Why is Portland so infested with homeless? (Detroit: crime, house)

[TechmanOR]

It's like Portland is go to destination for transients. I've walked around downtown and south central LA, Hollywood, Vancouver, BC and while there are homeless everywhere, they are definitely more abundant in Portland neighborhoods.

The infestation isn't just confined to downtown. Go to any 24 hour convenience store along NE Broadway past 10PM and more often than not, there are transients sitting right outside the door and almost always pester me for money.

Although I did see the kind that hangs out at convenience store in LA, I haven't been pestered. Here at home, I get pestered just about every time.

Why are we so infested?

[fearnofish]

I have seen tv programs on that exact subject. From what I remember it is because Portland is so Liberal. I don't know why homeless would flock to an area that gets so much rain. It seems like that would ruin a box house pretty easy.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by fearnofish

I have seen tv programs on that exact subject. From what I remember it is because Portland is so Liberal. I don't know why homeless would flock to an area that gets so much rain. It seems like that would ruin a box house pretty easy.

The homeless population in my limited experience does change from July and August (warm and sunny) to mid winter. As winter and the rainy season comes on, the homeless seem more desperate in panhandling in order to find covered shelter, or transportation fare south for the winter. About June the panhandlers return.

Oh, and last January ('09) I noticed quite a few street people who remained in Portland and could be seen in downtown Portland with hacking phlegm coughs as if they were suffering the on-set of pneumonia.

I do not have any comparison data with SF and the Bay area of homeless population during the winter, nor for the LA metro area either. I can easily conceive there is a migration pattern all up and down the Pacific Coast, but I have no knowledge of specific data points.

[Hemlock140]

All big cities have large numbers of homeless people, but you may perceive a difference based on how visible they are. That depends on the tolerance of the local government. In Seattle, for example, panhandling is well controlled. The homeless have large camps, usually in churches, moving around from time to time. Also, many are camping under freeways where they are not real visible to the public. Probably a lot more than in Portland but you wouldn't know it.

[fearnofish]

From Portland Tribune:

Oregon leads nation in homeless count

HUD report says state has the highest proportion of homeless

By Steve Law
Pamplin Media Group, Oregon has the highest proportion of homeless people in the nation, according to a new report on homelessness issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In Oregon, 0.54 percent of all residents were homeless in 2008, a higher share than any other state, according to HUD’s 2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.
States with the highest proportions of homelessness tend to be on or near the West Coast. Nevada had the second-highest rate of homelessness, with 0.48 percent, followed by Hawaii at 0.47 percent, California at 0.43 percent and Washington at 0.34 percent.
The report found that 664,000 people nationally were homeless on a single night in January 2008, down about 1 percent from the prior year’s census. HUD calculated there were nearly 1.3 million homeless adults during the year.
One-fifth of all the nation’s homeless were in three metro areas: Los Angeles, New York and Detroit.
One in every 66 people living in major U.S. cities used a residential homeless program during the period studied, compared to one in every 450 people living in suburban and rural areas.
However, there was a sizable increase in the number of homeless in suburban and rural areas in the past year. In the 2007 study, 23 percent of documented homeless people were staying in suburban and rural areas. In 2008, those areas accounted for 32 percent of the homeless population.
Data for the report was compiled through September 2008, just as the economic crisis was intensifying.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by fearnofish

From Portland Tribune....

Quoting the Portland Tribune automatically causes me to reject the rest of you post....
Portland Tribune plays fast and loose with information in order to push its ultra right-wing-nut propaganda. Just not worth the effort to double check and triple check each and every quote and the context of the quotation. Heck, I don't even think Politifact bothers with the Portland Tribune any more.

I prefer my news-slant to be very left wing-nut. I am to the left of The Oregonian, The Willamette Weekly, and I would be about dead-on to the Portland Mercury, except I am about 30 years too old for many of its youthful snide comments and editorial content.

But do feel free to discuss the Portland Tribune on the Vancouver, WA sub-forum, which is where that paper is written and published.

