A fascinating look at Portland - I've not been there in years, but loved it the times I went from 2007-2009. I can definitely imagine what you describe making the city less pleasant - and I'm hopeful that policymakers will take the right lessons from Oregon's experiment with decrim - jail is not the answer, but enabling doesn't help, either.
Very well said! I lived in PDX for a year in 2018 before things got even worst (and I thought they were really bad that yearr living in the NW part of downtown). I just wrote about my challenges living in LA with the topics you address (incl in West LA, not just the downtown situation). It’s so messed up :(
We should open thousands of new drug and alcohol treatment centers that are available for free or on a sliding scale. Would it be helpful to round up street people and place them in clean, respectful treatment spaces? What would you recommend? Nobody is well-served by the current situation.
A fascinating look at Portland - I've not been there in years, but loved it the times I went from 2007-2009. I can definitely imagine what you describe making the city less pleasant - and I'm hopeful that policymakers will take the right lessons from Oregon's experiment with decrim - jail is not the answer, but enabling doesn't help, either.
Very well said! I lived in PDX for a year in 2018 before things got even worst (and I thought they were really bad that yearr living in the NW part of downtown). I just wrote about my challenges living in LA with the topics you address (incl in West LA, not just the downtown situation). It’s so messed up :(
Powerful Michele. Portland may be too far gone. The amendments—while good intentioned—have not funded treatment in the ways they were designed to.
Harm reduction is not working.
Thank you for the thoughtful observations.
We should open thousands of new drug and alcohol treatment centers that are available for free or on a sliding scale. Would it be helpful to round up street people and place them in clean, respectful treatment spaces? What would you recommend? Nobody is well-served by the current situation.
The same is true in Canada- the government prefers closing existing facilities like this to opening new ones.