With the homelessness crisis cited among their top concerns, Oregon voters are taking note of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s declaration of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the state’s largest city.
Oregon has among the highest homeless populations per capita in the nation. According to DHM Research, nine out of 10 voters statewide identify homelessness as a “very big problem” as Election Day draws near.
In the Portland metropolitan area alone, an estimated 6,000 people are experiencing homelessness, according to Multnomah County’s 2022 Point-In-Time Count, an annual census of the unhoused.
“The magnitude and the depth of the homeless crisis in our city is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe,” Wheeler said in an Oct. 26 city council meeting.
Portland Commissioner Dan Ryan described homelessness as the city’s “No. 1 problem” and painted a bleak picture of its impact during the meeting.
“It is inhumane to watch the homeless suffer,” Ryan said. “It is also irresponsible to not address the safety concerns of neighbors and business owners who are deeply impacted by the consequences of untreated behavioral and mental health issues and drug addiction.”
He described disturbing trends in the city.
“Declining enrollment in Portland Public Schools means families are moving away,” Ryan said.
Population growth is flat.
“People are not choosing Portland as their home as often as they used to,” he said. “Portlanders report they don’t feel safe allowing their children to access our parks. Elders don’t feel safe strolling along the riverfront or simply walking to the local grocery store.
“Portland businesses with a long history in the city have closed because their employees don’t feel safe doing their jobs, walking to lunch, or commuting on public transportation.
“Our county, state, and region cannot move forward without addressing this issue.”
At the meeting, Wheeler and Ryan proposed five “resolutions” to try to reduce homelessness.
The first involves building 20,000 housing units by 2023. The city currently has a five-year waitlist for people to get into affordable housing.
A proposed workforce program aims to “find non-standard” paid work for unhoused people—work that better fits their needs so that they can sustain those jobs.
Their plan will also ban unsanctioned camping, but increase access to other camping options with mental health and sanitary services. Reports indicate that the first camp wouldn’t open for 18 months.
Another resolution entails working with the local district attorney to create a “diversion program” that gives people who are homeless and cited for low-level offenses “more opportunity to address their legal issues and get them resolved.”
Wheeler says the city will rework its budget to prioritize affordable housing and connect the homeless with mental health, sanitary, and substance abuse recovery services.
The cost to taxpayers wasn’t discussed.
The council will work to refine the proposals before voting on them on Nov. 3.
Wheeler acknowledged that previous government “solutions” have sometimes exacerbated the problem.
In September, a group of Portlanders filed suit against the city, claiming that tents were blocking the sidewalks in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Weeks later, the lawyers for the suit learned that Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services had distributed 6,550 tents and 27,000 tarps to the homeless in 2021.
The lawyers argued that those very same tents could be the ones blocking the sidewalks.
“The city has been trying to address ADA issues, and the recent lawsuit makes it clear that we have not done enough,” Wheeler said. “These are important concerns and ones that we need to address as a city.”
In May, Wheeler banned camping on the sides of “high-crash” roadways after learning that 19 of 27 pedestrians killed by cars in Portland in 2021 were homeless. People in at least 10 encampments were given 72 hours to leave.
“Nearly 800 unsanctioned encampments spread out over the 146 square miles of the City of Portland,” Wheeler said. “Something needs to change.”
But many Portlanders have lost faith in city leaders.
In a recent poll conducted by The Oregonian, nearly 75 percent of Portland voters said the city is “on the wrong track.”
And 81 percent believe that the 2020 George Floyd protests and more than 100 days of unchecked riots, even as Wheeler announced the defunding of police by $12 million, harmed the city.
Still, Wheeler called on other Oregon officials to join him and “declare a statewide emergency.”
He also implored the winner of the gubernatorial race between Democrat Tina Kotek, Republican Christine Drazan, and non-affiliated candidate Betsy Johnson to urge current Gov. Kate Brown to declare an emergency once the election is decided.
If Brown fails to act, each has vowed to immediately declare homelessness a statewide emergency upon taking office.
“I have been the loudest, clearest voice calling for the end of tent cities in Portland,” Johnson wrote.
“I am glad to see Mayor Wheeler taking action. It’s long overdue. The crisis of inhumane tent cities is the direct result of the failed policies and leadership of Tina Kotek and Kate Brown.”
Drazan spoke with Wheeler about his plan.
“Though many questions remain, I am encouraged to see the city taking action,” she told The Epoch Times.
“I look forward to working with Mayor Wheeler and local leaders as our state’s next governor to ensure homelessness is rare and temporary, reopen our sidewalks and public spaces, restore safety to our streets, and support Oregonians in need.”
Kotek didn’t respond to a request for comment.
