Dignity Village

• Pudifoot
  February 11th, 2008 at 11:08 am

  I don’t know… I have seen some mighty organized shantytowns.

• biltmore
  February 11th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

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

• VonSkippy
  February 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

  Somehow Freeloading and Dignity don’t really fit together.

• Nate Deviate
  February 11th, 2008 at 3:42 pm

  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!

• Paul
  February 11th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

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

• MoniA
  February 11th, 2008 at 7:26 pm

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

• dunkelxblau
  February 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm

  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.

• Sage
  February 11th, 2008 at 7:40 pm

  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…

• rachell
  February 11th, 2008 at 9:14 pm

  i think it’s wonderful.

• Tom
  February 11th, 2008 at 10:28 pm

  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.

• Adam
  February 12th, 2008 at 12:40 am

  Don’t they have group homes in Portland?

• farty
  February 12th, 2008 at 1:54 am

  i feel dirty just looking at the pics

• Vako
  February 12th, 2008 at 2:21 am

  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.

• ted
  February 12th, 2008 at 2:27 am

  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.

• wntctrlmyslf
  February 12th, 2008 at 8:28 am

  does this bring john waters’ “desperate living” to anyone else’s mind?

• Colt Seaver
  February 12th, 2008 at 10:36 am

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

• twodollars
  February 12th, 2008 at 8:52 pm

  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.

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