Portland Population 645,291 (2019) In Portland and Multnomah County, people experiencing homelessness in 2019 was 4,015 But it's the politicians that must solve this problem? If just 1 out of 160 people "took in a homeless person" there wouldn't be a single one on the streets. Hell, if family just took care of family there would be extremely few.
@@MrFelixtheman Do you honestly believe that Joe Blow average citizen is drafting and enforcing laws that prevent shelter construction? Are average citizens creating needle exchange programs, that while solving one issue, exacerbates another? Are average citizens closing mental hospitals? Are average citizens responsible for shuttering local businesses, thus making it impossible for people to work, and in turn pay for their rent and mortgages? Seriously Felix, stop swilling the narrative, open your frigging eyes, and think for once before you start clacking away on your keyboard.
@@simdoughnut659 The center is open. Open and funded by the willing, not the politicians. This is how it is done. Average citizens do absolutely nothing besides whine to politicians about how homeless people affect them. These problems are completely unrelated to any of the crap you just said. See a mess? Clean it. See a starving child? Feed it. If just one in a hundred did this consistently there would be no problem. If we promoted a philosophy of responsibility rather than the "Governments job" Philosophy we would do it for ourselves and our own communities. Your philosophy is weak, pathetic, and will never ever work.
Unfortunately Portland controls the entire state, including voting by university students from Portland to Eugene who do not live in Oregon, but vote in our state. The rest of the state is not represented.
And new citizens ... Nothing but a future of economic devestation and despair with s city filled with sntifa, BLM and indoctrinated kids that hate america. I can understand that they all are disillusioned and hate the hopeless economic mess they are in, but they don't seem to have the common sense to understand the policies they support are the problem. Same issue in CA, New York, Chicago, Washington, ... I see a pattern.
Failed to mention drug use is pretty much legal there now. And shelters dont tolerate drug use so alot of homeless in Portland would rather get their next fix then live by rules.
Also they failed fo mention that police lost funding. Now there are not enough people available to respond to violent outbreaks or homeless people breaking in to places. this isn't just the fault of politicians and economy. For some reason everybody likes to avoid the fact that the people on the streets are sometimes experiencing consequences of their own actions that put them there, but we're all just supposed to feel bad for them and act like it's our job to help them. What if they don't receive the help? Lots of good people are trying to help, but you can lead a horse To water but you can't make a drink. We allow a lot of homeless people to be choosing beggars when it comes to assistance. Instead of taking what's being given to them and working with it.
You failed to mention that there are non anywhere near enough shelters making it extremely difficult to secure even one night in one and that doesn't even account for the fact that you have to be up and out of the shelter usually before 7am and that you likely can't bring your pet with you or stay with your significant other. Is drug use a big issue with the majority of homeless, yes but you know whats even bigger problem and the literal rout cause? The fact that they are fucking homeless. Thats the fucking issue at hand that there is not enough low income housing and too much new luxury housing which is in turn increasing existing rents and pricing people out. Give every single homeless person the option and ability to not be homeless after that then we can start to work on the other issues. It really sounds like you have never been or ever known anyone close to you to be homeless if you think the current problem is that homeless people being picky and cranky that they can't bring the drugs into the shelter with them. We don't have enough shelters for that to even become an issue.
@@l3rlc I've known a lot of homeless & you're deluded. Most of them WOULD rather be high than have shelter. They usually have no family or friends left due to ripping them off. They literally only care about getting fucked up.
I tried defending my home city saying it was media hype. I can no longer do this. Portland was always right behind Seattle in policy and it shows. An embarrassment to those who knew the real and good Portland we were once proud of.
@@The-Contractor Dude. Portland has always been liberal. So if it once was a great city, it was liberals who made it so. Typical conservative can only point fingers, judge, and yell liberal. Come up with a solution or shut up.
We don't talk about where the money went. Millions of dollars they have had only a few beds. They spent enough to build them all a new home, but only a few beds.
