas of 2000, a group of homeless people in Portland, Oregon succeeded in establishing a shanty town which garnered a great deal of both opposition and support, and quickly evolved from a group of self-described "outsiders" who practiced civil disobedience, to a self-regulating, city-recognized "campground" as defined by Portland city code.

Now featuring elected community officials and crude but functional cooking, social, electric, and sanitary facilities, Dignity Village got its start as a collection of tents and campers "squatting" illegally on unused public land near Downtown Portland. They had very little in the way of traditional political voice, but they did have a message to deliver about how they perceived the homeless in Portland are treated, and that message ultimately resonated in the Portland community and the halls of city government.

[edit] History

[edit] From confrontation to accommodation

Initially confronted by police for their unlicensed use of public land, the initial group of eight men and women had the benefit of a forceful voice in the person of homeless activist Jack Tafari, and the early support of a few local politicians and associated coverage in the local media. The Portland police department eventually realized that the group, then calling themselves Camp Dignity, was engaged in complicated Constitutional issues of redress of grievance, and deferred the political issue to the local political authority: The Portland City Council and Mayor.

Once established in the gray area of political speech, the fortunes of Dignity Village increased and picked up significant media coverage and popular support, but at the same time, they faced a compromise that the group found hard to swallow, having initially fought against.

[edit] Relocation

After well publicized convoys of homeless people pushing shopping carts migrated from one place to another to accommodate legal technicalities, the Portland City Council agreed on August 22, 2001 to let the group camp at a city lot called Sunderland Yard, some seven miles from downtown in the Sunderland neighborhood. While Jack Tafari and the group vehemently resisted the location on grounds that it was too far from downtown, they eventually accepted the compromise as an acknowledgement of their legitimacy as a community.

Repeated attempts to shut down the campsite have been rebuffed by the Portland City Council, which continues to enable the community's existence.

[edit] Organization

Dignity Village is incorporated in Oregon as a 501(c)(3) membership-based non-profit organization, and is governed by bylaws[2] and a board of directors with an elected chairman and other corporate officers.

Membership is by application review. Dignity Village states that membership is not limited "based on religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, age, lifestyle choice, previous (criminal) record or economic status."

Because past criminal convictions (including sex crimes) are not a negative criteria for membership, and because of dangers presented by continuing construction, children are not allowed to reside in the community.

Continued membership is dependant upon following the community's rules of behavior, contained in their membership agreement[3]:

• 1. No violence toward yourself or others.
• 2. No illegal substances or alcohol or paraphernalia on the premises or within a one-block radius.
• 3. No stealing.
• 4. Everyone contributes to the upkeep and welfare of the village and works to become a productive member of the community.
• 5. No disruptive behavior of any kind that disturbs the general peace and welfare of the village.

[edit] Housing

Designated by the Portland City Council as a campground, Dignity Village is exempt from many building codes which have traditionally been used to close down shantytowns. Shelters in the community might at any time consist of tents, hogans, teepees, light wooden shacks, or more substantial structures built using principles of eco-friendly green construction such as hay walls and recycled wood.

[edit] Community services

Among the services offered by Dignity Village for their residents are:

• Showers
• Sanitary facilities
• Private and communal food and flower gardens
• Communal cooking and refrigeration facilities
• Emergency transportation
• Access to education
• Access to counseling
• Distribution of donated food, personal items and construction material
• Internet access
• Weekly community meetings
• On-site medical care on a scheduled basis by volunteer doctors and nurses
• Access to prescription medication assistance
• Rudimentary first aid
• Access to telephone

[edit] Social & political

Dignity Village is aligned in general with the Green Movement although as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, it cannot officially endorse specific parties or candidates. The site has been visited on numerous occasions by politicians from various political parties, and it enjoys a good amount of political support among city politicians and political candidates.

Dignity Village is an intentional community which endorses or practices many socialist/communal principles.

Little information is currently available on police / fire / city service issues, although in 2004, the campsite was allowed to hook up to city sewers for the purpose of sanitary disposal of shower water. Toilet facilities are provided by portable toilets.

[edit] Sources

• Willamette Week Online
• Free Speech Radio News (Portland)
• Indymedia (indymedia.org)
• N4N (News4Neighbors)
• Oregonian
• YES! Magazine
• Dignity Village
• City of Portland, Oregon - City Council

[edit] External links

• Dignity Village - official website