BUT
BUT IN
BUT IN THE MEANTIME I'LL GET OUT THE BEN AND JERRY'S OR THE
SALT AND STRAW I SHOULD SAY.
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT SOMETHING
>> A LITTLE BIT MORE SERIOUS.
HOMELESSNESS IN PORTLAND SEEMS
TO HAVE GOTTEN SUBSTANTIALLY
WORSE DURING THE PANDEMIC AND I
SAY SEEMS BECAUSE IT'S JUST A
GUESS REALLY WE DON'T HAVE AN
ACTUAL COUNT.
ACTUAL COUNT. IN FACT, THE LAST TIME THAT WE
COUNTED WAS IN JANUARY
OF TWENTY NINETEEN IN THE COUNT
AT THE TIME WAS ABOUT FOUR
THOUSAND PEOPLE THAT THAT WAS
MORE THAN TWO VERY LONG YEARS
AGO AND THE TREND AT THE TIME
WAS ALREADY HEADED UPWARD
AND THAT WAS BEFORE THE
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC.
PANDEMIC. SO WHATEVER THE NUMBERS ARE NOW
IT IS SAFE TO GUESS THAT
THEY'RE NOT GREAT.
ALL RIGHT .
THEY'RE PROBABLY NOT EVEN GOOD.
THERE ARE WAYS I THINK TO
ESTIMATE THOUGH WHAT THE
INCREASE PROBABLY LOOKS LIKE
AND WE COULD DO THAT BY LOOKING
AT CALIFORNIA.
AT CALIFORNIA. L.A. COUNTY DID A MORE RECENT
COUNT AND THEY FOUND A TWELVE
POINT SEVEN PERCENT RISE IN
HOMELESSNESS THROUGHOUT THE
COUNTY AND A 16 PERCENT RISE IN
THE CITY THAT IS MASSIVE,
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CONSIDER
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HOMELESS IN
THAT CITY AND TRUTHFULLY IT'S
PROBABLY A LOT WORSE THAN THAT
CONSIDERING THAT THAT COUNT
OHSA IT WAS MORE RECENT WAS
ACTUALLY DONE IN JANUARY
OF TWENTY TWENTY.
SO STILL MORE THAN A YEAR AGO
AND STILL BEFORE THE PANDEMIC
GRIPPED THE WORLD.
HOMELESSNESS IS A NATIONWIDE
PROBLEM BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE
HOT SPOTS, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE
THE WEST COAST.
THINK OF IT THIS WAY BASED ON
THE COUNT FROM TWENTY NINETEEN
,CALIFORNIA HAD MORE THAN A
QUARTER OF THE NATION'S
HOMELESS POPULATION.
HOMELESS POPULATION. MORE THAN ONE IN FOUR HOMELESS
PEOPLE IN AMERICA LIVE IN
CALIFORNIA AND IN OREGON WE
HAVE THE EXACT SAME PERCENTAGE
OF HOMELESSNESS TO POPULATION
AS THEY DO AND THE SIMILARITIES
DON'T >> END THERE.
WHEN THE CITY TRIED TO CLEAN UP
HOMELESSNESS, A HOMELESS
ENCAMPMENT IN ECHO PARK NORTH
OF DOWNTOWN L.A. IT TURNED INTO
A RIOT.
A RIOT.
A RIOT. OFFICERS FIRED LESS LETHAL
ROUNDS.
ROUNDS.
ROUNDS. MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA GOT SWEPT
UP IN THE MELEE MORE THAN ONE
HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TWO PEOPLE
GOT ARRESTED.
GOT ARRESTED. THE CROWD WAS PROTECTING THE
CAMP THERE OF NEARLY TWO
HUNDRED PEOPLE.
HUNDRED PEOPLE. THE CITY OFFERED TO PUT
EVERYONE IN HOTELS TEMPORARILY
BEFORE THINGS TURNED TO BLOWS.
BUT THAT WASN'T ENOUGH OR
PERHAPS MAYBE THAT WASN'T WHAT
EXACTLY THEY WERE FIGHTING
ABOUT AS THE VIOLENCE
SURROUNDING INEQUALITY
SURROUNDING INEQUALITY CONTINUES TO POP UP IN VARYING
FORMS NOW KEN EMAILED ME
AND SAID HEYDAN THERE HAVE BEEN
SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT GARBAGE
AT HOMELESS CAMPS.