Greedy politicians and their vanity projects and special interest payoffs. If we knew how much money government wasted, I think we'd go out of our minds. Oregon is horrible.
The Homeless Industrial Complex is where it went. Into bank accounts of the politically connected. The cronies of the DemoRAT Party are getting rich off of taxpayers with zero progress to show. Same in Seattle. They've thrown a BILLION at the problem and it's only lead to Seattle looking, smelling and being like a third world sh*thole. Yet the voters there keep voting for the same corrupt politicians and party...then they take a look around and wonder "Wha' happened?" VOTING HAS CONSEQUENCES!
@@malekodesouza7255 right, like voting really helps, when they give you different pieces of shit to vote for. You have no choice but to vote for a piece of crap! The system has failed, it's time to start from scratch! Look at the two choices we had for presidency. Nobody wanted Biden for president, but they sure the hell didn't want Trump. Seems to me that everyone wanted Bernie Sanders as a candidate. Can imagine how bad Trump would have lost, if Bernie had ran for presidency!
You enable people to be lazy, you only invite more lazy people. Those who are mentally ill or addicts WITH NO FAMILY OR SUPPORT should receive help from the government. Everyone else should get a job! Homeless receive almost 1,000 per month in tax payer money. That’s enough to eat, get cleaned up, and find a job! Stop enabling this behavior!
@@locojoe749 we had to vote for him. Our only other real option was an actual Marxist and AntiFa sympathizer. Even the Portland FD backed him this last race and they can't stand the guy. Portland is completely fucked.
Wheeler talks about his tax increase, claiming that it will bring in an additional $100 million dollars to address the homeless crisis. What he fails to mention is that the vast majority of that will be eaten up by study groups, consultants, attorneys, and bureaucrats. The homeless will get the left-overs. What he also fails to address is how this money will be generated when businesses are leaving the city by the droves.
Lol this is ALWAYS how it's been. The suit of everyone stepping over the bodies on the sidewalk is lined with money. And they'll do whatever they can to ensure those bodies remain dependent. I mean, the system would collapse without the constant existential threat of homelessness manufacturing low wages and how would the working class even cope if they suddenly found themselves without people to feel superior to???
Why not provide housing for them? Y'all are clueless if you can't learn that small housing is cheaper than cops, cheaper than jails, and cheaper than just leaving them homeless. People need to learn that it is proven cheapest to house, counsel and reintegrate....any other choice, including leaving them on the streets, is more expensive and heartless. Portland... grow richer....have a heart!
In 1972 Portland was a cheap place to live... I moved here in 1982 and my first one-bedroom apartment was $180 a month. I imagine the rent on that place is about $1200 now. No wonder there are so many homeless....
@@bingosunnoon9341 The Willamette used to be very polluted too. Not that long ago, anytime there was a heavy rain, the sewer system would overflow and dump raw sewage right into the river
Any city in Texas, anywhere in Louisiana, Alabama. Any city in northern California or the high desert. I would take Portland 100x before any of those places
Wheeler was saying something like, "no, we don't have a problem in Portland. Stop lying about us!" Now that the problem is out of the control, "I'm open to hear anything to cure the problem." ;p
@Tom Sadly, it has become quite the eye soar. Areas are getting so much more expensive, which is only driving the homeless population into high gear--and watch how much of a shit-show it's going to be, with this eviction moratorium that just expired 21 hrs ago, that landlords are going to file eviction notices tomorrow morning in the courts, and the city council can never agree with what the mayor tries to do, or vice-versa, and everyone just finger-points.
At least in Third world countries, people are poor but they produce and they have skill. Homelessness and people on welfare literally do nothing but collect government checks. Cut the government programs and watch how much things will change
I'm really glad that KOIN 6 is now on youtube. I live near Portland but would never have seen this as I don't watch TV. Thanks for putting it on the internet!!
