A Forum on Unsheltered Homelessness and Creating Real Solutions, led by a panel including former Governor John Kitzhaber, filled the First Baptist Church in downtown Portland last night.
One of the three candidates for Multnomah County chair, Julia Brim-Edwards, was not among them.
“Julia Brim-Edwards’ campaign manager decided just two days before the event to finally let us know she wasn’t attending, after being requested to attend on Aug. 27,” wrote Ken Thrasher, a member of the Homeless Solutions Coalition and co-organizer of the event. “By not being heard, she left the impression on those attending that unsheltered homelessness isn’t her top priority at the county.”
Candidates Sharon Meieran and Shannon Singleton debated their competing visions after a panel presentation by Kitzhaber; Mindy Stadtlander, CEO of Health Share of Oregon; Andy Mendenhall, CEO of Central City Concern; and Lance Orton, Executive Director of CityTeam. It was moderated by Blair Best of KGW.
Topics included the urgency of unsheltered homelessness, behavioral health challenges, failed drug enforcement, the affordable housing crisis and jail confinement of alleged offenders.
Thrasher cited a NW Examiner survey released earlier this week in which 96% of responders did not want people camping on our streets if other reasonable options for sheltering are available.
“That’s a clear sign of the public’s concerns for the unsheltered homeless and its impact on our communities,” he said.
A complete replay of the 90-minute forum has been released.
I think the reality will turn out to be that we as a state, city and county do not now have and will not have in the future, the massive financial resources that "solving" the homeless problem demands. We've thrown a ginormous amount of money at this problem already and seen no improvement. Every answer to the problem of the recalcitrant homeless population involves long-term housing with "wrap-around services", but realistically, how can we afford to put all these people in what is the financial equivalent of rehabilitation care centers, especially when most of them will never be able to leave and live unsupervised in the future?
Most Millennials and Gen Zee-ers are just keeping their heads above water fighting inflation, with very scary prospects for the future and no hope of ever being able to afford their own home. Will we divert hundreds of millions of tax dollars to homeless people and continue to disenfranchise our young people? I myself am on a fixed income: the property tax bill that I received today went up over $750 from last year. Along with increases in our sewer/water bill, garbage service and every other possible fee our local governments extract, I have to wonder how long we can afford to live in the city of my birth. No wonder younger people feel hopeless!
My point is, I think there needs to be a fiscal reality check as to what is possible in helping the homeless and what is not. That's a difficult discussion to have, especially in Portlandia where "compassion" reigns king. But I'm coming to believe that we don't have and won't have enough money to "solve" this largely unsolvable problem, and we need to honestly look at what we have available and work within that budget. And that will likely mean having to settle for far less than what many homeless advocates want.
This was a well-organized and informative forum, and the organizers deserve a lot of credit. I was particularly impressed by the three expert panelists and their thoughtful discussion of the problems with our homelessness and mental health systems. The distinction between “compassionate neglect” and “compassionate respect” was especially compelling. And I always enjoy hearing from Blair Best!
I was considerably less impressed by the candidates. Multnomah County has a $4 billion annual budget, more than 5,700 employees, and a wide range of complex responsibilities. I heard little that gave me confidence in the candidates’ ability to run an organization of that size. Understanding public policy is one thing; successfully managing a large organization is quite another.
This raises a larger question: Should Multnomah County hire an experienced professional to run the county rather than elect a chair? An organization this large needs someone with a proven record of managing people, budgets, and operations, not just political or professional experience. Unfortunately, none of the three candidates has convinced me they have that experience. Voters are left to decide which candidate gives them the fewest concerns.