Hearing this makes me sick. Our city leaders are not effective and not here to make Portland better. How could they waste a billion tax money on the homelessness issues and still no good out comes? Shame on them! Gosh they could’ve use some of this money to help a lot of working families and better our education. This is crazy, I hope the news continue to investigate more about this. Tax payers deserve to know the truth.
The homeless crisis in cities like Portland, Seattle and LA is a business. The plan has been going swimmingly, the people you think are failures are anything but, they've been getting rich. Think of it like the Military Industrial Complex in Afghanistan. We had Bin Laden pinned in the mountains 2 months after we got there, but we "accidentally" let him slip through the Army, Marines, CIA and God knows who else, and voilà, the war continues. For 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. Lots of people got disgustingly wealthy off a 20 year war. They took that template, shifted it over to the homeless problem and voilà, instead of elected Federal officials getting rich, now its state and local officials. The template works with anything. Create a crisis, respond to crisis, perpetuate crisis whilst telling the public everything that can be done is, and finally, collect oceanfront real estate. The pandemic used the template, the mandates and lockdowns would still be going on if it wasn't an election year.
and your point is?... WHAT WOULD YOU DO?... and before you say you'd just "fix it"... consider all the cities in the U.S. that have tried just about everything and have failed... then consider all the cities in THE WORLD who have tried to solve this problem, and HAVE FAILED... OK, now, let's here YOUR SOLUTION...
@@t.c.2776 Read my reply to Big Shep. The city and state governments haven't failed, they've succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, and the citizens just sit there and take it.
Thank you so much! As a Multnomah County resident I am so grateful for your reporting. This is the only way for us to be aware of the truth about what's happening God bless you sir!!
How could the 1% homeless tax have passed if there is absolutely no plan to handle it. Portland is the 2nd most taxed city in the country. And all the tax money is getting blown. We have terrible roads, 43rd for schools, terrible homeless problem. There is absolutely no accountability and transparency.
People should simply not be allowed to camp in public spaces. They should most certainly not be allowed to keep more stuff on the sidewalk that they can carry. How's that ADA lawsuit against Portland going anyway? Do people in wheelchairs really need to continue to go out in traffic?
Mayors, City Councils, Prosecutors, all elected positions, and most of them have ran on the pledge that they had a "Plan" to deal with this issue, among others. They also haven't been shy in cashing the paychecks the have been issued for their less than stelar job. Now we see that an increasing number of citizens both governmental and private, NGO or Charities, that are collecting taxpayer dollars for the expressed distribution of services to the homeless. This has become an industry pure and simple, and far too many are becoming dependent on those taxpayer dollars to support themselves.
Three pillars: prevention, shelter and housing. OK. What about the huge number of homeless that don't want to come off the streets and into housing? They want their "freedom" and don't want to be "controlled," as they say. Drugs and alcohol are the preferred way of life for those folks, and they have no intention of giving that up. What does the city of Portland do about them? I hate to be a gloom and doomer, but Portland, along with every major city on the West Coast, seems past the point of no return regarding the homeless crisis.
This was an excellent explanation of why so many people still live on the streets. Elected officials and staffers should be held accountable. A thorough audit should be done to account for each dollar spent. Millions of dollars have been wasted due to incompetence or complacency.
This problem became 10x worse after 110 passed. A repeal or major overhaul is due. Also how do you spend 700M + but the situation gets *worse?* Who’s going to audit where all the money went? Sounds like a job with the county is pretty lucrative…
We shouldn't have an " Office for homeless services" sounds like a tax grab... We do need outrage. We do need structure. Legalize all drugs. Create homeless camps, tie police officers hands, yet ask for more money to solve the problem?? How about we stop enabling these lost humans to keep using drugs!!! I mean seriously. Homeless is a new industry.
Homelessness is definitely big money, each individual homeless person cost about 160k to help them with their needs and resources the homeless don’t see that money it’s all these places “helping” them.
So glad I got out of that city and state. Never realized how bad it was until I moved to an area that doesn’t allow all the nonsense Portland does. I’ll never go back!
This right here is why they want to toll the bridges...so they can continue to do THIS. This right here is exactly what I mean when I say that these folks will take unlimited money and WASTE IT IN BUREAUCRACY. These folks spend all their time talking about how to go about things, "celebrating" their colleagues, and no doubt going to lots of "conferences" where they take a paid vacation while pretending to work. I wonder how many of these folks are paid in the six figure range, including benefits. My money says most of them. This whole thing is a racket. .
Just had a conversation with a former citizen of Portland at the gas station, she just had enough and moved. Heart broken, she and her husband moved to where their grands live...In East Texas of all places. She could not be more happy living among the sane people in a small community. Asked about her desire to move back, emphatic no way in H... We parted as friends, Welcome to Texas.
Thank you for this informative story. No coordination, no plan, no cohesion or accountability between City and County. Just money going nowhere. Anybody want to ask where Mayor Ted is in all of this. My guess-nowhere.
Homelessness is the plan. Like everything else, it's a business. It gives government control and there's tons of money there to spread amongst their minions. There is zero intention of fixing homelessness.
The leadership in Portland has failed. What a waste of taxpayer money. As property, rent and taxes go up and people have been priced out of Portland, this is what people get for their money? No thank you. I left Portland for a small town close by, and I'm not encouraged to come back to shop or enjoy 'the Portland vibe' anymore due to the homeless problems. It seems actually cruel to me to allow drug addicted people to die or suffer on the streets rather than help them recover by requiring them to go to rehab. Giving people a choice to stay on the streets when they are unable to make good choices for themselves, has created this crisis. BTW I sent an email to the mayor's office over a year ago asking what is going to be done about the drug and homeless crisis and did not get a reply.