I hope it gets better for you. After 28 years in Lake Oswego we felt we had no choice but to leave Oregon. I will try and remember when it was beautiful. Good Luck friend.
@@scottm2553 We LOVED Lake Oswego when we found it 28 years ago, but they have overbuilt it due to Urban Boundary policies. Huge traffic issues, with no road management to resolve it. The suburbs seem "unaffected" but like a cancer the unrest and violence will spread. Downtown Portland is gone and it was absolutely beautiful. Tent cities, garbage and graffiti all along I-5 and Salem is a garbage heap. Thanks to the disbanding of the police in Portland crime, gun violence and the murder rate has gone through the roof (some report an increase as high as 1600%). Our daughter is a middle school/high school teacher. The agenda is appalling, from critical race theory to pushing political agenda and more. She felt she could no longer morally teach in Oregon and left the state. The state is represented by one political party with no room for any other opinion. Sky high property tax and taxes rising every day. In the end all this destruction will have to be paid for, they have already passed large tax increases. Portland is having an uncommonly dry Spring, it's usually still raining. We wanted more sun. We do miss the beauty of the Oregon Coast (so make sure you check that out). I truly wish you happiness if you find that it is the place for you, but we could no longer abide it.
@@BabsLongfellow Oh wow, I had no idea. I live in a small town near Corvallis and haven't been in Portland for a while. I don't know that much about the situation but it sounds like the mayor has been changing his views lately, so hopefully the situation improves....
@@scottm2553 It's difficult to put a Genie back in the bottle, but I also hope for the best. There are a lot of good people in Oregon who deserve better.
What does expensive mean. People are expensive. But they keep making more. I am 57 years old and should be eligible to be euthanized in 10 or 15 years. I am not suicidal and appreciate life. According to your thinking, those who have homes, especially more extravagant homes, are the least expensive. And if you tag on a higher end lifestyle, they are literally $0 cost. See what evolution and religious tendencies have done.
If Portland doesn't change their voting trend and continue to vote for the same Trash that is allowing this- things will never change nor get better. And to answer that question it would be then- Yes Portland is over. The change starts at the voting polls and vote these fairy tail yahoos out! Leadership keeps enabling and allowing this. There are just some people that in order to get them going, they have to be pushed and pushed off the streets and clean themselves up. Make things comfy for them and what is the motivation for them to work and do better?
It's not bad decisions. They stole the money. They bought super overpriced property in return for kickbacks. Or you know, they could actually let the police stop people from camping on public property. Or high pressure water hoses would make quick work of those homeless camps. I think they'd find another city to infest.
@@rdbeaz Sales tax is a regressive tax. For those who make more, living expenses/sales tax is negligible, while for average folks, it's a little more substantial part of income that reduces discretionary spending. No sales tax is better for business, but not good for those who make more than 100k (uncommon in Oregon). Not saying either is good or bad, just a matter of fact.
You can’t solve homelessness by treating the symptoms. You have to treat to root cause. Drug use, illiteracy and mental health problems. Until then, there will never be change.
True but Oregon is devoid of any substantial number of housing units for the poor or homeless. All housing has tripled in value and cost, at a minimum/ Some went up by about 10x. . that is a huge part of it. And super stupid dummies keep moving here, from other states, adding to the numbers of people who can't pay rent or find a job.
@@BudandBloomWithBlossom you can live with your parents, some friends, relatives, or partners...housing is plenty affordable if youre actually serious about your own life. high rents are also not an issue for the same reason and the next, split the cost or cut some spending elsewhere. finally, you can absolutely afford an apartment at even the federal minimum wage in ALL states that have this as their minimum wage, you just have to be more frugal.
@@nikoc8968 You are a 100% troll. Fake account. Not because your account is new, but because you're fake. For those people who thought you had a point: You cant force people to allow you to live with them, period.
