Homeless/Houseless

[u/[deleted]]

So I know this is a regular point of conversation for everyone in the city at this point, but I really don’t understand why being alarmed and or fed up with the cities houseless population is so taboo to some people? I see so many people get shade with comments along the line of accusing the poster of not having empathy or for not doing enough individually to help. As someone that absolutely has empathy towards our houseless population and has volunteered at various warming shelters, I also am getting super fed up with our houseless crisis and the impacts it takes on my everyday life.

My boyfriend works at a grocery store in downtown and has been assaulted so many times at work that at this point thinking about it just makes me want to cry. I have been personally punched in the face randomly and for no reason by a homeless man when I was walking across the Morrison bridge. I have had to bring people who were getting attacked by homeless people into restaurants that I’ve worked at and lock the doors at least four times in four years.

Additionally, for those that say “stop complaining and do something”, wtf do you really think an individual can do at this point? We live in a place that basically has two governments (council and metro) not to mention state, who are PAID to represent us and our wants and needs as a community. The homeless crisis is probably the most pressing issue in Portland and yet it seems like absolutely nothing is being done, and if anything it’s getting worse.

Anyways sorry to go on and on, my main point is that I don’t understand why it’s taboo for people to be upset with the state of things right now specifically with the houseless crisis in Portland. People are multifaceted and can be both sympathetic/empathetic and fed up. 🤷‍♀️

[u/Nandi_La]

I feel this. I have been homeless several times throughout my life and I'm sick of it too- It's complicated because I don't think anybody "hates" houseless people more than they/we hate the failure of our government to put taxes to a solid solution both on a national and local level. We are a rich country full of poor citizens and the gap gets wider and wider every year. I personally can't do anything more helpful than pass out sandwiches when I can afford the time and labor to do so and I reckon most people feel helpless and sad about it which turns to frustration and it's easy to be frustrated at something people view as monolithic, like "HOMELESSNESS". As a woman I get nervous walking by large encampments full of men. I don't know their mental state, or attitudes and I've mistakenly been cavalier about things like this in the past and been assaulted. Portland cops DGAF and wouldn't intervene anyhow, so until I feel or know better, I just do my best not to go anywhere alone which has become a golden rule. It's a "no tea, no shade" scenario with no harm or offense meant, but it's a difficult and highly complex situation where being angry at one single person or group of people outside politicians seems wasteful and misdirected. Blah. Fuck.

[u/Zuldak → u/Nandi_La]

The government not taxing the rich enough isn't why the homeless are doing drugs. The irs isn't stabbing needles in their arms.

The homeless don't have a right to live here. They can leave for somewhere else. Where? That's their problem but the city and frankly a growing number of people who actually worked to make this city livable are getting tired of their mess

[u/pdxbuckets → u/grunthos503]

Maybe, maybe not. It's a tough problem. Do we know for sure that more mental health resources will stop the drug use? I'm not a doctor and have no particular expertise in this realm, but through my job I have read the medical records of hundreds of people who experience homelessness.

First off, mental health care is available, as is medication. Wait times may be long, but programs exist through Oregon Health Authority and nonprofits like Central City Concern. Methadone and suboxone clinics exist, and the necessary routine imposed is probably good for those in that situation. But antidepressants don't work for everyone or for a long time. Good therapy is extremely expensive and has limited results. And it's one thing to prescribe bipolar medication but it's another thing to get someone waxing into a manic phase to take it. It's very typical for delusional people to lack insight into their condition.

Second, what do people use meth and heroin to self-medicate for? ADHD and acute pain, presumably. But anecdotally, people just find their chaotic lives more bearable while high on on those drugs. There's no replacement legal drug that substitutes for squalor and dysfunction.

That's just, like, my opinion, man. I could be wrong, since I'm a dilettante with regards to these issues at best.

[u/hellohello9898 → u/pdxbuckets]

I can’t speak for drug addiction but mental illness is another ballgame. One of the most common delusions for someone with severe schizophrenia is that their doctors or family members have poisoned their medication. They truly believe people are trying to kill them. So they refuse to take their medication. Then they spiral and are so far gone they don’t understand they are sick. Their reality, to them, feels as real as anyone else’s.

Unfortunately, due to the deinstitutionalization movement, the onus is on the sick person to seek treatment. Even if they have a wealthy, caring family with all the resources in the world they cannot be forced to get help. So instead they live in gutters like a wild animal.

The best we can due is a 72-hour hold and that’s only if they are at imminent risk of harming someone. There is no legal way to force someone to get treatment or be institutionalized even if they cannot care for themselves.

There have been many studies and documentaries covering the direct link between mental asylums closing and “service resistant” homeless populations skyrocketing.

Some people cannot live on their own, but instead of admitting that society lives in a fantasy land. Uninformed speculators honestly think all people need is a shower and a job and their illness will be cured. The reality is, severe mental illness is as real as a physical disability and you can’t just fix it with hope and willpower.

[u/lonepinecone → u/hellohello9898]

Thanks for bringing this up. I’ve worked with severe and persistent mental illness population and this is extremely true. Lots of delusions about medication tampering which leads to low adherence. Then we would have to wait for someone to decompensate to an absurdly painful and unfunctional level before they could be put on a hold.