Editor’s note: This is the third story of “Unsheltered Truth” in a five-part series from Jeff Gianola on homelessness in Portland.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Officer Dave Sanders knows the homeless by the bikes they steal — and by the drugs they use.
“Well, they steal them so they can get around to commit more crimes typically,” Sanders said. “So yeah, it’s transportation, but if you have a bike, you have a getaway vehicle basically. Go break into a car and then ride off.”
During a recent visit, Officer Sanders recovered a $1,500 electric bike and another stolen bike in pieces. For Sanders, it’s an unending cycle of theft.
“And often what we find is when we arrest these folks with stolen bikes, then we get a backpack of electronics and car prowl items,” he said.
Another Portlander who’s familiar with the homeless is Bill Russell. He’s in charge of the Union Gospel Mission and has worked with the city’s homeless for almost 30 years.
“The fact that crime is being committed by a homeless person doesn’t change the fact that it’s a crime,” Russell said. “And it needs to be interdicted at a criminal level.”
Many businesses are affected by the homeless — including the 3 Old Town businesses owned by Eric Bowler.
“People actually literally pooping in our stoop, urinating on our front door. It’s literally an everyday problem,” Bowler said.
The city has an agency called “Clean and Safe” to help with these type of issues, and while they’re responsive, Bowler says, “It’s literally putting a band aid on a much worse problem.”
Bowler isn’t the only business owner with this problem. One downtown jewelry store owner finally moved her store after cameras captured a homeless man defecating in front of her store in the middle of the day. She said the city ignored her complaints.
While Russell has been with Union Gospel Mission for 29 years, he says it still offends him deeply when someone defecates on the street.
Watch: Eric Bowler shares his concerns about the homeless
“It’s like that’s a sign of the dehumanization of the problem at an intolerable level,” Russell said.
During Jeff’s walk around Old Town, he ran into two Clean and Safe officers. He asked them how they respond to someone sleeping in a doorway or going to the bathroom — but they got a call during the conversation and walked away.
After the officers left, Jeff and Bowler passed the doorway of his business where a homeless person was sleeping. As Bowler explained, unless Clean and Safe officers get a specific complaint, they ignore the problem
When asked if he thinks that’s OK, Bowler said, “No. How can I be here 24 hours a day making sure the neighborhood is safe?”
It’s not just businesses in Old Town or downtown that are directly affected by homelessness.
Seth Longaker owns Oddball — a shoe and apparel store at Northwest 18th and Thurman — and has dealt with homelessness problems for years.
“There was a prostitution ring being run out of a tent across the street where there was literally guys with numbers waiting for their turn to go into the tent,” Longaker said.
He has also witnessed people running guns out of an abandoned car that they were also sleeping in.
Longaker recently went on a business trip to Reno and was surprised to see the Reno City Council discussing homeless camps. On the docket that day for the city council meeting was basically how to make Reno not go down the same path as Portland.
Russell said, “Surveys indicate that well over half the people aren’t happy with public policy. It seems to be disconnected to what they’re seeing in their neighborhood.”
Both Bowler and Longaker think bold and new solutions to the homeless problem have been paralyzed by years of local politics and ideas that don’t work.
“The city and county seem to be at odds with their solutions. It’s not working, ” Bowler said.
Longaker added, “It’s just the same thing over and over again. We need someone with a fresh idea who is willing to ruffle some feathers.”
And that feather ruffler may be developer Homer Williams, who recently launched his Harbor of Hope.
Stay tuned for Jeff Gianola’s fourth piece “Lost Chances, New Hope,” which will let viewers see Williams’ bold new concept to house the homeless.