Pearl public housing building short on love and joy
Residents of Lovejoy Station say their safety given short shrift
The main entry to Lovejoy Station, a public housing building at 915 NW Lovejoy St., is “always” open. That’s because the lock is continually vandalized and/or surmounted by people who do not belong in the building, which is owned by Home Forward.
The Pearl District Neighborhood Association Livability and Safety Committee held its monthly meeting at Lovejoy Station last month in recognition of the security and livability problems faced by residents. About 30 residents attended, and they were not shy about their fears of drug traffickers and predatory characters who frequent the vicinity and often gain entry. Fear for their personal safety was the primary complaint.
Representatives of Home Forward and Pinehurst Management, a private company contracted to manage the facility, attended the meeting. Claims of inadequate resources to correct problems, as well as promises that remedies are on the way, were not well received by residents at the meeting, a couple of whom walked out proclaiming their disgust. Sally Mize, a resident of the building and member of the committee, returned to report that the front door was unsecured at that moment.
Ken Thrasher, chair of the Northwest Community Conservancy, a nonprofit formed by Pearl residents to provide public safety and humanitarian services, is also a member of the PDNA Livability and Safety Committee. After hearing descriptions of the situation at Lovejoy Station, he promised to contact Mayor Keith Wilson and other city officials to address conditions he deemed unacceptable.
Lovejoy Station Apartments is not public housing (HUD). It is a section 42 property owned by Homeforward which was HAP and still is the Housing Authority of Portland)
There is no security, as Homeforward says not in the budget. The repair on broken doors at three entrances which is constant would pay for security alone. The rent is high, turn over of apts is very slow which adds to the deficit and low budget. Homeforward has opened its arms to the "Move in Multnomah" program initiated by Jessica Vega Pederson and the City Council and Mult. County legislature. Landlords receive one years rent to house, alleged recovering addicts, severe mentally ill with absolutely no oversight. We have drug dealing, drug use, fatal overdoses, murders, theft, property damage, laundry machines crow barred open for the change. Storage lockers broken into and items stolen. We've had swat teams, lock downs the list goes on.
Of course everyone needs a roof over their head but mixing populations in living communities doesn't work. It has been proven time and time again.
The decision makers who are responsible for the deterioration of Lovejoy Station and many other once very livable and safe communities, need to learn more about the community they serve and look at the whole picture and possible ramifications of their decisions and be ready for it. It's called OVERSIGHT, and it is the most important part of this program. However, it is non existent. The naivety to think, that merely putting a roof over your head will take care of all the problems is disappointing coming from elected officials and organizations where housing is their business.
Be informed and do your job responsibly. Our lives depend on it.
...and what do you suppose our capon-mayor will be able to do about it? Compose a little feel-good speech. The only question worth asking is: how about the troika of 25-percenters representing the area? Could they descend from their Olympian progressive dreamworld long enough to get a look that works?