KGW News Channel 8: DISTURBING PREDICTION, HOMELESS on the rise on streets in DOWNTOWN

KGW Channel 8 news crew show up at my boutique this morning to interview me on my Tweet to Mayor Sam Adams about all the homeless, mentally ill in downtown Portland. Downtown's homeless community will be on the rise as more cuts to services are coming, that is millions in budget cuts. Sad for those with no where to go. Sad for visitor's downtown. Sad for those businesses downtown. Sad for Portland's livability.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Mayor
• Sam
• Adams
• homeless
• Portland
• Oregon

[annebocci]

The story starts off:

KGW News Channel 8: A Disturbing Prediction from Mayor Adams: You can expect to see more mentally ill, homeless people in Downtown, Portland. As county funds dwindle the homeless population could dramatically increase which could keep people away from downtown and hurt local businesses. Call your legislators: What are you doing to Portland?

[nedvideo]

@Eslamizar a lot more money is spent helping people than on war

[GMOreform]

I could not believe my ears that after announcing mentally ill people were going to be dumped on the streets in winter, the end of the sentence was concern for downtown and businesses. My god. What we do to them is what we do to ourselves. Our society is defined by how we treat the least of our brothers and sisters- and by least, i mean least visible and apparently, least cared about except as their bodies on the sidewalks and wails from untreated mental illness disrupt shopping. Happy Holidays!

[Eslamizar]

It's funny how we have billions and trillions of dollars to spend on war but we can't even help our own people. They system is corrupted and for those who don't believe, this vid should be proof.

[implumkrazy]

99% mental problems

[theCosmicQueen]

@theCosmicQueen Everyone else is doing it, it's called DOUBLING UP. The Housing authority of Portland should allow people in HAP units to bring in their close families like everyone else does if they want to. These families are far more vulnerable, not being homeowners, so they get no say in whether or not their own sick or unemployed loved ones can come home for a couple years like others do. It's simply not allowed, with very few exceptions.

[theCosmicQueen]

@theCosmicQueen Of course that's not the only problem, but it is a big one and if the HAP would change this to allow local qualified (impoverished/ homeless) close relatives to stay with their parents etc, in HAP program (like section 8) units, it could seriously reduce the numbers of homeless and be a big relief for these families who aren't being allowed to house their own loved ones.

[theCosmicQueen]

this situation has been building since the early 1980s, when Reagan took office. It seems at some point Portland Housing Authority cut off certain options and changed policies to reflect the stringency of the times, then forgot to re-evaluate and re-adjust to accommodate the need. Currently, the Housing Authority will not allow a relative of a Housing recipient to stay or live with them, even if these relatives are their homeless, unemployed children, parents, grandparents, sister, brother.