Also this man did a great job uncovering this problem. Gilbertnayson zones are areas where i am trying my best to uncover these problems and Portland is one of them.
camping of any form on public property or on any other property without the permission of the owner should be illegal. There should be three choices, 1. go to a shelter, 2. leave the area, city, etc.. 3. if you resist the first two and continue to camp, go to jail. People should not be allowed to camp on public property, it is too dangerous for everyone.
Shelters are not an answer. They are for night use only and are dangerous in a physical and health sense. Building low and no income residences is the only viable option as it solves the problem of getting people off the streets entirely. You cannot and should not put someone in jail for having no money which is what you are suggesting. You can however enforce vagrancy laws if low and no income housing is available. The problem America has with public housing in their minds is astounding.
@@williamryan9195 Well, some bums here in my small town have burned down 2 vacant homes and a recently vacated Sherry's and nearly burned down the cheap fleabag motel, plus 3 separate fires burning down the largest homeless encampment down by the river, all within the last year. I thought about your low/no income housing solution and I think what is likely to happen if installed is, likely it too will burn.
@@mikek9488 Funny. I grew up in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the U.S. That also at the time have a huge public housing apartment complex and after decades it is still standing. How did that happen with all these terrible low-income folks playing with matches etc and most of the residents were Black and I never saw mothers with 12 kids and driving around in New Caddys either.
@@mikek9488 I think you think that I am talking about building apartments and just handing over the keys to people. We are talking about reality here which means sorting out who is who and getting people into care and supervised long-term housing with medical issues addressed. And yes,they can build block wall units that are for the most part fireproof similar to jail facilities. It takes time and a willingness to want an improvement in overall community safety and health. Saying they are only going to do this or that will never get the job done.
@@williamryan9195 Sure, I suppose some are still standing, but many are not. I can recall many docs that show the hellscapes these housing projects become. I have seen many presentations also involving housing voucher programs where the properties are trashed. I used to propose similar programs to yours and was accused of desiring the construction of internment camps. You even compare them yourself to jail facilities. These reasons might be why people might be generally opposed to your idea, like who wants to live any where near one of these facilities?
Thank you for informing us that hundreds of millions of dollars has been wasted on a problem with no understandable solution. Basically Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Communication. Next story.......Who's cashing in and how much of that cash becomes a campaign donation 2 years later?
it is illuminating because i had been blaming city council for this, when apparently the county is a major contributor to whatever isn't working. one thing i never see addressed: how is the portland tax base supposed to 'help' all who come here when the rest of the world provides an endless supply? Since this basic math problem is being ignored, it stands to reason that the point is graft and ultimately destruction of the taxpaying public will follow until absolutely everyone must be homeless. maybe that is the point.
When the state , city and especially the county , decriminalize drug use.......the problem will grow even more. A lot of them moved here from other states , because it's legal to jam a needle into their arm. It's legal to carry and use any drug you want. Those people won't change on their own.
You can’t help those who don’t want to be helped. Decriminalizing drugs was a major enabler to the moral decay of the city. It’s easier to make a choice when you take away the option and replace it with repercussions.
Bravo for this series of this interview with Commissioner Meieran. It does not take 5 advanced degrees to address the problem of homelessness. It takes leadership. It has been made markedly worse by the failure of the same. As long as the same people with the same bad ideas keep getting elected do not be surprised that the problem only continues to get worse and the body count accelerates. Wheeler et al should be in jail for the result of their willful incompetence. Certainly not in positions of leadership.
All government positions need to be changed to no compensation packages for government officials. Since these politicians don't know how to be selfless. We can use to money to pay politicians to deal with the homelessness or pay down the deficit.
military boot camp bases will be perfect for homeless. they have all logistical services already there. just simply process them and direct them. just start rounding up all homeless and fly them to the base...... and have special judge there, to clear credit for rental issues, judge for mental health issues, judge for drug addiction issues, and technically the only people left on street are simply criminals arrest and put in jail, also have employment services..... homeless will be solved in less than one year... just round up, process accordingly, wala done deal. it would be good idea to separate the people according to there assessed needs...
She talks about accountability. What about accountability from the Homeless themselves. Your first Responsibility in life is to provide for yourself. Does anyone explain to the Homeless that we are not the reason for their situation. Changes need to be made on their part to improve their situation. I understand about the Mentally Ill. My Mother was a Paranoid Schizophrenic and my Father was an Often Absent Alcoholic. My Mother only did marginally well when in a locked facility. She explained to us all the time that the Voices were Real and that if we'd just concentrate harder we could hear them too. Anosognosia is Lack of Insight on the part of the patient. It causes medication non-compliance for many of the Mentally Ill. Patients don't like the medications and aren't compliant and can't be left to care for themselves. I talked to a homeless person the other day and he likes the freedom from Responsibility that being homeless provides. He said that I was a fool and he had Absolutely no intention of working as hard as I worked. If someone is homeless then they need to be in a Structured Program in a locked facility and they won't like most of what they're going to hear. Everything that I have I earned in spite of the environment we grew up in. Everything I have I worked full-time 60-80 hours a week for Decades to get. I don't get to live anywhere I want, I get to live where I can afford. Same rules for the Homeless. They're not without a structure to live in, they're without the structure in their life to be productive. Everyone has the responsibility to provide for their own needs and absolutely nobody cares if they're happy doing it. I'm a Comfortably Retired Debt Free Homeowner with a Comfortable Financial Portfolio and I wouldn't relive a single year of the first 50 years. They all Sucked, but I did my job. It's time that the Homeless suck it up and start doing their job.
Oregon Homeless Bill of Rights: I don't do much. I'm too lazy. That's my problem. Hang around sidewalk watching you, Just too lazy. I realized this the other day, I get hit by a truck tomorrow - a big truck could hit me - paralyze me from the neck down. Wouldn't effect my lifestyle a bit really.
