I was looking forward to traveling this summer, and travel did prove to be invigorating after the many months of COVID-19 restrictions. However, my visits to Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area provided a shock I wasn’t prepared for. Homelessness there has reached crisis proportions, and cities are in a quandary as to how to deal with it.
When I lived in Portland, its downtown area was a commercial and cultural magnet. The “Park Blocks,” a long strip of trees and flowers, were the center of the visual and performing arts area. This strip is now lined with tents, tarps, shopping carts, and debris of all kinds. Two blocks away near Pioneer Square, there are several pricey hotels and some upscale stores, but this area, too, is clogged with homeless encampments. Portland, like many large cities, has had a homeless issue for some years, but in the past year it has gotten far worse due to COVID-19-related loss of jobs and rental evictions. The store closures and increased numbers of homeless residents have undoubtedly had a negative effect on the city’s financial health. Let’s not let this happen here.
I often travel to the San Francisco Bay Area by Amtrak bus and train and have noted homeless encampments and unofficial garbage dumps lining the train tracks. These are still there. But the downtown street scene in Berkeley was more shocking than I could have imagined. Camps of four to six tents and blue tarps thrown over sleeping bags and possessions were everywhere in the city center. Berkeley’s government has thoughtfully provided Port-a-Potties for the camp residents’ use, otherwise there would have been a sanitary disaster. But this permissiveness is no solution to the problem.
Fortunately, a group of progressive organizations, one partner being Rebuilding Together/East Bay North, are creating a living space in an empty warehouse (Horizon Village Transitional Housing). With volunteer help and donated materials, they are currently building partitions and creating community spaces. Residents will be provided with tents, bathrooms, meals, and social services. Although not a long-term solution, this kind of creative thinking will be an important first step.
So that’s life in two large cities but let’s not fool ourselves into thinking it can’t happen here … it can. Recently, The Tribune featured an article on the growth of SLO’s homeless population. Until now, the growth of camps has been in parks and near stream beds rather than on downtown streets, but that may not remain the case. Our local city councils and the county’s Board of Supervisors have already put some thought into how to alleviate the problem, but we are still far short of what is needed. We would do well to think ahead and look to other cities for possible ways to move forward. If we don’t, what is happening in other cities could happen here! Δ
Judith Bernstein has a degree in urban planning and social policy from UCLA. Send comments through the editor at clanham@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Aug 19-29, 2021.
Cut the OBSCENE military budget, and we could address not only this crisis but many others in our country. Time to invest in America instead of defense contractors!
One local South County organization, the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition, is working hard to help those struggling without homes or shelter. Learn more about their efforts and consider donating at: https://5chc.org/
The problem is addiction – homelessness is just a symptom. Until we can persuade people to stop throwing their lives away getting high, we will see legions of the drug and alcohol -addled and helpless in our public places. And, as we continue to increase availability to drugs, like progressive states like Oregon have done, and as has been proposed here, you can expect to see a lot more.
The problem is the no homes part, John. Only 36% of those homeless in SLO County report drug or alcohol abuse. Seems like you’ve got a lot left to account for there. Your off the cuff ramblings are wrong.
https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/getdoc/ba1334…
@Neighborhood: If you believe the self-reporting of the homeless who deny having a drug or alcohol problem, I have some magic beans I would like to sell you. A hard and thorough look at how most of them ended up on the street will reveal a background with either substance abuse or mental illness, which explains how they ended up homeless in the first place. Currently, many jobs are available to anyone with a pulse, many of them over the $15 hour “living wage” often proclaimed to be sufficient to live on. If this area is too expensive, there are cheaper areas. Most of us would choose even Bakersfield to living under a tarp along side 101.
Let’s stop enabling these homeless substance abusers, shelter space is plenty available and we must reclaim our public spaces.
My fault. You all are right. 100% of people without homes are there because of drug use. Let’s reclaim public space from member of the public. All minimum wage workers should live in Bakersfield. Those are all very good points.
Neighborhood character: You have me grinning . . . Keep that sense of humor. It helps in the tough times.
Anyone know why our comments come out in ‘center’ orientation instead of ‘left’?
They look silly that way.
gkl
I am aSLO NATIVE BORN HERE IN 1950. My grandmother’s home was sold and left homeless. I was at Prado for 5 mos. Offered shared housing but it fell through because they don’t want to deal with my son. I lost my home when H.A raised my rent from 320.mo to 600. On my boys PROJECTED INCOME, PHANTOM INCOME. Lost my son Beau in 2007 evicted 2009. My so was an organ donor and he saved 5 lives one is Michael Mcfadden who recieved his heart and became first in the Nation to return to active duty with my son’s heart. He has never been acknowledged. I need help now. I am homeless with no vehicle no home sad
Drive out the bums!!!!!