I'm new to Portland, relocated Feb. '20, ended up homeless myself for 3 months and am in transitional housing right now and just got my voucher today. Shit is out of control.
people like you only make it worse. WHY the hell did you come here? to take those vouchers away from t he local born, who are still out there wandering the streets talking to themselves.
Very poor planning on your part. Why did you come here without doing any research on housing and jobs, no place to stay and no money to support yourself? GTFO, tax paying residents are tired of it. If you have no history here you should not be receiving any services.
@@meyou3479 Hmm. Interesting hypothesis. Also bullshit. I'm an American veteran of the armed services and have held a job for most of my 53 years, so technically I can live wherever I choose. And I'm working currently. In summation, fuck you.
The high class people who make up our state and city councils are so far removed from the issue that i do not see it getting solved until they are out. And politics being the dirty game it is leads me to believe that even if we got some new faces by the time they have the ability to enact change their integrity will be compromised.
Looking at recent images from Portland I'm not too sure you guys have an upper class. It's more like a bunch of filthy pigs trying to play king of the s**t hill.
Thank you to the positive people working hard to help without filling deep pockets as the city seems to have a real problem. Shame on the city council, county, metro state politics
You have no clue, dude. You probably think that headline unemployment is representative of our actual population. You're literally here blaming homeless people when you well know that 1% of the population own 80% of the wealth in america, thinking that everyone can just find a job. You couldn't be more dense of a tool.
@@Azihayya oh and by chance do you have any links to articles or studies that prove what you are stating. Sounds like you are drinking the liberal kool-aid on this topic.
@@joec7275 Do you have any idea what liberalism is or where the idea comes from? Because you sound like an idiotic establishment parrot. It is a well understood fact that headline unemployment only takes into consideration the number of people who are actively looking for employment, and that 80% of americans only own 20% of the nation's wealth. You're literally just a meekly privileged pawn feeding from the hand of an empire, and that's why you think everything is fair; wages have been deviating from productivity for forty years, as more industries have automated labor away--and you're not even intelligent enough to make the argument that "the demand for labor is infinite", and you could care less, because immigrants are doing all the hardest work of picking your crops and butchering your pigs and cows. Do you really think that most of these disheveled, manic people who are ending up unemployed and homeless are going to find jobs in the United States, where corporate power has consolidated so many markets, and has automated away most factory labor? Who's going to pay to hire these people? Who has the money to start a business, when half of the population doesn't own any wealth? The wealthy have accomplished their goal of obtaining all of the country's wealth--why should they pay anyone to make anything? Instead of blaming the wealthy elite that actually have power and have shaped the world into what it is, you'll go on exclaiming that the world would be a better place if everyone followed the rules, just like your tool ass.
Honestly, I'd apologize to you people for being so crude, but the way you think about and treat people is so abominable, that you should know about it. You have an incredibly chauvinist attitude for white people who have built their kingdom of sadom here over Multnomah territory.
It is factually, objectively untrue to say the restaurant industry was "hurt by the pandemic." Restaurants did not close their doors due to staff or customers being decimated by the alleged deadly plague. most if not all of the harm came from the irrational fear that was sown and the absolutist, extreme *political response* to the pandemic. They were whipped into panic and induced/coerced to close. Had businesses and patrons been left free to make their own health, business and consumer choices, we might still be in the best economy in over half a century.
Foreign developers from the middle east, russia, china, eastern europe, businessmen who are unscrupulous. And I dont mean immigrants I mean internationals, i dont think its people immigrating and doing this but transnational business people.
I stopped watching koin6 after they became one-sided with their news coverage of the riots. They refused to call them riots instead calling them protests or worse, mostly peaceful protests night after night while downtown businesses and pdx were lit on fire, vandalized, and smashed and trashed on a daily basis.
Alpha Project also requires you to be clean. Portland doesn’t have a homeless problem, it has a drug problem. If you don’t change your approach on drugs and addiction, you’ll never see the success of other cities.
that's only about 1/3 of the homeless. the rest are just old, disabled, or mentally ill, battered women, throwaway youth, etc. Or some are stupid people coming here and have no way of supporting themselves.