We got shelters here in Phoenix. Alot of them. Theres a shelter in 22 av. We got more space over here if Portland and the rest of Oregon needs our help, we could help
SM was our Head Commissioner for how many years - 6? So i guess i don't understand why she didn't lay out a Grand Plan, B4 she was voted OUT of that Job?! (like i finally did). Incidentally, neither mental illness nor drug addiction, etc. can seriously & effectively be dealt with, san Housing FIRST. Otherwise, you're just spinning in cycles of futility!
All I know is that my homeless clients are dying outside. One of my clients died of hypothermia after sleeping in a doorway this winter. I am thankful for the security guard who called for help after finding her there. They got her to the hospital, but it's tricky to save someone who has hypothermia. She had untreated schizophrenia. She was a sweet person.
Who was in charge of the county office that was so ineffective for the past five years? Where were the county commissioners overseeing the office? Where did the money go? Dig deeper. This is a disgrace.
I notice here in Walla Walla, someone is building a storage unit. Why can’t people live in these. They have a port a potty for the workers. People could even pay for a larger unit if they have the funds. There’s an Albertsons only 1/2 a mile away from these storage unit. Something to think about.
Well, some bums here in my small town have burned down 2 vacant homes and a recently vacated Sherry's and nearly burned down the cheap fleabag motel, plus 3 separate fires burning down the largest homeless encampment down by the river, all within the last year. I thought about your tiny home solution and I think what is likely to happen if installed is, likely it too will burn.
Homelessness is not going to stop or go away. There has always been people who fall through the cracks for almost as many reasons as there are people and find themselves without shelter. So it's time to set up a more permanent solution for getting them housed and back on their feet. One double lot every 10 blocks should be set up permanently for transitional public housing. Bunk house, small family units, communal kitchen/bathrooms. Rent is 30 hours a month in the community, sweeping sidewalks, setup and maintain community gardens, cleaning the property, kitchen duties, painting over graffiti, cleaning up vacant lots, whatever jobs the community decides needs to done. Set up a department who sets people up and works with the local community and businesses for work details and attach it to Health and Human Services for assistance getting jobs, rehab, mental health, whatever is needed to get people back into life. There's always going to be people who find themselves homeless, some through no fault of their own, some because there's only so much a parent can take from a belligerent 19 year old, some because they took a wrong turn on life's path. They're all still Human beings and as such they deserve shelter, food, clean water, physical and mental healthcare, and a helping hand to get them back on their feet or to figure out how life works. Only someone who is completely morally bankrupt would believe a human being doesn't DESERVE these things... the Nazis felt that way... so did slave owners. Choose your side wisely.
One of the things people do not understand is that if they were made a part of the community in small measured doses and manageable numbers they would find they are just like them. Ordinary people with a variety of problems that are manageable. Bias, Prejudice and class are what prevents it.
The first thing that should happen is Oregon needs to pass reasonable Rent Cap laws that prevent Landlords from being overly greedy. Sorry, but a Studio Apartment for $1400/month 1s not affordable to anyone. Next, Oregon needs to pass a Living Wage Minimum Wage, no one should have to work 2-3 jobs just to get by. My next proposal is to bring back FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps to put the homeless back to work. We can train them to clean our streets, parks and public spaces, clear underbrush from our forests to prevent wildfires, those physically able could train to become wildfire fighters. We could get the Unions to train people to build tiny home communities, service them, and police them. By doing this, we could more easily provide needed services to the homeless and integrate them back into society. It would be a win win for everyone. We should also be studying Finland's model for reversing homelessness; it works and saves them money in the long run.
Agencies fail to uphold policies, they misrepresent the housing and public assistance programs to the general public. They say they do this and that,with documentation to follow but the experience is quite different to those who seek support.
Well I guess I am one of the " ones who need counting the most" , because I have not seen one single outreach person nor had any offer for help nor been accepted in any of the safe villages. I must say it is so crazy to be lost A system that is clearly broken that was meant to work for the people. Not to mention it seems as though it is irrelevant if you work or not as this minimum wage is not capable of covering for a simple roof over a head
Not only that there is no coordinated plan on detox programs from fentanyl between the city and county and state. The county just hands out narcan to peer workers and harm reduction sites. We need to invest in new opioid detox facilities, treatment beds and medically supervised withdrawal facilities for booze too. It's an uncoordinated mess.
I've worked in local government. If run correctly it can act as a lead coordinator and funding stream for for multi agency action and cooperation working as a support organization that takes all stakeholders and develops shared goals and shared outcomes and with the public, private and non profit sector. Multco could provide that coordination and the program evaluation tools. But it won't because much of Multco is ideologically constrained with the Housing First model and is in complete denial that most of the homeless on our streets are intractibly mentally ill and will require extensive triage, in patient mental health/addiction counseling and then ongoing wrap around services for years if not for a lifetime. You cannoy place a severely mentally ill / addicted person into general housing. That will NOT work in the United States where have near ZERO mental health capacity for this crisis. The Housing First scam is but one issue. But also embedded is the cowtowing to extremist positions from the left which are just insane. The most vocal would end all property rights if given the chance and sadly their voices are elevated and take seriously in a way that's just beyond comprehension. To Multco the middle class -- what little there is left -- is an endless resevoir of capital that somehow magically will bleed cash for them year after year after year unabated. In truth though those days are done. There is no middle class anymore and most folks are house poor if they have a house at all. Then there is the homeless industrial complex which sucks off public coffers like leeches and sat with a straight face most of the homeless aren't severely mentally ill and addicted and in tents on the road, which of course is true -- 80% of the homeless aren't chronically homeless... yet -- but the folks defecating on sidewalks aren't the general homeless populations and they know it. This entire fiasco is a giant cash grab of ideologically constrained stupidity and greed. I believe in the power of governance but after the last 20 years I am now a reluctant non ideologically driven libertarian. We simply can't govern worth a damn in this country and that will not change in my lifetime if ever.
I encourage someone looking into both DO GOOD and ALL GOOD shelters please. I know that has to be a money launder. Ask any current or former client. Also a dude named Dan keeps popping up as a coordinator for camps (even on KGW pieces) that keep getting shit down.
