PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Unsafe and unhealthy. That’s how some community members feel living and working near SE 92nd and Flavel.
A homeless camp in the area is strewn with trash and so are the nearby banks of Johnson Creek. Neighbors say they are fed up. A manager for the nearby storage facility, which owns the property where some people are camping, said they’ve asked people to leave but it hasn’t worked.
The manager said they’ve had non-stop issues with garbage, feces, syringes and aggressive behavior. Even the homeless people there are tired of it.
One homeless camper told KOIN 6 News, “I do not (like it) especially when I start seeing orange caps. That means there are syringes and people doing drugs.”
The City of Portland recently began an outreach effort to connect homeless with services. In a few weeks, signs will be posted giving campers a one-week written notice that contracted clean-up crews will go to the camp. Other similar outreach and cleanup efforts are underway throughout the city.
Neighbors hope it makes a difference.
One woman who lives near Johnson Creek said, “We want to take our kids down there to play.”