Oregon

A homeless man has burrowed himself beneath thousands of pieces of driftwood and built what can only be described as an apartment. I went inside and looked around. There are two bedrooms, one still under construction, framed by uneven piles of driftwood and debris. Two small windows let in slivers of natural light through the gaps, barely illuminating the space. Shadows crawl across the walls and floor, giving the room a claustrophobic, almost surreal quality. The living area is chaotic, more workshop than home. Boards, nails, and hand tools are scattered across the dirt floor, evidence of ongoing construction and repair. Among the clutter, hundreds of used needles glint dangerously in the dim light. The smell of damp wood and Read More ›

I interviewed Portland Mayor Keith Wilson on the streets of Portland about the state of the city and its response to homelessness. I asked whether his administration requires measurable outcomes from the homeless service providers it funds. In response, Mayor Wilson pointed to his new policy of ending the distribution of tents, arguing that tents do not help people exit homelessness and are not life-saving care. He cited the heightened danger faced by vulnerable women living outside, noting that women experiencing homelessness face roughly a 40% chance of being assaulted. I followed up by asking whether there are consequences for providers who fail to meet expectations or move people off the streets. Mayor Wilson said the providers are aligned with Read More ›

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Grants Pass v. Johnson that city ordinances against public camping do not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment. The Court’s decision is a win not only for the small Oregon city of Grants Pass, but also for dozens of Western localities that had been hamstrung by the Ninth Circuit as they grapple with record high rates of homelessness. In response to the ruling, Robert Marbut, Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and former Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said, “The Supreme Court’s reversal of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson is a great first step in giving authority back to local Read More ›