Businesses that serve the homeless are not going to strive towards a solution that would mean the end of their own funding. $738 Million is going to line peoples pockets.
I am one of those people and what I have been through is not good. I only see how wasted money is the plan. For the money to get into the hands of the workers who so called help the people who are in need.
The tax money charged is shameful. No plan? More and more tents get set up every day on my way to work in suburban SW, all in plain sight. How will this ever end. More money spent, more tents pop up. It’s making me so tired and frustrated.
Apart from a tiny home community the best awnser I can give it out law "street" camping and allow areas where a "traveler" can put up tent or sleep in bag when sun is down and down when sun is up. Also 3 day stay camping in county run "camp grounds" for the folk who don't move so well but all camp is SUNDOWN TO SUNUP. Seriously I am a traveler And live 80% of the time on the road in a tent but if I'm addicted to a drug my government makes illegal and then flood the "street" with it your going to the unfortunates who are STUCK FOR DRUGS address the problem in my home town PDX and be the example to the WORLD. We will always have the "home"less on our Home Earth
The most educated and rational Commissioner who's voice was rejected by those responsible for the incompetence and fiscal malfeasance. Only on ideology and party responsible for the corruption, decay and chaos you live with today. And the voters that keep reelecting it.
Homelessness is a symptom of the root problem: drug abuse and defective mental health. Raising taxes and burning more cash on bureaucrats isn't the solution.
I think she is incorrect about the point in time count. Though it is an approximate count it is accurate to at least 1500 I would say. Those homeless who stay away from services where they are counted were there at some point to be counted. The math sais about 19 million for each homeless individual. The problem is simple. But or build houses, give them to the people without a bunch of tape and wires
''SO, Yeah. (Where did those degrees go ? )" Going by all her fingerpointing, let's let her go ! Even the interviewer couldnt save her. He tried. When an investigative journalist knows more than ----this.
Focus on arresting and incarceration of illegal sales. The easy access to drugs is what draws these people to Portland. It's past time to remove the drug culture welcome mat.
Why aren't we petitioning the city, the state and the county to appoint PLANNERS. We knew Portland had no plan when they began developing sites no one had actually checked out. (Flood zones don't make stable sites.) Portland and the County seem to use all the money planning to plan, and responding to our asking WHY AREN'T YOU DOING SOMETHING! Who do we coordinate with to get an action coordinator!?
Why? Corruption. The Real Estate industry in California spent 77 million dollars in a couple years to defeat any attempts at housing regulation and low income housing, rent control or any other measures that might provide relief in housing markets. It is so important to regulate the industry as it has become so dominating and controlling of our political system and society.
@@williamryan9195 I'm asking why we don't assign accountable stewards and coordinators. What happened to California should not stop Multnomah County or Oregon from coordinating better. NO city was prepared for the onslaught of homeless people, and we need to change who and how we deal with it. The staffing structure as it exists never had a position for homeless issues, there were under 500 in town. Now homeless issues needs a special office and a coordinated task force.
@@opheliadeclines The reason isn't they are unprepared for homelessness it is because they are being directed by money interests and ideology and corruption to not deal with it just as it has been in California. The same powerful interests that spent 77 million in California are doing the same on the entire West Coast and beyond. Homelessness is fixable with Public housing and structured services tailored to help regulate things. Mention public housing in Cities and towns going through Gentrification and you will be crushed out of existence.
Oregon claims to be liberal, so be it. Act on it! Thats why I moved. No resources, the only way to get help is if u have a drug problem! It should not be that way!
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hearing this makes me sick. Our city leaders are not effective and not here to make Portland better. How could they waste a billion tax money on the homelessness issues and still no good out comes? Shame on them! Gosh they could’ve use some of this money to help a lot of working families and better our education. This is crazy, I hope the news continue to investigate more about this. Tax payers deserve to know the truth.
A skimming operation.
Educated idiots
Why do you keep voting for them?
@@Dularr How did you know I vote for him?
@@JC-gs4fx I'm talking more about the district as a whole.
Politicians, Non Profits, and Activists are making too Much Money….
I think it was Thomas Sowell that said "You can have as much poverty as you are willing to pay for".
7 years and a billion dollars, and still no plan. Way to go Portland!!!👏👏👏
The homeless crisis in cities like Portland, Seattle and LA is a business. The plan has been going swimmingly, the people you think are failures are anything but, they've been getting rich. Think of it like the Military Industrial Complex in Afghanistan. We had Bin Laden pinned in the mountains 2 months after we got there, but we "accidentally" let him slip through the Army, Marines, CIA and God knows who else, and voilà, the war continues. For 20 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.
Lots of people got disgustingly wealthy off a 20 year war. They took that template, shifted it over to the homeless problem and voilà, instead of elected Federal officials getting rich, now its state and local officials. The template works with anything. Create a crisis, respond to crisis, perpetuate crisis whilst telling the public everything that can be done is, and finally, collect oceanfront real estate. The pandemic used the template, the mandates and lockdowns would still be going on if it wasn't an election year.
A liberal ran utopia. 😂😂
and your point is?... WHAT WOULD YOU DO?... and before you say you'd just "fix it"... consider all the cities in the U.S. that have tried just about everything and have failed... then consider all the cities in THE WORLD who have tried to solve this problem, and HAVE FAILED... OK, now, let's here YOUR SOLUTION...
@@t.c.2776 Read my reply to Big Shep. The city and state governments haven't failed, they've succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, and the citizens just sit there and take it.
@@t.c.2776 bust the drug users, send them to a detox / mental hospital?
Thank you so much! As a Multnomah County resident I am so grateful for your reporting. This is the only way for us to be aware of the truth about what's happening God bless you sir!!
Agree!
