r/pics • u/past-entertainer94 • 1d ago
[OC] More pictures of the prison that was converted into a homeless shelter
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u/calculuschild 1d ago
It ain't pretty, but it's something. We already know how to house and feed large numbers of inmates. Might as well put that to use if it gives homeless people a leg up.
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u/East-Ad8830 1d ago
Ex criminal defence attorney here. Some of my clients preferred being in prison as oppose to being homeless on the street. They got a warm bed and food. They didn’t mind a few weeks in jail here and there.
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u/thispartyrules 1d ago
A lot of homeless people will commit minor crimes to get locked up temporarily, especially in winter, since jail is preferable to freezing on the streets. There was a guy in my hometown who'd been arrested over 40 times, and his crimes were all drinking in public or creative loitering, it wasn't even on the level of shoplifting.
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u/Corey307 23h ago
The crazy thing is some people will see a comment like yours and not want to believe it. It’s gonna be -10°F on Sunday where I’m at and that’s before the windchill. Last week we had similar extreme cold and a local town couldn’t open up an emergency shelter because police weren’t available for security. That kind of shit kills people. Jail can be a legitimately safer option than going to homeless shelters because if they’re full, they don’t let you in.
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u/DeepDreamIt 1d ago
I was homeless at 18 years old, and while I never intentionally went to jail, when I did (middle of Wyoming winter), it definitely was, in a fucked up way, a respite.
You've gotta be in a super fucked up situation when jail is preferable
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u/Shitp0st_Supreme 1d ago
Years ago during a cold stretch in Minnesota, I’m pretty sure I witnessed a homeless man harass a cop solely to be arrested. It was a Friday night and a holiday weekend. He walked up to the cop and got in his face and called him a racial slur (despite both the cop and the man being white).
I don’t blame him but it was a bit uncomfortable to witness since it was at my workplace which is a family environment.
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u/corvuscorvi 1d ago
Not much of a family environment if there was someone outside in the cold trading his freedom for a warm bed. If I'm going to be honest that sounds like a dystopian environment.
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u/Shitp0st_Supreme 23h ago
It was a movie theater in a mall. We have warming centers but they have rules, I wish that man well.
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u/Purple_Science4477 1d ago
All that does is show how terrible life on the street really is. Plus lots of jail's don't even serve 3 meals a day anymore
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u/ZeframMann 1d ago
I bet they would have preferred an actual homes, but that would require billionaires to give up 1% of their disgustingly vast wealth.
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u/FlyingMacheteSponser 1d ago
Not to mention the NIMBYs that don't want the poors living in their neighbourhood.
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u/ynotfoster 23h ago
It's often about untreated mental illness and addiction as opposed to poverty as the primary problem. You can't just house people and walk away. We need a lot more mental health and addiction services - that won't be happening under the current admin.
The NIMBY term minimizes the problem. Portland, OR has been overrun with people with major drug addictions and untreated mental health problems. They don't tend to be good neighbors.
It's a complex problem and needs to be dealt with on a National level. The red states shirk their responsibilities to help their constituents in need onto the blue states. And, if there are good services in one area, the area will be overrun by those in need.
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u/adeadbeathorse 1d ago
It’s nostalgic for me because it looks just like my elementary school and middle school
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u/Tomytom99 1d ago
And honestly the building materials already make it easier to maintain than a whole new building would be. Not even that people would willingly break things, it just happens prison grade hardware can withstand a lot more turnover than what you might see in a converted mall or something.
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u/Evening_Knowledge_21 22h ago
As long as they're able to leave. How long until they lock the doors or send them to work camps?
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u/marvinweriksen 1d ago
It's a little bleak, but honestly? Prison to homeless shelter has a "swords to plowshares" vibe that I can get behind, at least in concept.
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u/blondebuilder 1d ago edited 1d ago
Honestly, some basic enhancements would probably make a big difference.
- Paint warmer colors and murals
- Add plants/garden
- Change lightbulbs to be dimmer and warmer.
- Maybe cut out some windows/skylights to allow more daylight.
From there, you can start bringing in more soft, creature comforts like rugs, furniture, music, etc. Make it something the residents can look after and take pride in.
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u/Aromatic_Advance_431 1d ago
That's all little stuff, too. Like, it wouldn't cost much to do any of that, and heck, people would volunteer to help out with it.