I was out there and nothing done to help me. I got day labor. I paid for truck stop shower. I lived in my vehicle. I had no help from the agencies. Agencies even told me to sell my vehicle. Finally I left that side of the Country because of no opportunities. I was laughed at. I had no addictions and wanted to go to college. No. I will not go back.
I was born and raised in milwaukie for 25 years of my life, I just recently moved with my family to Fort Worth Texas. I’m beyond happy I moved. The city is turning into a complete shit hole.
@@seribas No. It's time to make a change. We need a city government that truly represents the will of the people, we need officials willing to invest in both permanent affordable housing, and temorary transitional housing/ rehab facilities.
Yep, I left and don't look back except for these videos pop up in my feed. What is the most sad thing is when people say it's like this everywhere in America... Nope!
@@mesozoicperiodvlogs8323 Most of "the homeless " have given up their humanity and are living like animals. The only creatures I know that don't clean up after themselves are "babies or pet dogs ". Please pick your poison.
On the other hand, we still can't walk down some streets without going out in traffic because tents are allowed to block the sidewalks. Homeless or not, clean up your act to lessen the attitudes of many. Not all, but many are trashing PDX with an "in your face attitude". Spend some time hanging out at Pioneer Square and listen to what goes on.
I guess you aren't sure, but Portland ( and OR in general ) is still a very top destination for folks to move to, plus OR does have a liberal budget selected towards social programs such as these. Are you familiar with Virginia Garcia and Central City Concern in the Portland/Beaverton area? You notice the expansions they just completed at their facilities, to serve more people at once? Where do you think that homelessness tax money is going?
As a native Oregonian who spent the last 20 years in the burbs of Portland, it is very sad to see what is going on there. I like many left 3 years ago because of all the issues going on. Portland nationwide now has such a bad reputation. I hope someone can turn its ills around. It was once a beautiful city and can be again one day. Hopefully that starts soon.
For decades city has been getting more and more liberal. The middle class, educated liberals had a great time congregating together on the broad clean streets, drinking crafted beers and talking how they are going to usher a new era of love, enlightenment and care for all of the "oppressed". Problem was, there were not many of "the oppressed" in Portland, except few raging lesbians (aka feminists) and a garden variety of weirdos who were more or less harmless. Then the word got out and the heavy cases started showing up, including everyone's favorite diversity, the mental cases, etc, etc. Also the far left nut cases wearing Che Guevara shirts, who think micro-brew is just a small Molotov cocktail. Then a convicted criminal gets chocked to death on the east coast, and Portland erupts in violence. I'm personally watching how the old school starry-eyed liberals are leaving in droves for Texas ... where they will undoubtedly do the same given a decade or two.
@@bootieshaker2585 Well, enjoy the place you moved to for the time it lasts. You can't fix stupid. In a few years you will lament how heartbreaking the situation is there without ever figuring out that your voting habits and "liberal progressive woke" Democrat ideology created the dystopia while your conservative neighbors curse you for infecting their once nice city with Democrat rot. Why not save time and move to Detroit, Baltimore, St Louis, Newark, stay in Portland, go to the giant open toilet of San Francisco, Chicago, or any other already Democrat utopia? Why like parasites or locusts must Libtards flood into - well, they did it to Oregon 35 years ago and now look at it.... on to ID, TX, AZ, UT, MT, etc... never content to live in the Democrat 5hitholes they create, they move on to ruin some other place. SIGH. You can't fix stupid.
Start asking the homeless how many are from Oregon I think everyone will be surprised to find most of these people have migrated here because of the mellow climate and the attitude of just let them do what they want it's easy here legal drugs needle exchange ect. It's a life style for them not a homeless issue
I know someone who used to work with the homeless, and a big percentage were from other states. They hear how good the free services in Portland are and come....
