I was struck by a thread of conversation nextdoor.com titled “Homeless people in LO.”  The author had really good intentions and was asking for compassion and understanding towards the homeless.  Reading the author’s bio I wasn’t sure if the post was a troll or not.  After-all, wouldn’t it be somewhat predictable to expect the people of this relatively affluent burb to vigorously attack behaviors that might attract more homeless people to the confines of Lake Oswego?  What better way to get under their skin than to start a thread on how we can engage in behaviors that would result in more homeless people in the city with its own private lake.

As I read through the comment section I was very pleased to learn that Lake Oswego residents have opinions on both sides of this issue.  It wouldn’t be fair to stereotype an entire community as stodgy old rich people who don’t give a hoot about the poor.  There were some heartless souls chiming in, but just as many people who understood this is a complex issue, thankfully.

Several root causes were asserted in this thread.  Mental illness, drug addiction, the cost of housing, lack of morals.  All factors to be sure.  That’s why it’s a complex issue that can’t be solved by simply saying “Don’t tread on me, move your tent to someone else’s burb!”

I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that the homelessness issue is getting worse.  As of 2017 about 2% of Portland’s population was homeless, or about 38,000 people.  It’s real and all it takes is a check on our senses of sight and smell to understand we need to collectively do something.  We aren’t going to wish this problem away.

Everyone wants clean cities that they can be proud of that they can show off to out-of -towners.  I read an article not long ago of a guy who had fond memories of riding the Springwater trail during his time in Portland, but then got married and moved to Bend.  When his kids got to be bike riding age he tried to take the family back to Portland to experience the Springwater trail for themselves and it was quite simply, not a place you would ever want to take your family.

I don’t claim to be a subject matter expert on homelessness, but I’ll share my take on it because I think it’s a perspective worth considering.

My main point is, the problem isn’t going to be resolved for free.  I don’t have the statistics in front of me but I have a sister who worked as a mental health nursing supervisor and I recall her telling me back in the 1980’s about how the drastic funding cuts to mental healthcare were going to result in what we are seeing today.  Often times there simply isn’t any place for the mentally ill to go.

Everyone wants lower taxes including me.  I sometimes wonder what they do with all that money they collect every year off my property taxes.  How the government spends the money they collect is a valid issue, but in my opinion should be treated separately from addressing the crisis of homelessness now.

The problem is we want it both ways.  We want beautiful, clean cities we can be proud of but we don’t want to provide funds to adequately take care of the mentally ill among us.  In retrospect it was very naive to think that we’d be able to cut those funds with no consequences.

The second point I want to make is, this is a problem that belongs in the hands of professionals.  It’s incredibly naive to think the Portland police or you and I can do anything about this issue.  I remember standing at a bus stop on Naito a couple of years ago and witnessed first hand a mentally ill person yielding a sword out in the middle of traffic.  I was concerned for his safety so I called the Police.  I didn’t have high expectations for what could be done, but my suspicions were confirmed when the officer told me “We get 20 calls like this a day.  We can’t commit to coming out to each one, we just don’t have the resources.”  They can’t lock them all up unless they are a threat to others.  Since the guy was just waving his sword around randomly and not at anyone, they couldn’t come.  Okay man, I’ll call ‘ya back when he starts waving it at me.

The good news is this is sort of a self correcting problem.  We already have businesses that are choosing not to locate downtown because of the homeless issue.  They simply don’t want to subject their workers to the ugliness that comes with having to wade through camps of homeless people to get to the food cart to grab a bite.

When the problem gets bad enough and enough businesses leave the city, tents and blue tarp start showing up in Dunthorpe, all of our house values decline and Portland loses its luster as a destination city… in other words, when it starts to cost real money, something will be done.  That’s when the voters will approve a ballot measure that adequately funds the mentally ill.

With the advantages afforded me, I personally was born on at least 2nd base.  I try to remember that because I can easily envision scenarios where most of us are all one or two bad breaks away from setting up camp.