[fearnofish]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Quoting the Portland Tribune automatically causes me to reject the rest of you post....
Portland Tribune plays fast and loose with information in order to push its ultra right-wing-nut propaganda. Just not worth the effort to double check and triple check each and every quote and the context of the quotation. Heck, I don't even think Politifact bothers with the Portland Tribune any more.

I prefer my news-slant to be very left wing-nut. I am to the left of The Oregonian, The Willamette Weekly, and I would be about dead-on to the Portland Mercury, except I am about 30 years too old for many of its youthful snide comments and editorial content.

But do feel free to discuss the Portland Tribune on the Vancouver, WA sub-forum, which is where that paper is written and published.

Alright you make no sense. So since it isnt slanted left wing as you prefer you reject what they say... ya that makes sense. My entire post on that was just a cut and paste from them because a previous post said they had not seen any information on it. How about before you just assume they are making up the information you research it and come up with credible data refuting what that paper says.

I am not defending that particular paper as I know nothing about them and don't really care whether they are slanted left or right. Since those who have to have their news slanted their way are blind to the reality of what is going on.

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Quoting the Portland Tribune automatically causes me to reject the rest of you post....
Portland Tribune plays fast and loose with information in order to push its ultra right-wing-nut propaganda. Just not worth the effort to double check and triple check each and every quote and the context of the quotation. Heck, I don't even think Politifact bothers with the Portland Tribune any more.

I prefer my news-slant to be very left wing-nut. I am to the left of The Oregonian, The Willamette Weekly, and I would be about dead-on to the Portland Mercury, except I am about 30 years too old for many of its youthful snide comments and editorial content.

But do feel free to discuss the Portland Tribune on the Vancouver, WA sub-forum, which is where that paper is written and published.

I'm going to bookmark your post in case I need an example of a hopelessly close-minded person.

I posted the following before for you:
Portland Tribune
6605 S.E. Lake Road
Portland, OR 97222
Main telephone: 503-226-6397
News: 503-226-6397
Advertising: 503-546-9893
Main fax: 503-620-3433
News fax: 503-546-0727
Advertising fax: 503-546-0729

From Wikipedia:
Headquarters 6605 S.E. Lake Road
Portland, OR 97222-2161
Portland Tribune - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[O-Ducky]

"Tech"man, uses the word "infested" when talking about homeless people... Yikes.

I was homeless in Oregon and desperately trying to find a job. Many, Many, unfortunate circumstances happened to me in Oregon during the last few years but now I have a job and things are going great... in another state. I can tell you that the answer your looking for is, because not all Oregonians are like minded/hearted like yourself and the majority or Oregonians, from my experience accually care about homeless human beings. In fact, as an example of Oregon's government, governor Kulongouski persoonal survived on 200 dollars worth of food during one month just to make sure it was enough for someone to survive. I was homeless in almost every city in Oregon trying to find work and I greatly appreciate Oregon. There was no work there so I ended up leaving but put yourself in my shoes for a second. If you found yourself in that position wouldn't you want to be in the best enviroment possible? A place where people care about you and are willing to help? A place where, for the most part, is relatively safe? Sure there are those that aren't trying and glady take advantage but not all. Heck, I even feel sorry for those people. You never know what it's like to have walked the path some of these people have walked. You never know what happened in thier life that brought them to that point. You have no idea how many of these people are mental and cannot help it. There use to be such a thing as a mental institution, but now the government leaves them on the streets where there is a risk for them to lose it and harm someone. In the state of Washington there was a case like that where they knew that the person shouldn't be running around the streets but did nothing about it. They had commited no crime yet but they were obviously extremely mental and dangerous. They guy ended up killing a few police officers. That's a whole different discussion though. Anyway, that's just a portion of the homeless though. And yes, I'll admit the majority are on drugs or whatever and have given up all hope, but, you have nooooo idea how you would have responded if you had experienced the things those people have. I feel much more sorry for you though.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by karlsch

I'm going to bookmark your post in case I need an example of a hopelessly close-minded person.

I hope I live up to your expectations....

The Portland Tribune is still a propaganda sheet for the ultra right, and it is not a "Portland" newspaper, nor with it's editorial bias, and manipulative fact juggling, it really shouldn't be called a newspaper at all.