@@KR-yz8db Total bullshhht. Free services? LOL you are dreaming. Portland is one of the worst places for any sort of services or benefits for the poorest and homeless. Housing authority waitlist is 10 years long for instance. Once you get in, you can't add a roommate or a family member either.They aren't giving things away, stop lying and attracting homeless people by your lies.
Portland struggle same as Seattle. Only struggle going on is pocketing all those fed $$$ faster than any can count it. Their motto is: homeless? Oh yea. We're working on it. Send us more money!
@@johnathanmozzochi3060 HELL NO....we are the big "R" and pay substancial amount of taxes that GETS used to support, feed, house those who feel entitleD...typical WELFARE mentality...theyre the ones supportive sleepy JOE...the idiot with D'mentia!
@@GUITARTIME2024 Bonkers only describes the OUTSIDE areas of Portland...downtown is total SCHITT-SHOW....even the homeless crazies moving away from those protesting idiots who've destroyed entire downtown area of what WAS ONCE a BEAUTFUL TOWN with park down the middle, with elk statues, NOW destroyed....WHY destroy a lifesize BRASS statue of an elk? We won't go anywhere NEAR downtown....most all the businesses are gone, entire shopping center, Pioneer Square Shopping mall, 2 levels....GONE.
Leaving Oregon this year. This place is a nightmare. I only came for my mom who moved here to use oregon euthanasia laws for her cancer. Got stuck in the 2008 housing crash. I hated living in this state.
Long shot of city in flames, anarchists throwing Molotov cocktails and looting, random screams in the background, endless tent cities, ordinary citizens getting dragged out of their vehicles. Close up of Portland Democrats striking heroic poses: "Well, our work is done here."
I grew up in portland lived there for over 50 years . High taxes , ridiculous housing prices , mismanaged public funds . Now when I return and I do , It has only got worse . Whoop Whoop
@@wordsunheard2383 The problem with your statement is it’s inaccurate and dismissive. If it’s so easy, buy a place, rent it out, and then repeat. But it’s not that easy. Good hearted fools want to save the world and they keep voting in more programs, more tax increases, more expensive services which will theoretically help someone else. But really there’s so much lost in bureaucracy that all it’s done is increase the cost of housing, the cost of groceries, the cost of healthcare, and brought in more people who hope to be helped by these social services. Now we have hundreds of people making a great salary “helping others”, and more people in need than ever. How about we roll all this back and people can keep their own money, compete for renters with fair prices, and people who want to “help” can volunteer or donate by their own accord. If your career is “helping” I have to ask how you get so wealthy helping others, and who’s actually paying for it.
This isn't Portland's tragedy.... This is a tragedy on a federal level.... Homeless move interstate and overwhelm generous local programs. Portland is a victim to this. The federal government needs to act on major changes that address homelessness and poverty in general.
It always amazes me that those who make more than most, cry the most about paying taxes. $125k is twice the median household income in the US. Your privilege is showing and it is disgusting.
@@Oregon-Aquascaping So If someone make $125K, and pays 40% of it in taxes, that leaves them with $75K. The average median household income in the US is approximately $68,703 and after the 40% tax, would leave $41k and change. I don't see the problem here as you 'd still end up with a lot more.
Leaders at all levels have got to stop treading on eggshells, scared of upsetting one niche group or another, and lead for the benefit of the law abiding tax payers who just want a clean and safe city. Seriously, grow a spine, make tough decisions, and run a clean and safe city!
@@keithalexander7953 Nope. My anger is at the leadership who are unable to create the services to care for those in need and create a safe city. I met with a director of a large homeless charity prepandemic so my company could make a donation. They shared figures that approx 20% of people on the streets are capable of looking after themselves independently in a home. Most need constant care facilities. Approximately another 20% refuse any help and want to live this way. I forget the rest of the figures. But the point is that landlord rents - which are the lowest of any major west coast city - are a fraction of the story.