How could the 1% homeless tax have passed if there is absolutely no plan to handle it. Portland is the 2nd most taxed city in the country. And all the tax money is getting blown. We have terrible roads, 43rd for schools, terrible homeless problem. There is absolutely no accountability and transparency.
People should simply not be allowed to camp in public spaces. They should most certainly not be allowed to keep more stuff on the sidewalk that they can carry. How's that ADA lawsuit against Portland going anyway? Do people in wheelchairs really need to continue to go out in traffic?
Didn't a judge rule you can't remove the camps unless you provide housing solutions.
Thank you so much for this KGW!! Well done!
I hope there’s some follow up story about where 700 million dollars went .
Portland has become the septic tank of oregon.
More like the sewage treatment plant of the northwest
Mayors, City Councils, Prosecutors, all elected positions, and most of them have ran on the pledge that they had a "Plan" to deal with this issue, among others. They also haven't been shy in cashing the paychecks the have been issued for their less than stelar job. Now we see that an increasing number of citizens both governmental and private, NGO or Charities, that are collecting taxpayer dollars for the expressed distribution of services to the homeless. This has become an industry pure and simple, and far too many are becoming dependent on those taxpayer dollars to support themselves.
Three pillars: prevention, shelter and housing. OK. What about the huge number of homeless that don't want to come off the streets and into housing? They want their "freedom" and don't want to be "controlled," as they say. Drugs and alcohol are the preferred way of life for those folks, and they have no intention of giving that up. What does the city of Portland do about them? I hate to be a gloom and doomer, but Portland, along with every major city on the West Coast, seems past the point of no return regarding the homeless crisis.
exactly, if they are not honest with themselves about the substance abuse problems driving homelessness, they will get nowhere.
It's called addiction
Closer to being kicked out of shelters.
This was an excellent explanation of why so many people still live on the streets. Elected officials and staffers should be held accountable. A thorough audit should be done to account for each dollar spent. Millions of dollars have been wasted due to incompetence or complacency.
This problem became 10x worse after 110 passed. A repeal or major overhaul is due. Also how do you spend 700M + but the situation gets *worse?* Who’s going to audit where all the money went? Sounds like a job with the county is pretty lucrative…
please don't vote for any additional bonds, taxes, etc.
We shouldn't have an " Office for homeless services" sounds like a tax grab... We do need outrage. We do need structure. Legalize all drugs. Create homeless camps, tie police officers hands, yet ask for more money to solve the problem?? How about we stop enabling these lost humans to keep using drugs!!! I mean seriously. Homeless is a new industry.
it's pretty suspect when you look at the whole picture as you have described.
You nailed it, Dan. 100%
useful idiots
Homelessness is definitely big money, each individual homeless person cost about 160k to help them with their needs and resources the homeless don’t see that money it’s all these places “helping” them.
All the homeless yet politicians in oregon make their top priority putting tampons in the mens room😂😂😂😂😂
So glad I got out of that city and state. Never realized how bad it was until I moved to an area that doesn’t allow all the nonsense Portland does. I’ll never go back!
Smart man.
So glad I decided not to move to Portland OR back in 2014! It is very sad to see the State of Portland OR.
@@NoamTheGOAT50 That's when I visited... or maybe it was 2015. Anyhow, I will never go back.
This right here is why they want to toll the bridges...so they can continue to do THIS. This right here is exactly what I mean when I say that these folks will take unlimited money and WASTE IT IN BUREAUCRACY. These folks spend all their time talking about how to go about things, "celebrating" their colleagues, and no doubt going to lots of "conferences" where they take a paid vacation while pretending to work.
I wonder how many of these folks are paid in the six figure range, including benefits. My money says most of them. This whole thing is a racket.
.
Just had a conversation with a former citizen of Portland at the gas station, she just had enough and moved. Heart broken, she and her husband moved to where their grands live...In East Texas of all places. She could not be more happy living among the sane people in a small community. Asked about her desire to move back, emphatic no way in H... We parted as friends, Welcome to Texas.
As long as we monetize, homelessness, homelessness will always be with us
This lady really has nothing to say.
Thank you for this informative story. No coordination, no plan, no cohesion or accountability between City and County. Just money going nowhere. Anybody want to ask where Mayor Ted is in all of this. My guess-nowhere.
Homelessness is the plan. Like everything else, it's a business. It gives government control and there's tons of money there to spread amongst their minions. There is zero intention of fixing homelessness.
The leadership in Portland has failed. What a waste of taxpayer money. As property, rent and taxes go up and people have been priced out of Portland, this is what people get for their money? No thank you. I left Portland for a small town close by, and I'm not encouraged to come back to shop or enjoy 'the Portland vibe' anymore due to the homeless problems. It seems actually cruel to me to allow drug addicted people to die or suffer on the streets rather than help them recover by requiring them to go to rehab. Giving people a choice to stay on the streets when they are unable to make good choices for themselves, has created this crisis. BTW I sent an email to the mayor's office over a year ago asking what is going to be done about the drug and homeless crisis and did not get a reply.
Utterly sobering. This lady has the sand to tell the actual truth, highly commendable and so unfortunately rare these days.
She is lying. Her donors told her the "plan" is no plan.
People continue to vote for the same politicians and laws, but expect something different.
Also this man did a great job uncovering this problem. Gilbertnayson zones are areas where i am trying my best to uncover these problems and Portland is one of them.
This guy is the best at his investigations. He’s real about it and I like it
Done,gone. Get out if you can.
camping of any form on public property or on any other property without the permission of the owner should be illegal. There should be three choices, 1. go to a shelter, 2. leave the area, city, etc.. 3. if you resist the first two and continue to camp, go to jail. People should not be allowed to camp on public property, it is too dangerous for everyone.
Shelters are not an answer. They are for night use only and are dangerous in a physical and health sense. Building low and no income residences is the only viable option as it solves the problem of getting people off the streets entirely. You cannot and should not put someone in jail for having no money which is what you are suggesting. You can however enforce vagrancy laws if low and no income housing is available. The problem America has with public housing in their minds is astounding.