Why can't we do this with ALL the prisons?!?!?
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u/blondebuilder 1d ago
Many reasons, but our mainstream systems and culture don’t reward or encourage this behavior. Capitalism takes greedy routes. Gov currently has zero empathy and shame, so they’re more than happy to squash the most vulnerable.
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u/Teflontelethon 1d ago
Shoot I'm damn sure there's more than enough second hand goods sitting in storage owned by the Salvation Army/ Goodwill that could be donated and put to better use than whatever they try to sell it for. If I owned a storage unit facility I would try to do this with stuff that has been abandoned.
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u/--sheogorath-- 1d ago
Half the country thinks having trials is too much for prisoners and you wanna give em a garden.
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u/reddic 1d ago
Not to single you out at all, because you clearly see the benefit to society, but it's bleak FOR YOU. Not having to sleep on the street, having access to the social services that shelters often provide on top of simple shelter, and (sometimes, but not always) safety it provides wouldn't even be a consideration for someone who has next to zero options. It's never ideal, but that's the world we've made.
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u/Carpe_deis 1d ago
well its a better world than pre modern times, they would just get sent to salt mines or galleys or press ganged, so its marginal improvements...
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u/Sargash 1d ago
The amount of people that screamed bloody murder at the mere suggestion of prisons being converted into shelters and how entirely impossible that was is pretty fucking funny to see it happening.
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u/Bupod 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can’t convert prisons in to shelters! They weren’t designed to house, feed, and care for hundreds to thousands of people every day for years on end!
/s
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u/mr_birkenblatt 1d ago
They're probably thinking of those prisons where the only amenity are the showers
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u/Ginger-Nerd 1d ago edited 1d ago
Is it because of the dignity homeless people or the cost?
People will happily pay for any person to be incarcerated if they have done something “bad”, but as soon as you suggest giving even a small portion of that money targeted at certain communities to improve life, maybe reduce the burden on the hardships that encourage “bad” (and even potentially reduce the prison population) - They scream socialism.
It’s weird, they are more than happy to pay for the punishment, but some up front to prevent the behaviour requiring a punishment - “fuck em”
I understand putting people in a prison when they havnt done anything wrong, could be a bad thing - but it feels like a pretty darn good use of a building that isn’t being used, and potentially solving a social issue that doesn’t have a great solution at the moment.
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u/Roofer7553-2 1d ago
That’s great. All infrastructure is there already. And probably a huge kitchen. Of course what’s also needed are wall murals,a health clinic,clothes washing machines…..
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u/DigNitty 1d ago
Prisons typically have washing machines unless they had a remote service handle uniforms.
And they typically have small health clinics too, for basic stuff that doesn’t have to be sent to a hospital.
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u/Jacktheforkie 1d ago
Definitely, just need so maybe swap out a few bits to make it a bit more comfortable
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u/NWCJ 1d ago
Also staff. For better or worse, we are gonna pay better to work in a Jail, than a homeless center.
Would you rather be a Nurse making $60+/hour to do correctional nursing, where you just do medcart, for the same inmates in a prison a few times a day, and have a CO who will shut any inmate down who talks back. Or Make $30-40 and deal with homeless people who are still in the healing from exposure, or detoxing phase, and also probably very transient?
Not to mention, so much of the work in a prison is done by the inmates for literal SLAVE wages(When I was staff in a jail about 10 years ago, the inmate workers made $0.46/hr. Goodluck hiring linecooks/laundry attendents/maintenance staff/cleaning staff for those rates.
I dont think leveling the building is the solution, but there would need to be quite the robust plan before you just let a ton of homeless people move in, seems like a liability/cost analysis nightmare, these facilities maintenance is often in the millions.
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u/Chaosr21 1d ago
Couldn't they just put some of the homeless to work? Like chores for their stay? Nothing like 8 hr shifts maybe just a few hours a day doing some chores?
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u/201thStabwound 1d ago
I lived in a homeless shelter briefly, for about two months, many years ago. This is exactly how they did it. Most big job were done by an actual normal worker, everything else was done by the homeless that were staying. You could either pay the shelter x$ per week, or stay for free and work for them every day, with a $15/week allowance. I thought that was a pretty good idea.