@@petezee6645 If people live on 790 a month ( the top ssi amount for disability) but the rents are all raised over 850, you can't rent anywhere. You get a tent. Waitlist for Sec 8 housing is 10 years here. Rents have doubled and tripled, so those people lose their apartments, who already had them. Used to be 550, now it's 1100, they have to leave. Also, mentally ill people IMPROVE after living indoors even with minimal supervision. West coast has a huge problem , doesn't matter which city is higher rent, since ssi doesn't cover any of it. 750, 950, 1300, NONE of it is low enough for a disabled on ssi. They always want 3x your monthly income as deposit anyway. We have a severe shortage of low end housing and especially subsidized housing. but sure def go into the supervised kind of housing. even a little supervision is going to work for some. and get family involved. FAMILY CAN'T GET AHOLD OF LOVED ONES WHEN T HEY LIVE ON THE STREETS. but would love to help them, if they were findable ie living at an address or had a mailing address to send stuff.
@@johnnyarm3181 they've been relaxing drug laws for years more so than anywhere and more so than anywhere they have drug problems. It doesn't take a genius.
@@johnnyarm3181 It doesn't take a genius. Portland has the most relaxed drug laws of anywhere in the country and they have the worst drug problems of... anywhere in the country.
Makes me sad. I used to live in Portland and it was bad back in the early 2000s but now, it hurts my heart how bad it's gotten. They can't all live on the Burnside Bridge.
They don’t they are allowed to live anywhere they want with huge camps full of stolen good stolen cars lots of dirty used needles and are also allowed to have fires anytime they want which at times get out of control and spread. It’s lawless all over the city . Crime has increased so much . I’ve lived in Oregon most of my 43 yrs of life, was born here . And honestly it’s gotten so bad due to this and then also so many other issues such as nothing but scam jobs or dead end jobs and prices of everything insanely high ; I just want to move . Not to mention most people in Oregon are assholes . You can’t just kindly say hello to people because you are beneath them or they are off the meds and a hello just set them off. This whole state , not just Portland is done for
@@rebeccaschmidt2550 Wow. That's unbelievable. I lived in Eugene from 1989 to 2001. In particular, 13th avenue used to have much more foot traffic. I lived in the Marion Apartments and i walked to class everyday with fewer and fewer people around. This was around the mid- nineties. Downtown Eugene also used to have a lot of people and a thriving collection of shops. The city decided to crash down on drugs. They did it so hard that i even remember seeing surveillance 'men' in 13th avenue storefronts. The street kids who lived downtown were 'evicted' to other locations, the big fountain came down, and the once friendly downtown walkways were paved over with an ugly two- lane street. Eugene Saturday Market used to occupy the fountain area, but was now limited to the two- block zone. And those kids i mentioned... they were mostly high school- age kids, many of whom i knew. They were thrown into the 'solution' with 13th ave and the U of O campus. There wasn't much security on campus until about 1999. Suddenly there were Eugene Police mobile units around U of O. It's a method of pushing out from the inner radius of downtown, clearing out our sanitizing a zone. Makes small businesses suffer. Sorry, i digress. The Golden Age for Eugene was most of the nineties. I wasn't formally introduced to a Portland living experience until mid 2001. Then 9-11, and the entire country changed. Security ramped up everywhere. Homeless people pushed out from the sanitized central zone. Of course, Portland is fucking crazy, the kind that doesn't cease. I lived downtown Portland for a few years almost as novelty, and it couldn't have been a better place to influence my anxiety and depression; perfect. We have to be careful with cities. There are things out there that would destroy us; do we participate in a first move? Thanks for listening.
