Cook Plaza, The New Homeless Center in Rockwood

Adjecent to 70 Unit Family Housing

By Janet Unruh
Wilkes East Neighbor

I have a generally positive view of humanity, and I think that every person has something to offer. But we have a homeless problem in the U.S. and the Portland metro area specifically, that is getting worse as time goes by. Enter JOHS, Joint Office of Homeless Services[1].

Gresham's Homeless
Gresham doesn’t have a big homeless problem, according to JOHS. As of January 2022, there were 48 unsheltered individuals (according to the point-in-time street count). In January 2023, there were 33 unsheltered individuals, a decrease in the numbers[2]. This is a good trend, though I couldn’t find updated data as of January 2024.
The City of Gresham has a Homeless Services department whose employees go out and contact the homeless directly and offer immediate help. This includes rent assistance, which is funded by JOHS. As of May 2024, JOHS provided permanent housing to 84 households, over 170 people, including children in Gresham. For 2025, the funding for housing and staff have been doubled[3].

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Plans For Cook Plaza
Things may change because of the plans for Cook Plaza (a.k.a. East County Homelessness Resource Center), at 19421 SE Stark St, Gresham, OR 97233. The plans are full steam ahead for Cook Plaza to become a JOHS site intentionally located in Gresham (they said) to provide a day-use center, and 28 shelter pods (8’ x 8’ tiny houses) for temporary housing of up to 42 individuals. The budget is $8,360,000[4][5].
The plans state that the day-use center will provide case management, housing referral, food, beverages, snacks, a kitchen to prepare meals, showers, laundry service, storage lockers, and more, to be determined. Staffing ratios will be at least one staff person per 25 guests. The center’s staff will not administer sobriety tests, but will expect good behavior. All staff will be trained in de-escalation, and mental health “first aid[6].” Currently, no more details about services are available. For information about a well-managed day center and the services they offer, see Rose Haven in End Notes[7].

Engagement With The Community
Kris Freiermuth, WENA president and I attended the public meeting at Cook Plaza on September 23, 2024, and were greeted by several local residents who were protesting outside the building. They shouted at us and carried signs exclaiming their displeasure about the new homeless center. Inside, several residents raised their objections at the end of the presentations. The JOHS representatives assured them that they will be included in discussions – later. Residents said they had not been included in the decision to locate the center at Cook Plaza, and would have rejected the idea. JOHS representatives barreled ahead and promised that they would invite the residents to participate in the Good Neighbor Agreement process.
Through the Good Neighbor Agreement process, JOHS will work together with the service provider, the City of Gresham, and the local community to co-develop robust safety protocols, including 24-hour supervision and clear communication channels for neighbors to ensure that programming operates in harmony with the surrounding community. The safety of everyone in the community is of paramount importance to JOHS[8].
The Good Neighbor Agreement process will begin in early 2025[9]. See a template for a Good Neighbor Agreement[10]. JOHS also assured meeting attendees that they would be canvassing households and businesses within a radius of one-fourth mile of the site to reach those who may be impacted[11].
During the meeting, JOHS representatives deflected practical and security-related questions, saying that the service provider would be responsible for all those sorts of things.
The process for selecting the service provider has started and will be completed in the coming months. Once selected, the provider will be introduced to the community in a public community engagement event. The service provider will also be a partner in the Good Neighbor Agreement process beginning early next year[12].

The Problems
The day-use center seems more problematic than the pod village, because homeless people will come there during the day and leave when it closes. There aren’t any plans as to where they could go after that. “The services planned…are designed to support unhoused individuals…onsite, in the confines of the facility[13].” The service provider will be responsible for policing the perimeter and forbidding people to set up camp on the sidewalks or in the parking lot. If security issues become too great, JOHS will hire security guards[14].
Because Gresham itself doesn’t have a large homeless population, homeless people may come from some distance to the day center. They would probably want to stay nearby, instead of returning to wherever they came from. hey could begin pitching tents on the Gresham-Fairview Trail, which is 2.5 blocks away; or the power line strip, which is 4.5 blocks away. There are other potential camp sites nearby. This would create a new burden for Gresham Police and Homeless Services.
Across the street from Cook Plaza is the Kaiser Permanente medical center with parking lots and spacious lawns, which are open invitations to the homeless. The medical center will probably have to install fencing and possibly close the entrance (there’s another entrance on E. Burnside).

