Homeless in Portland: A resident speaks out.

Portland is all right.

Portland, our Guest Post author notes, is a poster child.  

Portland is easy to caricature just now. It is in the public eye and it serves a purpose for someone making a point. Trump had his talking point, when he condemned Portland as a "Democrat city" letting hoodlums run loose. Fox uses Portland as a symbol of a city burning up, repeating the same loop of a close-up of a burning cardboard box. 

I had my own point to share in my recent post, my shock and dismay at the dishevelment brought by the vast number of homeless people on the streets of a once-gracious city. Tents on Portland sidewalks symbolized  multifaceted failures, both personal and for our nation.

John Flenniken isn't trying to make a political point. Portland isn't an archetype, symbol, or a cautionary tale to him. He is a lifelong resident of Portland and it is his home. He asked if he could just describe what he reads and sees with his own eyes. Portland isn't perfect, but it isn't a mess either. To him, Portland is a place--a city--not a tool in someone else's political agenda. 

John Flenniken taught chemistry for a decade at Portland's Lincoln High School, then, frustrated at his difficulty trying to support a family on a teacher's income, he left to work as a trainer and safety engineer at Pacific Power and Light for another two decades.   

Guest Post by John Flenniken

Here's what I am reading: Headlines and news reports from Portland:

***Seventy sites proposed to house the homeless. Six will be selected.

***Gun safety task force to be staffed.  No police officers volunteer.

***No applicants for new police officer positions.  Current officers seeking early retirement or employment outside the city.

***The building permit application process is non-responsive.

***The city council votes unanimously to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on South Park renovation. A majority of the city's people object.

***Downtown still has boarded up windows, and people keep camping on the sidewalks.

***Gun violence and related deaths  are at highest level since the 90s.

***Businesses in Portland are slow to return workers to in-person office work.

***Small shop owners and the Chamber of Commerce see a dismal economic opportunity. Many shutter their businesses, or move them to  the suburbs.

***Mayor claims he hasn’t the authority to order city employees get vaccinated because of Portland’s Charter placing City Commissioners responsible for their departments.

***Condo leases and purchase cost decline, vacancy rates increase.

***Tourism down.

***Rental assistance available but there are too many claims to process to use the Federal money available for rental assistance.

The glass is half empty. These items indicate a weak governmental response and leadership to guide the city through the current choppy waters of pandemic, economic downturn, inability to provide services and misguided leadership or lack thereof. The city is struggling to provide basic safety and security. Police response and 911 call pickup times are not meeting their internal goals. The response to homelessness and street camping continues to be “let’s study the problem.”  Seventy sites for homeless identified, none selected, none set up. Overlapping governmental jurisdictions (City, Counties, Metro, Port of Portland, ODOT, the Corps of Engineers, Utility and Rail Rights of Way, to name a few) combine to prevent effective action and resolution of the homeless situation. Overlaid on this is the strong feelings lingering over the 100-plus days of rioting last summer. Mayor Ted Wheeler’s response has triggered a recall move that is gathering signatures at a slow rate, blamed on the Delta variant.  

The glass is half full. So is anything working? Yes. The Water Bureau and the Fire Department are turning in excellent service. Road repairs are ongoing and well-coordinated. Parks Bureau is active and making advanced plans for urban wildfire forecasts. The Port of Portland sees air traffic return to near normal levels though business travel is still low. Local businesses have formed their own group and are cleaning up city blocks.  Construction projects are continuing. Freeways are jammed as rush hour travel increases. Pro sports events draw crowds. The major and minor teams remain invested in their venues. Some live concerts have returned to outdoor venues. The Delta variant is testing the healthcare delivery once again, but to a lesser degree, as a majority of Portlanders are vaccinated. Elective medical procedures are being offered, although scheduling is much longer. Schools in Portland will convene classroom learning in September though wearing masks with remote learning remaining an option.  

Where I live (seven minutes to the core) no street camping is visible, no riots occurred, no gun violence happened. Except for news reports from around the city, you would not know that Portland is the poster-child with a national label for a failing city.  The feeling in my neighborhood in the West Hills, which has never experienced what the city core experienced, is guarded optimism. Hype, sensationalism and repetition of one story theme gives a sense of abounding chaos--but not the whole truth.