Dignity Village

I don't know... I have seen some mighty organized shantytowns.

Crazy. I live in Portland, and I've never heard about this until now.

Somehow Freeloading and Dignity don't really fit together.

is it free to stay there? Is there a webcam set up so we can watch their every move? This looks like a good advertising and recruitment opportunity for walmart!

I think this is cool. I am happy for them.

This looks cool. Good for them. I'd love to visit there sometime.

I don't think calling it "freeloading" is fair. Although many people end up homeless for various reasons, some chose to be homeless in order to live in an alternative (albeit a bit extreme) lifestyle. I see this as an amazing opportunity to teach the world something good. This, however, is not the first time the homeless have come together in an organized way: I present the hobo Code of Conduct.

That looks so nice! I'm a little surprised, to be honest. I wonder where the internet comes from though? Prolly public library work, now that I think of it...

i think it's wonderful.

Are those solar panels on the buildings in the upper left?

I think this is a great idea. Every major city should do this, if only to cut down on the medical costs of homeless people.

Don't they have group homes in Portland?

i feel dirty just looking at the pics

Gosh. Nice idea and good for them, the are obviousely very functional homeless people. Alot of Homeless are not functional enough to organize and maintain like that. I bet the place smells like ass, though.

Basically, they're living in squalor.
If they're that good at organization, why can't they get a real place to live up and running?
60 people with 60 incomes would have a lot of buying power, if they put their minds to it.

does this bring john waters' "desperate living" to anyone else's mind?

Hah. I called the IRS. Tax time, pseudo-functioning citizens!

I live in Vancouver, WA across the river and i've walked through there before. Its amazing what a few people can do with whatever they can find. Before the city let them stay there, the people were forced out and the village was bulldozed several times. I was really glad when they allowed them to keep it.

Hey Colt Seaver,

Since the are a 501c3 non-profit, pay taxes, utilities and insurance, the IRS is already familiar with them. Thanks for paying attention.

If people here are genuinely curious, look into this place. Homelessness is not a disease, it is simply a matter of not having a home. Not every homeless person is a smelly drunk. And it's not just a matter of getting a job.

Some people in this society are unable to work, and the social safety net is full of holes. There needs to be more places that don't require residents to pay more than they can afford.

Having said that, people at Dignity Village work 10 hours a week for their stay there, some have outside jobs, and most only use it for a place to transition. They are able to get cleaned up, or get a job or whatever they weren't able to do sleeping in a shelter or on the sidewalk.

If you have issues with this camp, you haven't looked at the whole story. the only issue you need have is that more people don't donate to this place or create more of them.