Dignity Village

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Dignity Village is a city-recognized encampment of homeless people in Portland, Oregon, United States.

In the days before Christmas of 2000, a group of homeless people in Portland succeeded in establishing a shanty town which garnered a great deal of both opposition and support, and quickly evolved from a group of self-described "outsiders" who practiced civil disobedience, to a self-regulating, city-recognized "campground" as defined by Portland city code.

Now featuring elected community officials and crude but functional cooking, social, electric, and sanitary facilities, Dignity Village got its start as a collection of tents and campers "squatting" illegally on unused public land near Downtown Portland. They had very little in the way of traditional political voice, but they did have a message to deliver regarding the treatment of homeless individuals in Portland; a message that ultimately resonated in the Portland community, area churches and the halls of city government.

www.dignityvillage.org/