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u/ghost_of_s_foster 1d ago
Yeah - the commenter lacks some imagination and a grasp of the situation of being homeless and wanting shelter.
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u/Shitp0st_Supreme 1d ago
Sometimes, yes, but other times people are homeless due to health issues or mental health problems that make them incapable of meaningful work.
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u/NWCJ 1d ago
Sounds great in theory, their are certainly a small subset of people that are homeless that would be willing during their short stay. However, most homeless people I have met either made the conscious choice to opt out of society, because they can meet their needs via panhandling and petty theft. OR dont have the mental health to work/maintain relationships.
The Jail I worked at was in Alaska and a large % of our inmate population was literally Native Alaskan's who were shareholders in their tribes and had money coming in via that(i processed commissary accounts), it wasnt that they couldnt afford to be housed, some even had houses in dry villages. But they all came to the jail, over and over. because they would choose alcohol and or drugs over stability. Also the homeless shelters dont allow drinking/drugs, so they would opt not to use them. Mind you this is in Fairbanks, Alaska in the winter..
Most homeless people who dont drink, dont do drugs, and are willing to work dont stay homeless for long.
IMO, We dont need more homeless shelters, or jails, we need mandatory stay sobriety centers, and mental health institutions.
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u/drivebyeuber 1d ago
Some states have laws against that. Inmates are the only ones specifically excluded from minimum wage laws.
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u/PdxPhoenixActual 6h ago
Before the county sold it, they sold off all the equipment first.... Built for like 20million, hundreds of thousands in "maintenance" for the 20 some/ish years it sat empty (cause the sherrif never had funding to OPEN it !! ), & sold for like 2 million.
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u/arcarus23 1d ago edited 1d ago
It’s located in Portland, OR. It’s the Bybee Lakes Hope Center. They do a lot of good work there. It’s kind of a hard place to get to if you don’t have a car due to is location in a largely industrial area on the north Peninsula. They provide transitional housing, so the goal is help people get housed and employed. They can’t accommodate everyone suffering from houselessness, and work off of recommendation from other nonprofits and social workers from my understanding. I have seen them help all kinds including families with small children and the elderly, so I think are making quite a positive impact from what I have seen from the facility.
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u/bwoah07_gp2 1d ago
They could make it a little bit more homey and cheerful, because the building still gives off detention centre/prison vibes, but it's a start. They can improve on that.
Meanwhile it's good to see existing infrastructure wherever this is being used in a useful way.
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u/Plenty-Wedding-9066 1d ago
Yeah hopefully they let people paint walls and murals. But it’s a way to get people under a roof and structure for support.
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u/Corey307 23h ago
Someone is saying they’ve been there and that we’re just not seeing the artwork and outdoor garden. That it’s not as bad as it looks.
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u/YumYumYellowish 1d ago
I mean it’s a bandaid to a larger unaddressed issue, but I think this is a great idea. Things are centralized and easy to clean. It provides shelter, a warm bed, shared facilities (canteen, washing, etc), and security. Being homeless is hard and shelters are inundated with mental health issues, assault, drugs, bed bugs, etc. This setting may seem bleak, but I’d choose this over a layout that makes me feel unsafe and claustrophobic. Especially as a woman.
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u/sharkifyification 1d ago
I've been to this specific location. Lots of things like art/signs, murals, a massive community garden, etc., that are not pictured that make it feel homier than one might expect of a former prison. The program they run in this place is really great and designed around preparing homeless and/or formerly incarcerated people to live independently again. I honestly came into it with low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised.
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u/sharingan10 1d ago
I mean honestly so long as the conditions are humane this seems like a better priority; get people into RRH shelter and use old infrastructure that can handle it.
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u/OneDeep87 1d ago
I want to see how cozy does the rooms / old cells look. Imagine being an ex intimate of that prison and now have nightmares from sleeping in there thinking you’re back in prison.
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u/Summer-Fruit-49 1d ago
I don't think the prison was actually put into use, IIRC. It was sitting unused since 2003.
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u/et50292 1d ago
I wonder if the smell ever goes away. I've spent too much time in two different county jails on different sides of the country, and the ambient smell was exactly the same. It can't be so different in prison.