Homeless people with vehicles and service providers will park in a parking lot beside the building on the east side. The parking lot is the only access to several apartment buildings next door to the north, and cannot be walled off. Residents of the apartments are concerned about the increased traffic and difficulties getting in and out. They’re worried about undesirable people hanging out in the parking lot, especially after the day center closes, possibly harassing them and their children, and committing crimes. They also worry that the homeless could endanger their children on their way to or from the nearby Davis Elementary school. Unfortunately, this has already happened.
The local residents started a petition to argue against locating the center at Cook Plaza[15]. You can read an article about the Cook Plaza plan and the petition in the Gresham Outlook[16]. Please read the petition, as it explains the viewpoint of the residents and their frustration with JOHS.

Conclusions
I attended two meetings about this project, read documents and emails, and still feel that the assurances we’ve been given are devoid of practicality and our concerns have been dismissed. Essentially, I felt that JOHS was telling us, trust us. However, for all the reasons explained in this article, the location of a homeless center on the Cook Plaza property is a bad idea. It would be much better to locate a homeless center, especially a day center, in the former Multnomah County Sheriff’s building at NE Glisan and NE 122nd Avenue. Although that building was a homeless shelter previously, it was not well managed and consequently failed. If JOHS is confident that service providers can manage a day center, they should try it there – it’s right in the middle of an area where so many homeless people actually hang out. Gresham may have more homeless issues to deal with in the future, and we don’t need to have unnecessary problems unloaded on our community.

See End Notes below

END NOTES

1. JOHS, Joint Office of Homeless Services: https://johs.us/

2. Gresham’s homeless population: https://multco-web7-psh-files-usw2.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2022%20Point%20In%20Time%20Report%20-%20Full.pdf

3. Funding for permanent housing for Gresham’s homeless: https://katu.com/news/city-in-crisis/gresham-says-its-approach-to-solving-homelessness-is-working-planning-commission-livability-services-portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-multnomah-county-joint-office-of-homeless-services

4. Cook Plaza construction budget: https://multnomah.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=3&event_id=1614&meta_id=176155

5. East County Homelessness Resource Center (Cook Plaza) website: johs.us/echrc

6. Day center services and escalation management: Email: Follow Up to Questions submitted, East County Homelessness Resource Center (Cook Plaza), from Jeff Woodward.

7. The Rose Haven day center at 1740 NW Glisan Street, Portland, OR 97209 is an example of a successful day center. It is the only day shelter and community center specifically serving women, children, and gender-diverse people in Portland. “As night shelters are at capacity, our low-barrier drop-in model bridges the gaps in services. For many women and children, we are the first step in asking for help and starting to heal…Rose Haven has been an important resource for women and children experiencing trauma in Portland for more than 20 years.” https://rosehaven.org/.

Services include the following:

Resource Referral and Navigation
One-On-One Counseling
Support Groups
Financial Assistance
Nutritious Meals
On-site Clinic
Showers and Restrooms
Clothing and Outdoor Gear
Secure Mailboxes
Bus Tickets
Laundry
Computer Lab and Device Charging
Wellness Activities
Creative Classes
Community Celebrations
Baby And Kids Supplies

8. About the Good Neighbor Agreement process: Email: Follow Up to Questions submitted, East County Homelessness Resource Center (Cook Plaza), from Jeff Woodward.

9. The Good Neighbor Agreement process will begin in early 2025. https://johs.us/emergency-shelters/alternative-shelters/echrc/

10. See a template for a Good Neighbor Agreement: https://cohomeless.org/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2023/12/Good-Neighbor-Agreement-Template-HLC.pdf

11. JOHS to canvass the neighborhood: https://multnomah.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=3&event_id=1614&meta_id=176155

12. The process for selecting the service provider has started: Email: Follow Up to Questions submitted, East County Homelessness Resource Center (Cook Plaza), from Jeff Woodward

13. Services provided in the confines of the facility: Ibid.

14. If necessary, JOHS will hire security guards: https://johs.us/emergency-shelters/alternative-shelters/echrc/ (under the section titled, Will 24/7 security be provided?)

15. Petition against Cook Plaza: https://www.change.org/p/stop-and-relocate-the-houselessness-resource-center-development-in-rockwood?recruiter=1352052631&recruited_by_id=63ad34a0-7a2c-11ef-bf04-4539694092bc

16. Gresham Outlook article about Cook Plaza and the petition: https://www.theoutlookonline.com/news/petition-filed-to-keep-planned-rockwood-homeless-shelter-away-from-davis-elementary/article_8e75ec18-8076-11ef-b38a-c77fddf4fdca.html