Advocate for the homeless charged with identity theft while working for Oregon city

An Oregon activist and former president of a homeless outreach organization has been accused of identity theft and misconduct.

Kevin Dahlgren, 53, is a vocal figure who frequently posted on X and YouTube about the homelessness crisis and served as a homeless service specialist for the city of Gresham, a suburb east of Portland.

Dahlgren is accused of stealing property and committing identity theft from July 2020 to July 2022 while working for the city, prosecutors announced last month. He has pleaded not guilty.

He was indicted by a grand jury on Oct. 31 and charged with 19 counts: seven counts of first-degree theft of property valued at $1,000 or more, five counts of identity theft, two counts of aggravated identity theft and five counts of first-degree official misconduct, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced last month.

Dahlgren “did unlawfully, with intent to deceive and degrade, obtain, possess, transfer, create, utter and convert” the personal identification of four people,” the indictment stated.

The four alleged victims gave sworn testimonies before the grand jury. It’s not clear how he may have known the victims or gotten their personal information.

Gresham city spokesperson Sarah Cagann said that city staff discovered “suspicious activity” by an employee in March. Dahlgren was placed on administrative leave, and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office was notified by Gresham police of the activity.

Kevin Dahlgren visits an encampment to speak with residents about moving to a homeless shelter on March 12, 2022 in Seattle.John Moore / Getty Images

Dahlgren resigned a short time later on March 30, the city and sheriff’s office said.

“Public service is at the heart of this organization, and we want to assure our community that anyone whose actions could cause harm to Gresham will be held accountable,” Cagann said.

Dahlgren was arrested Oct. 31 and released on his own recognizance the following day. A plea of not guilty was entered for all the charges on Nov. 1, online court records show.

His attorney could not be reached, and Dahlgren declined to comment Wednesday.

An investigation into Dahlgren’s misconduct is ongoing. In announcing the indictment, the district attorney’s office said “additional victims have been identified but not located.”

The charges come as a shock to some in the advocacy community.

Dahlgren described himself as “disrupter of the Homeless Industrial Complex” and a “Homelessness Consultant” on X, where he frequently posted videos and interviews with people experiencing homelessness.

Dahlgren was also the president of We Heart Seattle, a nonprofit that cleans up homeless encampments in Washington state, for about a year and formally resigned from the board in early 2023, Andrea Suarez, We Heart Seattle’s founder and executive director, said.

Suarez said the organization learned about Dahlgren’s charges by news reports, saying, “we are heartbroken to hear about the possible violations of individuals’ rights and hope that these matters will be resolved equitably for all involved.”

“We have no direct knowledge of the facts surrounding the charges against Kevin Dahlgren in Oregon, and we are confident that the Oregon judicial system will resolve these matters equitably and fairly,” Suarez said. “These allegations were previously unknown to the We Heart Seattle Board. “

Marlene Lenthang

Breaking News Reporter