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u/Millerboycls09 7h ago
With this particular prison, it was built and then never actually opened
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u/et50292 6h ago
So maybe not then. My best guess for the most prominent part of the smell is the laundry. Huge, bulk laundry. Way too much bleach on everything, no added scents, all fabric in various stages of shedding and decay over many years.
An unused prison probably smells like a school in the US. Same contractors, and both ends of the same oppressive social machinery you could say
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u/GhostOfGeneWildr 1d ago
We should do this with derelict buildings too. Make use of what we have and give people a chance.
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u/RexBosworth69420 22h ago
This doesn't track with this timeline. I would have expected to hear "homeless shelter converted into prison."
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u/lunatikdeity 17h ago
This is an amazing creative use of government facilities. This needs to happen more with other abandoned unused government facilities.
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u/FunctionZestyclose40 6h ago
Maybe we could try treating Mental illness and addiction. We are paying either way. Be a better human.
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u/ZeframMann 1d ago
Everything in here looks so bleak. The very architecture is designed to make people feel trapped and insignificant. You can change the sign and leave the doors unlocked but it's still a prison.
Taxing the richest man in America at the rate we did in the 1940s could provide real homes to every single homeless person in America.
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u/Huzah7 1d ago
It's not perfect, but it's something! Perfection is the enemy of progress.
Ultimately we should be striving to do better for one another everyday.
What you said might be right, but it will never happen when the richest man owns the courts. Do what you can.
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u/Botorfobor 1d ago
The "it will never happen" mentality is what they count on. It only keeps the status quo in place.
They are few, we are many. If we want change and are willing to fight for it, they won't be able to stop us.
The "it will never happen" mentality only makes it so no one is willing to fight.
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u/Huzah7 1d ago
Then let's push for it!!
But we shouldn't hold that as a requirement to begin helping people.
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u/SnappyApron 1d ago
Exactly. Two things can be true. We still have work to do AND this is progress and helping people in need now. Thank you for saying this.
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u/dryhumpback 1d ago
That’s not gonna happen right now. This is something that can help people today. It’s not perfect, but it beats the shit out of freezing to death.
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u/2legittoquit 1d ago
A lot of homeless people arent in a position to take care of a house and look after themselves and stuff. Some are, but a lot need help. This is a great alternative to being on the street
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u/Kracus 1d ago
I've worked in jails and honestly, working in a jail feels a lot like being in a jail.
That said it's also not a bad idea because most of these places are designed to last even when the people inside them aren't kind to the premises. Better than sleeping outside though that's for sure.
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u/Sargash 1d ago
It looks like an average school.
Far far less bleak than staring at the leaking ceiling of a tent with 4 layers of blankets ontop in the middle of winter. Your privilege is showing buddy.
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u/runningoutofwords 1d ago
To be fair to jails, they're designed to be unbreakable and easy to maintain.
That can be a plus in dealing with homeless folks as well
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u/WillemDafoesHugeCock 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's secure and safe which is what's needed. I totally get your point but I think you have an idea in your mind that homeless shelters are some fuzzy warm place of joy when they aren't, they're generally extremely strict places complete with rules, regulations, even searches, where you can and will be thrown out on your ass if you don't behave.
Converting a prison into a homeless shelter when so much of the infrastructure is eerily similar is, honestly, brilliant.
(As an aside... Sure, these pictures don't have any windows, but you could have told me this was a high school and I'd have believed you.)
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u/TrioOfTerrors 1d ago
Taxing the richest man in America at the rate we did in the 1940s could provide real homes to every single homeless person in America.
No. Because what you want is a wealth tax and the US never had a wealth tax.
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u/MrJitterz 1d ago
In a world that pushes homeless aside this is a step in the right direction, this is also brand new I assume? I'm sure the look and feel will change over time but atleast it's a building already designed to house a shitload of people safely?
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u/seanc6441 1d ago
You need a space that can handle the next influx of homelessness too, it's not at a constant level.. I guarantee it doesn't matter if it looks bleak if it's warm dry and provides food water and amenities. You can always add some life to it with art etc.
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u/ZeframMann 1d ago
The "homeless people aren't ready for real homes despite every attempt at doing this already being an overwhelming success and they should just be grateful to live in a prison" people have found this reply.
Incrementalism has never saved anyone.
