Portland's Continued Attempts to Criminalize Homelessness

-

 

Will Clouser via Flickr

Police sweeps have been a common occurrence in Portland for the past several years, targeting houseless individuals in the city's Old Town district.  People who have been caught in these sweeps have described the experience as "traumatizing" and "dehumanizing" and reported to have been left without any belongings or temporary shelter.  The sweeps do little except to make the houseless population fear for their safety and convert to a more nomadic lifestyle, as pitching a tent can result in violent police retaliation.  

Recently, Portland legislators introduced a bill that would increase the violence against the houseless people by criminalizing "daylight camping."  The bill would make it illegal to pitch tents and sleep near public spaces between 8 am and 8 pm, with penalties of up to 30 days of jail time.  There is concern that the bill will put houseless women and families even more at risk as many sleep during the day to be able to keep watch and protect themselves at night.  There is also concern regarding increased police violence and displacement of individuals without further government-provided resources to help them find temporary or permanent housing.

Houseless people have been a longstanding scapegoat for Portland's issues, and with the city's population decreasing, there will be an even stronger push for legislature targeting people experiencing homelessness without any attempt to find sustainable and nonviolent solutions.  A law enforcement crackdown on camps will not decrease the number of houseless people in the city and will promote violence against already vulnerable individuals. 

-Sydney Phillips, 6/4/23

Resources:

Ross, Winston. "'Stick over carrot': progressive Portland takes a hard turn on homelessness." The Gaurdian, 26 May 2023, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/26/portland-oregon-homelessness-policy-change. Accessed 4 June 2023.

Vaughn, Courtney. "Critics Call Proposed Camping Ban 'Impossible to Comply With.'" Portland        Mercury, 1 June 2023, www.portlandmercury.com/news/2023/06/01/46536193/critics-call-proposed-camping-ban-impossible-to-comply-with. Accessed 4 June 2023.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Access to Healthcare for Homeless Individuals with Disabilities

-
Image
Photo by Sarwer e Kainat Welfare from Pexels. Healthcare access is still a major obstacle for the homeless, especially those with disabilities. The complexity of homelessness and the obstacles faced by people with disabilities in Oregon and elsewhere pose a serious threat to public health. This blog post examines the particular difficulties and potential solutions to enhance access to healthcare for this vulnerable population. Unique Healthcare Challenges for Homeless Individuals with Disabilities A study by Oxford Academic published in "Social Work" highlights several key barriers to healthcare access for homeless individuals with disabilities. These barriers include: Absence of Accessible Services Inadequate care results from many healthcare facilities' lack of capacity to address the unique requirements of people with disabilities. Transportation Problems It can be challenging for homeless people to regularly attend medical visits since they frequently lack access to...
Read more

Hostile Architecture: A Harmful Solution

-
Image
  As homelessness starts to rise in many states, many actions have started to take place, one of them being hostile architecture.   Hostile architecture is an architectural design intended to deter certain activities and restrict people from using that public space. Hostile architecture goes unnoticed by most people, as they don't affect them. Some examples of hostile architecture involve: Armrests on benches Curved or slanted benches Rocky pavements Bike racks and planter boxes in a line Window sills with spikes In Portland, Oregon, the hostile architecture are focused towards the homeless and preventing camping. Since 2013, the state agency has spent over $1 million on what is described as "rockscape landscaping" to keep homeless campers off property owned by the Oregon Department of Transportation. In downtown Portland, NW Broadway, dozens of lined up bike racks were installed in. The area isn't an active destination, so the need for that many bike racks i...
Read more

Camp Clearing on the West Coast

-
 On The west Coast homelessness is a serious problem. When considering the homeless crises, Los Angeles is one of the places that comes to mind. Homelessness sweeps beyond “Skid Row” in Los Angeles, in fact it has become widespread throughout California. As of July 25 th, 2024, Gov. Newsom has issued an order to remove all homeless camps in the state of California. Will this be beneficial, will it be improving the lives of homeless individuals, or will it be another pointless tax on Californians? Improving to the lives of homeless individuals; appears to be uncertain as far as we know. Gov. Newsom has decided to invest $24 billion to clean up homeless camps. Gov. Newsom said, “We must act with urgency to address dangerous encampments which subject unsheltered individuals living in them to extreme weather, fires, predatory and criminal activity, and widespread substance use, harming their health, safety and well-being, and which also threaten the safety and viability of nearby busin...
Read more