@@williamryan9195 Well, some bums here in my small town have burned down 2 vacant homes and a recently vacated Sherry's and nearly burned down the cheap fleabag motel, plus 3 separate fires burning down the largest homeless encampment down by the river, all within the last year. I thought about your low/no income housing solution and I think what is likely to happen if installed is, likely it too will burn.
@@mikek9488 Funny. I grew up in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the U.S. That also at the time have a huge public housing apartment complex and after decades it is still standing. How did that happen with all these terrible low-income folks playing with matches etc and most of the residents were Black and I never saw mothers with 12 kids and driving around in New Caddys either.
@@mikek9488 I think you think that I am talking about building apartments and just handing over the keys to people. We are talking about reality here which means sorting out who is who and getting people into care and supervised long-term housing with medical issues addressed. And yes,they can build block wall units that are for the most part fireproof similar to jail facilities. It takes time and a willingness to want an improvement in overall community safety and health. Saying they are only going to do this or that will never get the job done.
@@williamryan9195 Sure, I suppose some are still standing, but many are not. I can recall many docs that show the hellscapes these housing projects become. I have seen many presentations also involving housing voucher programs where the properties are trashed. I used to propose similar programs to yours and was accused of desiring the construction of internment camps. You even compare them yourself to jail facilities. These reasons might be why people might be generally opposed to your idea, like who wants to live any where near one of these facilities?
MORE bureaucrats !!!
That will fix everything.
Thank you for informing us that hundreds of millions of dollars has been wasted on a problem with no understandable solution. Basically Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Communication.
Next story.......Who's cashing in and how much of that cash becomes a campaign donation 2 years later?
Well put!
it is illuminating because i had been blaming city council for this, when apparently the county is a major contributor to whatever isn't working. one thing i never see addressed: how is the portland tax base supposed to 'help' all who come here when the rest of the world provides an endless supply? Since this basic math problem is being ignored, it stands to reason that the point is graft and ultimately destruction of the taxpaying public will follow until absolutely everyone must be homeless. maybe that is the point.
When the state , city and especially the county , decriminalize drug use.......the problem will grow even more. A lot of them moved here from other states , because it's legal to jam a needle into their arm. It's legal to carry and use any drug you want. Those people won't change on their own.
She forgot incarceration, law and order, basic common sense. "Education is not a substitute for intelligence"
Bring back the CCC. Everyone gets a choice - either work, be assigned to a mental hospital, or get sent to the Ukraine.
You can’t help those who don’t want to be helped. Decriminalizing drugs was a major enabler to the moral decay of the city. It’s easier to make a choice when you take away the option and replace it with repercussions.
Tina kotek said over n over that she had a plan before "unfortunately" xhe got elected..WHERES THE PLAN ?
Bravo for this series of this interview with Commissioner Meieran. It does not take 5 advanced degrees to address the problem of homelessness. It takes leadership. It has been made markedly worse by the failure of the same. As long as the same people with the same bad ideas keep getting elected do not be surprised that the problem only continues to get worse and the body count accelerates. Wheeler et al should be in jail for the result of their willful incompetence. Certainly not in positions of leadership.
All government positions need to be changed to no compensation packages for government officials. Since these politicians don't know how to be selfless. We can use to money to pay politicians to deal with the homelessness or pay down the deficit.
military boot camp bases will be perfect for homeless.
they have all logistical services already there.
just simply process them and direct them.
just start rounding up all homeless and fly them to the base...... and have special judge there, to clear credit for rental issues, judge for mental health issues, judge for drug addiction issues, and technically the only people left on street are simply criminals arrest and put in jail, also have employment services..... homeless will be solved in less than one year... just round up, process accordingly, wala done deal.
it would be good idea to separate the people according to there assessed needs...
There is no ending it. You sweep frequently. Keep things as clean as possible, but you never stop sweeping.
Please run for Governor Sharon.
She talks about accountability. What about accountability from the Homeless themselves. Your first Responsibility in life is to provide for yourself. Does anyone explain to the Homeless that we are not the reason for their situation. Changes need to be made on their part to improve their situation. I understand about the Mentally Ill. My Mother was a Paranoid Schizophrenic and my Father was an Often Absent Alcoholic. My Mother only did marginally well when in a locked facility. She explained to us all the time that the Voices were Real and that if we'd just concentrate harder we could hear them too. Anosognosia is Lack of Insight on the part of the patient. It causes medication non-compliance for many of the Mentally Ill. Patients don't like the medications and aren't compliant and can't be left to care for themselves. I talked to a homeless person the other day and he likes the freedom from Responsibility that being homeless provides. He said that I was a fool and he had Absolutely no intention of working as hard as I worked.
If someone is homeless then they need to be in a Structured Program in a locked facility and they won't like most of what they're going to hear.
Everything that I have I earned in spite of the environment we grew up in. Everything I have I worked full-time 60-80 hours a week for Decades to get. I don't get to live anywhere I want, I get to live where I can afford. Same rules for the Homeless. They're not without a structure to live in, they're without the structure in their life to be productive. Everyone has the responsibility to provide for their own needs and absolutely nobody cares if they're happy doing it.
I'm a Comfortably Retired Debt Free Homeowner with a Comfortable Financial Portfolio and I wouldn't relive a single year of the first 50 years. They all Sucked, but I did my job.
It's time that the Homeless suck it up and start doing their job.
Top comment right here.☝️ Perfectly said.
“The Pillars” to homelessness
1) Open Border
2) Sanctuary City
3) Legalize Drugs
4) Defund The Police
5) Liberal Politicians
👏🤡
Oregon Homeless Bill of Rights: I don't do much. I'm too lazy. That's my problem. Hang around sidewalk watching you, Just too lazy. I realized this the other day, I get hit by a truck tomorrow - a big truck could hit me - paralyze me from the neck down. Wouldn't effect my lifestyle a bit really.