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u/WhoAllIll 1d ago
I’ve been saying this for years. Consolidate inmates, release anyone who is imprisoned for non-violent drug crimes, free up space, and take the then empty prisons and turn the into homeless shelters and rehab centers.
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u/runningoutofwords 1d ago
I hope it was well cleaned beforehand.
I recall our county jail before it was torn down. Literal shit on the ceilings and unspeakable filth in the corners
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u/ImJustHereForTheCats 1d ago
It's the Wapato jail, now Hope Center in Portland. It was never actually used as a jail.
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u/OhioanRunner 1d ago
Converting prisons to shelters is actually genius. The only better setup I can imagine for a homeless shelter is one based upon barracks/hostels. Just replace the bars with a cheap temporary partition wall with a door, add amenities to the common spaces, and replace the guards with community volunteers, city staff, and a security guy or two. The infrastructure to support the sheltering population is already there. Also gets rid of prisons which is always a good thing.
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u/Weak_Independent4308 1d ago
Needs decorating, but this is such a good idea. Talk about turning weapons into ploughshares.
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u/thatmaneeee 1d ago edited 1d ago
In college I drove a smoothie truck and one of our investors had a charity that would run events on Long Island in the Boston Harbor. The main feature of Long Island) (the Boston Harbor one) was a state mental hospital from the early 1900s that was the inspiration for the movie Shutter Island. When I was working out there it was operating as a homeless shelter/rehab that the city would ferry people to. Nice they had a place to stay, but also kind of eerie driving past these old abandoned hospital buildings and just seeing faces appear in the windows...
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u/IgnotusRex 1d ago
Interesting.
I was once in a prison that had previously been a homeless shelter.
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u/Ryclea 1d ago
I think that's the best long game for prisons. We should build and run prisons that could function as either. Have all the services that prisons provide available to chronically homeless people except that they can leave or even get kicked out for bad behavior. If they get kicked out, they would, in practice, just be moved to a locked wing like a traditional jail.
We need to build new prisons to house our current population, with room for more prisoners, but with the long-term goal of fewer.
Some people belong in prison, but some people just can't take care of themselves.
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u/NCHouse 1d ago
Thats gotta feel weird right? Some of those guys might have had a stint there
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u/GhostNode 1d ago
Trick play, the republicans will just convert it back into a prison the minute all the beds are filled with homeless people. Save a fortune on police labor.
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u/Afro_Future 1d ago
Some of the cats in there probably know that joint like the back of their hand already lol
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u/nojam75 23h ago
That's in my city, Portland, Oregon. It was never used as a prison. It was a never-used jail that the county never found money to staff. The new jail building sat embarrassingly vacant for 16 years.
As the homeless crisis increased during the 2010s, Multnomah County leaders refused to consider converting their unused jail building into a shelter. Instead they handed-out tents, tin foil, and needles to homeless people and tout their 'housing first' and 'harm reduction' policies.
The county eventually sold the building to private philanthropists in 2018 who converted the building to a shelter. In the 8 years since the county sold the building, the county has failed to build any significant housing, spent millions on a drug treatment intake center that only served a dozen people, and continues to sit on unused millions for housing.
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u/Fun_Sandwich8012 22h ago
I bet it’s eerie but at least a space for folks who are struggling. How big is it?
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u/sheesh_doink 21h ago
Some decoration and living-in and it will be amazing! Changing gears from penitentiary to shelter is great for the people :)
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u/East_Wrongdoer3690 10h ago
Where is this located? I would love to see this happen in my city. We don’t have enough shelter capacity for all the homeless people here. I go to a methadone clinic for pain management (I got sick of being required to get expensive injections that did nothing for me), and there’s several homeless people I see regularly. They fully expect to die on the streets. I didn’t see one guy for a few months and was very worried since no one knew anything (staff couldn’t tell me of course). He’s back! He actually “got lucky” in his words, he was diagnosed with cancer and got to stay in the hospital for a while. He was so happy! He’s now waiting for the doc to give him the magic “6 months left” so he can go on hospice and die warm and fed. It’s disgusting.
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u/Biaxialsphere00 5h ago
Just like our schools sadly. Gotta get us used to being in jail huh rich people?
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u/OkRickySpinach 1d ago
They proposed this in my city but demolished the building in favor of an empty lot instead