In Southeast Portland, a woman has constructed what she calls the “giving fence” after a series of code violations and complaints from neighbors and the city. This unusual construction is a series of yellow bins stacked upon each other, filled with blankets, dry goods, clothes and hygiene products that are free for anyone who needs them. Courtney Vaughn, the news editor for the Portland Mercury, has been covering this story and joins us now to share more on the efforts the Sellwood woman is making.
Note: This transcript was computer generated and edited by a volunteer.
Dave Miller: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. We turn now to one Portlander’s efforts to provide food and personal items to unhoused people in the city. Moire Cubbin lives in the Woodstock neighborhood. She has created what she calls a giving fence made up of stacks of bright yellow plastic bins. But as the Portland Mercury recently reported, some neighbors have taken issue. Courtney Vaughn is the news editor of the Mercury and she joins us with the details. It’s good to have you on the show.
Courtney Vaughn: Hi, thanks so much for having me.
Miller: Thanks for being with us. Can you just first just describe this “giving fence” that’s featured in your story? What does it look like?
Vaughn: Sure. It’s definitely unusual for a fence. It’s basically just a row, or I should say a few rows of bright yellow plastic bins. They look very similar to the yellow bins that you would receive at a house to put your glass recycling in. They’re essentially just repurposed Amazon bins. And they’re maybe 6-7 ft in length, pretty short height wise. Just a few rows of these bins, all fastened together and staked into the ground securely that are like little organizers, if you will.
Miller: And what is organized? What’s the stuff in these bins?
Vaughn: There’s a variety of items, and it’s meant to provide essentials. In some of the bins you’ll see tarps or other rain gear for when it’s that kind of weather. Some of the bins have shoes in them or clothing items. Other bins you can see things like flashlights, gloves, hygiene products like tampons. A variety of items kind of make their way in there, and not all of them are provided by the property owner, a lot of folks have kind of been stocking the bins if they’re able to.
Miller: The way people might approach a little book box, taking a book or leaving a book?
Vaughn: Exactly.
Miller: How much do people seem to be taking and and using the stuff in these bins?
Vaughn: That’s a good question. On my personal visits to the site people will stop by pretty frequently. Anywhere from every 15 minutes to 30 minutes maybe, depending on the time of the day or the weather. The property owner, Moire Cubbin, says people are there so frequently that sometimes it’s hard to keep the bins stocked with supplies. So it’s definitely getting a lot of use. There’s a lot of foot traffic in that area, and the folks who are accessing the bins range in age, background, everything.
Miller: As I noted, this was put together by a woman named Moire Cubbin. What’s motivating her?
Vaughn: I think this is the type of person who saw need in her community and felt compelled to help in whatever way she could. It definitely started pretty small. She started with just a single bin that she set out in her yard with just recycled bottles and glass bottles of water. This was during a really hot summer and she was worried that folks didn’t have access to water. So she just set out a bin and she had bottles of water. That eventually grew into sort of a free pantry like we see around the city that had a few bins in it. And it has sort of grown in size and structure to now be more of a fence with multiple bins.
Miller: What are the city’s rules in terms of things like food pantries or larger ones like this fence, or community refrigerators, outdoor extension corded refrigerators?
Vaughn: I was talking to code enforcement about this, and it sounds like their rules are that free pantries are fine so long as there’s not a bunch of perishable food being left out or things that would attract rodents, things like that. The free fridge program is technically not allowed according to city code, you’re not allowed to be storing household appliances outside or plugging them in. We know that we have them, but technically they are not allowed by code. So it’s worth noting that this particular person had a free pantry, got some complaints, and she sort of tried to keep evolving the items and the way that she was putting it out to appease the city’s code system.
Miller: So having cubbies where you put stuff, that in and of itself does not go against city code. It’s just that you can’t put, say, perishable items. Putting a bunch of cans or tampons, that seems ok?
Vaughn: That’s my understanding. That’s how it was explained to me.
Miller: And yet as you noted, complaints have come into the city. What kinds of things have neighbors, or I guess anybody, complained about?
Vaughn: Initially there were complaints about spoiled food being left out. And we should note that Moire doesn’t actually put food out. Folks will put some food there if they want to donate to the fence. But she doesn’t typically stock it with perishable things or food. Initially, it did come from complaints of some spoiled food being left out, so there was a visit from code enforcement, they got some issues resolved, but as you probably noticed code enforcement noticed some other issues because they can do that. So it’s kind of become a little bit of a burden for her.
It did start initially with the complaints of food being left out, which she was able to rectify pretty easily. But a lot of the complaints have just still generated from all of the items being left in the fence.
Miller: Are any neighbors on board with this?
Vaughn: Yeah. There’s a mix of feelings about this. As I noted, she’s tried really hard to comply with the city’s requests. And there are some neighbors that definitely are not happy about it. They find it to be unsightly. Others blame it for a proliferation of food and garbage around the general neighborhood. But whether that’s from the fence, we’re not quite clear. But there are a lot of folks who are happy to see that she’s doing this and will drop off items if they can. She’s got local businesses nearby that try to help out when they can by donating either services or materials. I spoke to a few neighbors who felt like this really personified the community in a sense of community spirit and helping that made them feel welcome. And I’ve also spoken to other folks who live in the neighborhood who just say it doesn’t really hurt anybody and they’re happy to see that folks are helping those less fortunate.
So it’s definitely gotten some mixed reactions. It’s garnered code enforcement complaints, and it’s garnered some ill will from others about feeling like it invites littering throughout the neighborhood. But for the most part, she’s had positive feedback.
Miller: Has she shown any sign of backing down in the face of the frustration on some part of her neighbors?
Vaughn: No. It’s interesting, she’s faced a slew of code enforcement complaints and tried really hard to comply with them and rearrange things as needed. So someone’s clearly not happy about it, and they’re using the code enforcement system to try to get it removed. But Moire Cubbins, this comes from her heart. It comes from a place of deep empathy from her perspective. And she has no intention of backing down. She has told code enforcement officers written correspondence the fence isn’t going anywhere. She got sort of a green light from somebody at the city that it complies with fencing rules, and she intends to keep it up as long as she can. She feels like it’s an important service, a lot of people are using it, and especially as the city moves into more strict rules and restrictions on resting and homelessness, she feels like it’s more important than ever to be able to provide little essential services and access to goods like water and hygiene items.
Miller: Courtney Vaughn, thanks very much.
Vaughn: Thanks so much, Dave.
Miller: Courtney Vaughn is the news editor for the Portland Mercury.
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