We got shelters here in Phoenix. Alot of them. Theres a shelter in 22 av. We got more space over here if Portland and the rest of Oregon needs our help, we could help
SM was our Head Commissioner for how many years - 6? So i guess i don't understand why she didn't lay out a Grand Plan, B4 she was voted OUT of that Job?! (like i finally did). Incidentally, neither mental illness nor drug addiction, etc. can seriously & effectively be dealt with, san Housing FIRST. Otherwise, you're just spinning in cycles of futility!
"i'm from the government, and i'm here to help." - ronald reagan., on the 9 scariest words in the english language.
Excellent story. Now someone just needs to fix this.
All I know is that my homeless clients are dying outside. One of my clients died of hypothermia after sleeping in a doorway this winter. I am thankful for the security guard who called for help after finding her there. They got her to the hospital, but it's tricky to save someone who has hypothermia. She had untreated schizophrenia. She was a sweet person.
Just kick the homeless out of the state!! easy. no need waste more money.
Who was in charge of the county office that was so ineffective for the past five years? Where were the county commissioners overseeing the office? Where did the money go? Dig deeper. This is a disgrace.
Necromancy needs to end too, but you don't see anyone addressing that issue either,, as long as she isn't a necromancer?
I notice here in Walla Walla, someone is building a storage unit. Why can’t people live in these. They have a port a potty for the workers. People could even pay for a larger unit if they have the funds. There’s an Albertsons only 1/2 a mile away from these storage unit. Something to think about.
Well, some bums here in my small town have burned down 2 vacant homes and a recently vacated Sherry's and nearly burned down the cheap fleabag motel, plus 3 separate fires burning down the largest homeless encampment down by the river, all within the last year. I thought about your tiny home solution and I think what is likely to happen if installed is, likely it too will burn.
Homelessness is not going to stop or go away. There has always been people who fall through the cracks for almost as many reasons as there are people and find themselves without shelter. So it's time to set up a more permanent solution for getting them housed and back on their feet.
One double lot every 10 blocks should be set up permanently for transitional public housing. Bunk house, small family units, communal kitchen/bathrooms. Rent is 30 hours a month in the community, sweeping sidewalks, setup and maintain community gardens, cleaning the property, kitchen duties, painting over graffiti, cleaning up vacant lots, whatever jobs the community decides needs to done. Set up a department who sets people up and works with the local community and businesses for work details and attach it to Health and Human Services for assistance getting jobs, rehab, mental health, whatever is needed to get people back into life.
There's always going to be people who find themselves homeless, some through no fault of their own, some because there's only so much a parent can take from a belligerent 19 year old, some because they took a wrong turn on life's path.
They're all still Human beings and as such they deserve shelter, food, clean water, physical and mental healthcare, and a helping hand to get them back on their feet or to figure out how life works.
Only someone who is completely morally bankrupt would believe a human being doesn't DESERVE these things... the Nazis felt that way... so did slave owners. Choose your side wisely.
One of the things people do not understand is that if they were made a part of the community in small measured doses and manageable numbers they would find they are just like them. Ordinary people with a variety of problems that are manageable. Bias, Prejudice and class are what prevents it.
Wow, honesty from a politician ? Stunning.
Get out of the cities folks.
Keep voting Democrats in!
She's just another Dem.
How did she not win the chair? What a smart woman who has clearly thought about this all and in-depth.
The first thing that should happen is Oregon needs to pass reasonable Rent Cap laws that prevent Landlords from being overly greedy. Sorry, but a Studio Apartment for $1400/month 1s not affordable to anyone. Next, Oregon needs to pass a Living Wage Minimum Wage, no one should have to work 2-3 jobs just to get by. My next proposal is to bring back FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps to put the homeless back to work. We can train them to clean our streets, parks and public spaces, clear underbrush from our forests to prevent wildfires, those physically able could train to become wildfire fighters. We could get the Unions to train people to build tiny home communities, service them, and police them. By doing this, we could more easily provide needed services to the homeless and integrate them back into society. It would be a win win for everyone. We should also be studying Finland's model for reversing homelessness; it works and saves them money in the long run.
You voted for this.
Totally agree...
Agencies fail to uphold policies, they misrepresent the housing and public assistance programs to the general public. They say they do this and that,with documentation to follow but the experience is quite different to those who seek support.
Well I guess I am one of the " ones who need counting the most" , because I have not seen one single outreach person nor had any offer for help nor been accepted in any of the safe villages. I must say it is so crazy to be lost A system that is clearly broken that was meant to work for the people. Not to mention it seems as though it is irrelevant if you work or not as this minimum wage is not capable of covering for a simple roof over a head
How was this organization allocated money if they have no measureable results?
Not only that there is no coordinated plan on detox programs from fentanyl between the city and county and state. The county just hands out narcan to peer workers and harm reduction sites. We need to invest in new opioid detox facilities, treatment beds and medically supervised withdrawal facilities for booze too. It's an uncoordinated mess.
I've worked in local government. If run correctly it can act as a lead coordinator and funding stream for for multi agency action and cooperation working as a support organization that takes all stakeholders and develops shared goals and shared outcomes and with the public, private and non profit sector. Multco could provide that coordination and the program evaluation tools.
But it won't because much of Multco is ideologically constrained with the Housing First model and is in complete denial that most of the homeless on our streets are intractibly mentally ill and will require extensive triage, in patient mental health/addiction counseling and then ongoing wrap around services for years if not for a lifetime.
You cannoy place a severely mentally ill / addicted person into general housing. That will NOT work in the United States where have near ZERO mental health capacity for this crisis.
The Housing First scam is but one issue. But also embedded is the cowtowing to extremist positions from the left which are just insane. The most vocal would end all property rights if given the chance and sadly their voices are elevated and take seriously in a way that's just beyond comprehension.
