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The announcement follows Newsom’s 2024 executive order, which directed encampment cleanups after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling granted state and local governments more authority to remove them.

  • j_roby@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
    893·
    4 days ago

    Encampment sweeps kill.

    https://www.propublica.org/article/portland-homeless-deaths-multnomah-county

    But although the city spent roughly $200,000 per homeless resident throughout that time, deaths of homeless people recorded in the county quadrupled, climbing from 113 in 2019 to more than 450 in 2023, according to the most recent data from the Multnomah County Health Department. The rise in deaths far outpaces the growth in the homeless population, which was recorded at 6,300 by a 2023 county census, a number most agree is an undercount…

    These deaths came during the same period that Portland began a two-pronged response to public pressure over homelessness. City leaders began moving homeless people out of public view by removing tents at a rate far surpassing those of its West Coast peers. Since 2021, it carried out 19,000 sweeps, and it dismantled over 20 encampments per day in 2024, according to city records.

    At the same time, the city reduced money for stable permanent housing while dramatically increasing its investment in temporary shelters…

    • nickiwest@lemmy.world
      19·
      3 days ago

      How is a city spending $200k per homeless resident and still not providing them with housing?

      That’s more than 8 years’ worth of rent/mortgage at $2k per month. And even longer in a more reasonably-priced home.

      I understand there are more expenses than just rent, but I also understand that it’s nearly impossible to get a job if you don’t have a permanent residence. If we’ve got a homelessness crisis that includes working families, why wouldn’t the states want to help those families?

      A rent/mortgage assistance program seems like it would do a lot more long-term good than simply “cleaning up” encampments.