But what kinds of jobs? The job really does matter. There's a reason why people working in food/customer service are perpetually poor. You know making minimum wage (even 15 dollars an hour) is not going to buy you much these days. Can they afford to live in those luxury apartments that Portland has such an abundance of? Nope. Can they afford to even buy a car and make those payments on that kind of a salary? Well your untaxed income per month is about 2400. Take out the taxes and you're under 2000 already. You've got maybe 1800 dollars per month for a cheap studio apartment somewhere. How much is health insurance? Food? Car payments? (If you can't afford to live in the city, you will need a car to get to work. 200 for insurance (at best), 250-300 (+gas-100 dollars at best) for car payments (at best unless you find a junker, but then you'll have to constantly repair it), then maybe you can live on 150 per month for food if you're good at budgeting? You're looking at 700-800 dollars of extra expenses not including rent. So 1000 dollars for rent/mortgage. 1000 dollars is pretty cheap these days for rent. Just existing seems to be a difficult experience these days.
LOL hitler. In fact, many homeless have a job, but it's low paying and they can't pay the huge deposits for apartments, or there are none available, have bad references, etc. But you also can't make sick people work- most homeless have a large degree of illness of one kind or another.
Really sad. I lived there for several years. It used to be a great place to live. I never understood even then, in 2013 why there were so many homeless. I'm from Kentucky and we don't see that kind of thing here. So, one night I met this homeless dude, outside a bar on 2nd street and my girlfriend and I decided to help him out. We took him to ourr house, fed him, let him clean up, gave him some new clothes and blankets, I gave him some money.. etc. We all hung out and I talked to the guy for a long time. Turns out, he had family but, they had disowned him due to addiction. In the end, he had no intention of being anything but homeless. We took him back downtown next day and bid him farewell. I did see him from time to time after that, and nothing had changed. Good person. Simply down on his luck with nothing to look forward to. It's sad.
What is good about being disowned by your family for being a (useless) drug addict? Square being a good person with " he had no intention of being anything but homeless". A good person : supports and protects his wife children enriches his community leaves a mark on the world a better place. Being a completely selfish loser whose ONLY interest is acquiring drugs, kind of the opposite of "good person" my two cents
@ Katie Did, that doesn’t mean Kate Brown gives a crap about Portland. The local governments in the rest of Oregon won’t allow their areas to be taken over by homeless people and or criminals. Furthermore, there are things that Kate Brown could do to pressure Portland City Council to do better but that’ll hurt her agenda.
Which is a problem caused by poor voting, which is a problem caused by bigoted people. These people likely mean well, but it seems they go with what they’re told and not what they think.
@@msi8311 Yes, poor voting...OR...is the mail in voting checked properly. We've had mail in voting for over 10 years. I don't trust the system, much less the so called leaders.
Disgusting! I stopped visiting for vacation in the Beautiful City of Roses several years ago! So disturbing! Housing skyrocketed prices, over progressive nonsense, and okay drug abuse/abusers. It used to be fun to go to Saturday Market and Third Thursdays or First Fridays not so now. It stinks literally and it is so sad to see.
Get them into housing they will just crap in the hallways. It's not a housing problem, it's a mental health problem. My friend works with the county getting people into housing and after all of his efforts to find someone a place he tells me more often than not they are out on the street again smoking crack within two weeks. He's become pretty jaded
bullshht. that's only the druggies, not the mentally ill or others. shut up and stop disparaging them all, or you will make people give up on it with the wrong idea. THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED. well at least they will be sleeping at home not the sidewalk, if they a re not kicked out due to strict policy. They should have treatment and also lenient housing policy. so they are off the sidewalks, duhhhhh.
Inept politicians, promoted beyond they're abilities, passing laws that make no sense and help only a select few elites, has created the perfect environment for the ugliness of this once wonderful city. It's a microcosm of the larger tragedy of America's collapse, due to evil and greed glowing brighter than ever in this world. We havn't learned anything. God bless the good people out there
Small amount of drugs legal these people on the street are not all homeless they're drug addicts face it you let these people use on the street now you have a human litter box on your doorstep