To Multco the middle class -- what little there is left -- is an endless resevoir of capital that somehow magically will bleed cash for them year after year after year unabated.
In truth though those days are done. There is no middle class anymore and most folks are house poor if they have a house at all.
Then there is the homeless industrial complex which sucks off public coffers like leeches and sat with a straight face most of the homeless aren't severely mentally ill and addicted and in tents on the road, which of course is true -- 80% of the homeless aren't chronically homeless... yet -- but the folks defecating on sidewalks aren't the general homeless populations and they know it.
This entire fiasco is a giant cash grab of ideologically constrained stupidity and greed.
I believe in the power of governance but after the last 20 years I am now a reluctant non ideologically driven libertarian.
We simply can't govern worth a damn in this country and that will not change in my lifetime if ever.
I encourage someone looking into both DO GOOD and ALL GOOD shelters please.
I know that has to be a money launder.
Ask any current or former client.
Also a dude named Dan keeps popping up as a coordinator for camps (even on KGW pieces) that keep getting shit down.
There are laws in place, but they aren't followed. I have many recorded conversations with "local services"
Businesses that serve the homeless are not going to strive towards a solution that would mean the end of their own funding. $738 Million is going to line peoples pockets.
So, apparently she was ineffective for the past five years and now wants to list all of her and the other metro commissioners failures.
I am one of those people and what I have been through is not good. I only see how wasted money is the plan. For the money to get into the hands of the workers who so called help the people who are in need.
Someone is being paid for whatever - the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on the problem are going to someone!
Yes, centralization and creating a single government bureau with more power will fix everything. No need to focus on the politicians.
The tax money charged is shameful. No plan? More and more tents get set up every day on my way to work in suburban SW, all in plain sight. How will this ever end. More money spent, more tents pop up. It’s making me so tired and frustrated.
Not surprised at all. This mess has been going on over 10 years.
I just moved here, already kinda regret it. Literally can’t wait for my lease to end so I can leave
Apart from a tiny home community the best awnser I can give it out law "street" camping and allow areas where a "traveler" can put up tent or sleep in bag when sun is down and down when sun is up. Also 3 day stay camping in county run "camp grounds" for the folk who don't move so well but all camp is SUNDOWN TO SUNUP. Seriously I am a traveler And live 80% of the time on the road in a tent but if I'm addicted to a drug my government makes illegal and then flood the "street" with it your going to the unfortunates who are STUCK FOR DRUGS address the problem in my home town PDX and be the example to the WORLD. We will always have the "home"less on our Home Earth
The most educated and rational Commissioner who's voice was rejected by those responsible for the incompetence and fiscal malfeasance. Only on ideology and party responsible for the corruption, decay and chaos you live with today. And the voters that keep reelecting it.
So, are the homeless being helped?
Enabled.
Exploited
Homelessness is a symptom of the root problem: drug abuse and defective mental health.
Raising taxes and burning more cash on bureaucrats isn't the solution.
Why give money, when there is no plan. Plan first, then money.
Spend 700,000.00 comforting people and there's more homeless? What a surprise.
I think she is incorrect about the point in time count. Though it is an approximate count it is accurate to at least 1500 I would say. Those homeless who stay away from services where they are counted were there at some point to be counted.
The math sais about 19 million for each homeless individual. The problem is simple. But or build houses, give them to the people without a bunch of tape and wires
Legalize Drugs 😂
Guess who benefits the most with the status quo? Where’s the incentive to make the situation better? Enabling is a great business model.
if the homeless problem was in a rich area of town this would be fixed.
''SO, Yeah. (Where did those degrees go ? )" Going by all her fingerpointing, let's let her go ! Even the interviewer couldnt save her. He tried. When an investigative journalist knows more than ----this.
The leaders will do whatever makes them and their party look good, or whatever will keep them in power.
Focus on arresting and incarceration of illegal sales. The easy access to drugs is what draws these people to Portland. It's past time to remove the drug culture welcome mat.
No one has a plan
How is "shelter" different than "housing"? Sounds like a two legged stool to me.
No body has a plan for homelessness
Why aren't we petitioning the city, the state and the county to appoint PLANNERS.
We knew Portland had no plan when they began developing sites no one had actually checked out. (Flood zones don't make stable sites.)
Portland and the County seem to use all the money planning to plan, and responding to our asking WHY AREN'T YOU DOING SOMETHING!
Who do we coordinate with to get an action coordinator!?
Why? Corruption. The Real Estate industry in California spent 77 million dollars in a couple years to defeat any attempts at housing regulation and low income housing, rent control or any other measures that might provide relief in housing markets. It is so important to regulate the industry as it has become so dominating and controlling of our political system and society.
@@williamryan9195 I'm asking why we don't assign accountable stewards and coordinators. What happened to California should not stop Multnomah County or Oregon from coordinating better.
NO city was prepared for the onslaught of homeless people, and we need to change who and how we deal with it. The staffing structure as it exists never had a position for homeless issues, there were under 500 in town. Now homeless issues needs a special office and a coordinated task force.
@@opheliadeclines The reason isn't they are unprepared for homelessness it is because they are being directed by money interests and ideology and corruption to not deal with it just as it has been in California. The same powerful interests that spent 77 million in California are doing the same on the entire West Coast and beyond. Homelessness is fixable with Public housing and structured services tailored to help regulate things. Mention public housing in Cities and towns going through Gentrification and you will be crushed out of existence.
Build a prison for those who are addicted. The prison would educate the inmates, and stop the drugs so they can get clean.
Ummmm, the solution to homelessness is more low income affordable houseing....anything else is just a stupid waste of money w no real consequence.
They are just figuring it out now?
Oregon claims to be liberal, so be it. Act on it! Thats why I moved. No resources, the only way to get help is if u have a drug problem! It should not be that way!
Government.
That’s insane