Homeless individuals file class action suit over city of Portland losing their possessions amid encampment razing (The Oregonian/OregonLive)

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    Homeless individuals file class action suit over city of Portland losing their possessions amid encampment razing – By Nicole Hayden (The Oregonian/OregonLive) / May 24 2021

    Four individuals experiencing homelessness filed a class-action lawsuit against the city of Portland Monday, alleging its contractors, including Rapid Response, have illegally discarded their personal items when razing encampments.

    When kicking people out of an encampment, workers are required under a court ruling to collect and store property that people can’t immediately carry away, providing individuals 30 day to collect their items.

    The lawsuit, first reported by OPB, said the city has repeatedly failed to do so. The plaintiffs said contractors don’t document or catalogue the items they confiscate, providing no reliable way to guarantee property can be claimed. Itemized receipts are not given to individuals as proof of their possessions. The individuals argued this has often led to lost items, causing people to have to buy new tents, clothes and other items needed to survive.

    “When a tent is all you own, (these actions) are aggravating and depressing,” Steven Black, one of the plaintiffs, told The Oregonian|OregonLive. “Even though a tent really isn’t a home, it is the best you have at the time because sleeping in a doorway really sucks.” Black said he has gone weeks without a tent following multiple encampment evictions.

    CONTINUE > https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2021/05/homeless-individuals-file-class-action-suit-over-city-of-portland-losing-their-possessions-amid-encampment-razing.html

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