New ‘safe rest’ village opens in Aloha; Neighbors protest choice of site

ALOHA Ore. (KPTV) - A new Safe Rest Village is set to open on the property of the Aloha United Methodist Church on Monday and neighbors have mixed feelings.

FOX 12 spoke to some people off-camera who support the construction of 30 pallet shelters in their neighborhood. They said they’re doing their part in getting people off the streets and into a position where those experiencing homelessness feel safe and stable.

Others said they want to see how things are handled before they decide on whether or not they want the village in their neighborhood.

However, most neighbors who live near or border the safe rest village said they do not want it in their neighborhood and Washington County did not consult them before they decided to move forward.

“It’s a very family-oriented area to put a homeless camp, a couple of hundred feet, if that from residential homes, 80-year-olds, and children,” neighbor Dan Harrison said. “It’s sad.”

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Harrison and his neighbors, Jennifer and Dylan Windom, are some of those who oppose the new village. They all feel as though the county kept the project a secret and didn’t take into account the opinions of surrounding homeowners.

“We feel like this whole neighborhood has just been thrown to the wolves,” Dylan Windom said. “It was a unilateral decision without even considering us.”

The low-barrier shelter is funded through the Supportive Housing Service Measure. This was a tax for the metro area on those who make six figures or more to help fund services and shelters for the unhoused.

The chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, Kathryn Harrington, said Aloha United Methodist Church was the first one to approach the county about offering their space for the unhoused community.

“This is a stepping stone for them and we can also provide the services that they may need, whether it’s for mental health support or job training or just some stability,” Harrington said.

“More and more we saw the increase of unhoused in our neighborhood and we felt that we had the land to create a partnership with Washington County and Open Door Housing Works,” Pastor Keren Rodriguez said.

Surrounding neighbors said they’re all for helping those experiencing homelessness get back on their feet, but don’t see the safe rest village and its location in their neighborhood, as a solution.

“I don’t understand,” Harrison said. “How is this going to help them? This is enabling them to be homeless.”

They said their concerns over cleanliness, safety, and open drug use were largely ignored by the county in the beginning and said the county’s solution was providing neighbors with resources if problems arise.

“They’re supposed to come pick up needles out of our front yards within 24 hours,” Jennifer Windom said. “I don’t want needles in my front yard at all. This is a great neighborhood and now we are terrified to walk outside of our front door. They say our insurance will cover when our houses get broken into and cars get trashed. So they’re already expecting that to happen and yet do nothing to prevent it.”

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There is a “good neighbor agreement” stating a commitment to security patrols and trash cleanups. Also, the organization running the safe rest village, Open Door Housing Services, said they will keep people from wandering in the neighborhood.

But Windom said she’s worried it won’t be upheld.

“Our commissioner told us to have faith this will work and I’m sorry that doesn’t work for me,” Windom said.

The county said they did do the necessary outreach to the surrounding community with flyers, town halls, and door-to-door conversations.

The safe rest village is contracted to be open for two years but there is concern the county won’t honor the timeline. Harrington disagrees.

“I will still be chair,” Harrington said. “You will be able to come back to me and say ‘Hey wait a minute you said it’s two years, it’s now two years’ and see what’s happening. Okay?”

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