Portland will open three new shelters next month to meet the needs of a unique subset of the city’s homeless population: families.

The three shelters will accommodate around 80 people total and open in undisclosed locations in Portland’s District 1 and District 3 — which encompasses Southeast neighborhoods and those east of Interstate 205. The shelters will only be open overnight, meaning families will have to leave in the morning. The official operating hours have not yet been finalized.

The city has hired Portland nonprofit Agape Village to run the shelters. The nonprofit also oversees two of the city’s five new adult overnight shelters — one in Downtown Portland and another in Southeast.

Unlike the city’s new overnight shelters, where people sleep in rows of beds in an open room, the family shelters will offer private rooms and they won’t accept walk-in guests. According to Skyler Brocker-Knapp, who oversees the city’s shelter program, prospective guests will need to get a referral from city shelter staff.

Brocker-Knapp explained the city’s involvement in a Friday email to city councilors.

“The City of Portland has not previously delved into family sheltering,” she wrote. “However, we have seen a growing and critical need for emergency shelter sites that can accommodate minors along with their adult parent or guardian.”

While precise data on homeless youth in Oregon is hard to find, national rankings often place the state at the top in the country for its number of unsheltered children per capita. There are currently only two family homeless shelters in Portland, which have space for roughly 60 families total. These shelters are operated by nonprofits and receive funding from Multnomah County.

These three new family shelters will be the first overseen by the city. When open, they’ll inch Mayor Keith Wilson a step closer to his goal to open 1,500 new overnight-only shelter beds by Dec. 1. As of now, Wilson’s has opened roughly 630 beds.

Brocker-Knapp said the city will announce the location for some 400 more shelter beds later this week, which would bring the city’s overnight shelter capacity to 1,100.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/13/portland-opening-first-family-homeless-shelters-november/