I WONDER WHY THE CITY HAS IN
PLACE DUMPSTERS AT THESE CAMPS
GIVE THESE FOLKS A PLACE TO PUT
THEIR GARBAGE.
THEIR GARBAGE. THERE IS GOING TO BE GARBAGE SO
WHY NOT GET AHEAD OF THE
PROBLEM?
PROBLEM?
PROBLEM? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION, KEN.
AND YOU'RE DEFINITELY NOT ALONE
IN WONDERING ABOUT THIS.
I GOT A LOT OF MESSAGES VERY
SIMILAR TO THAT BEFORE WE
REACHED OUT TO THE MAYOR'S
OFFICE WITH YOUR QUESTION
AND IT TURNS OUT IT'S SOMETHING
A LOT OF PORTLANDERS HAVE ASKED
THEM ABOUT TOO.
AND THE CITY HAS PUT LARGE
DUMPSTERS NEAR SOME HOMELESS
CAMPS BUT SAY THEY USUALLY END
UP BEING USED BY THE PEOPLE
WITH HOMES TO DUMP THINGS THAT
THEY DON'T WANT.
THEY ALSO SAY SOME RESIDENTS
THINK THAT THESE LARGE
DUMPSTERS WILL ACTUALLY ATTRACT
MORE HOMELESS >> CAMPERS.
NOW THERE ARE A COUPLE
OF SPECIFIC PROGRAMS IN THE
METRO AREA TO HELP SOLVE THIS
PROBLEM THAT I WANT TO TELL YOU
FIRST >> THERE IS THE CITY.
THE CITY'S ONE POINT OF CONTACT
SYSTEM ONLINE WHERE YOU CAN
REPORT HOMELESS CAMPS BEFORE A
DECISION IS MADE ON WHETHER OR
NOT TO CLEAR THAT HOMELESS CAMP
A GROUP CALLED CLEAN START
COMES OUT AND THEY OFFER
RESOURCES TO THOSE CAMPERS
AND CLEAN GARBAGE AND OTHER
BIOHAZARDS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THEY'LL ALSO HAND OUT SOME BLUE
TRASH BAGS FOR FUTURE USE.
ANOTHER OPTION FOR HOMELESS
CAMPERS DEALING WITH TRASH IS
METRO'S RED PROGRAM, WHICH
WORKS PRETTY SIMILARLY TO CLEAN
START NONPROFITS AND OTHER
AGENCIES.
AGENCIES.
AGENCIES. THEY HAND OUT LARGE PLASTIC
BAGS TO CAMPERS AND ARRANGE
PICKUPS.
PICKUPS.
PICKUPS. REVD ALSO RESPONDS TO ILLEGAL
DUMPSITES ON PUBLIC PROPERTY
THROUGHOUT THE METRO AREA.
SO THIS ALL SOUNDS WELL
AND GOOD, RIGHT ?
BUT ARE YOU STILL SEEING TRASH
ALL OVER THE PLACE?
I BET YOU ARE.
WELL, METRO'S RED PROGRAM HAS
GOT MORE THAN 7000 COMPLAINTS
ABOUT ILLEGAL DUMPING IN THE
PAST YEAR.
PAST YEAR. SEVEN THOUSAND AND THEY'RE
WEEKS BEHIND ON PICKUPS
RIGHT NOW.
RIGHT NOW. THIS IS PARTICULARLY BECAUSE
METRO HAS STOPPED USING INMATES
TO CLEAN UP DUMPSITES INITIALLY
THEY STOP USING INMATES BECAUSE
OF THE PANDEMIC BUT THEN THEY
DECIDED TO STOP THE PROGRAM AS
A WHOLE BECAUSE OF RACIAL
EQUALITY AND FAIR PAY AND THAT
HAS LED TO MAJOR LAGS
AND PICKUP TIMES.
THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME OVER
THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS HAS
BEEN FORTY TWO DAYS.
WE TALK TO METRO PRESIDENT LYNN
PETERSON LAST WEEK AND SHE