If you could only imagine what it must be like to have been permanently outside since March 17.
OPB
I’m in Portland for the week and having a hard time wrapping my head around the level of homelessness here. I’m familiar with the size of the population in New York City, and don’t think for a second that the problem here is necessarily worse than in New York. But it’s more visible. Having grown up in Baltimore, it’s very similar to the issue there – with a much smaller population, and fewer tourist attractions, the number of people living on the street becomes much more apparent.
I did some research, to try to understand what was going on, and it seems like the pandemic has definitely made this worse (unsurprisingly). With no additional space in shelters, and the majority of common spaces closed – libraries, cafes, etc… – there are fewer places to take shelter from the street. So more people are stuck outside.
It was easy to spend the first few days here in shock. Parts of Portland’s Chinatown, in particular, reminded me more of refugee camps than the downtown of a major US city. It’s clear, particularly after some research, that the mentality of the Portland government is to just let things be for the moment. No “street sweeps” or disruptions to the sidewalk camps that have popped up all over.
But I stumbled across the quote at the beginning of this post, and had to really rethink that level of shock. So I can’t walk comfortably through a couple blocks of downtown Portland… so what? I’m not even a resident here! I’ve spent all week in a nice AirBnB, which I can afford to rent on top of my normal apartment. The people I see on the street, on the other hand, have been on the streets for almost six months.
There are always two ways to look at things: through a human lens or a convenience lens.
Great article if you’re interested in learning more.