PORTLAND, Ore. — In May, local business Assembly Brewing shut down its location off Southeast Foster Road — the first of two locations to shutter this year. Since then, what was once a neighborhood brewery has become a homeless camp.

The spot sitting vacant for months became an invitation for people like Jen — homeless, unsheltered, and facing a change in the seasons.

"It's getting harder and harder ... it's now December, it's really cold," she said.

Jen said she moved onto the vacant lot about a month ago. She claims to be among the first few to occupy it.

"Well, it's got a cover, it's got a way to block from the wind and the rain," she said of the former Assembly Brewing location's virtues.

Rose, who lives down the street from the Southeast Portland location, has watched the camp

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