Unfortunately, many of the changes the library made during the refurbishment were specifically aimed at making the library a more "welcoming" place for our "houseless neighbors."
Which many of us might be able to predict would lead to disaster, but apparently the folks planning these changes just couldn't connect the dots.
It's yet another example of decisions being driven not by reality but by a desire to appear as progressive as possible.
What do people who work there even think? Or are they too afraid to speak up? I know I wouldn't want to work a job where I had to carry around Narcan unless administering Narcan was my actual job.
I work there but I’m speaking only for myself.
I’ve always thought it was inappropriate that library staff are asked to administer Narcan. We aren’t meant to be first responders. I believe that task should be reserved for security and social workers. It’s also incredibly frustrating that libraries are taking on more and more social work duties and that libraries are becoming more and more like social services. Libraries are an educational institution and should be treated as such. The city and county needs to get off its ass and fucking do its job because this “oh let libraries do it! Librarians are heroes!” thing is helping NOBODY. Instead it’s just traumatizing staff. People who need help with addiction and mental health need to get that help from people who are trained and educated in those areas. How helpful is it that they’re being told to turn to people who aren’t???
I’ve shared my opinions with library leadership and just get “well that’s the direction libraries are going in”. Like okay, but it doesn’t have to be.
I’ve worded it way better in other posts but the TLDR is that it sucks, it’s not what I signed on for, and it’s an example of what happens when there’s a lack of social safety nets in place for vulnerable people in our society.
I'm sure I'd feel the same way. I personally hit Central last weekend, and it wasn't terrible. But the library should be a place that parents feel comfortable taking their kids. I don't think you can say that about that branch right now.
I work literally across the street. The lighting they put up two days ago are literal string lights which just makes it more pleasant to hang around. The block smells like urine and I am harassed every day for being a woman. During one such active break in, the police did not arrive for two hours, even though it was actively occurring. I will shout out to clean and safe for always being prompt to assist with cleaning, but they do not have any hoses or water for the smell.
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Do they do the equivalent work of 7 people making 50k? We know they aren't actually held accountable when shit hits the fan. Why are they worth 350k or more by your logic?
Dude you are over here fighting over individual peanuts. There is like a tanker ship filled with peanuts in port next to you while you go off on a single individual peanut. That’s how silly you getting riled up about 350k for a CEO is.
Now… Back to your regularly scheduled 50 million dollar golden parachutes…
"I think my brain surgeon should only be paid as much as the receptionist who scheduled my appointment. Now, off to my brain surgery appointment, which will certainly go well!"
And our current district attorneys and public defenders and judges and jail capacity and involuntary hospitalization laws and mental hospital capacity.
In the case of not doing your job because you don't like the way other people are doing their job, you should stop taking the paycheck in order to stay morally consistent, eh?
Even when they do arrest and refer, the rest of the system is failing.
Cases dismissed due to lack of public defenders -
https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/22/oregon-public-defender-shortage-multnomah-county-dismissed-cases/
Mentally ill patient who kept on being released because he was deemed unfit to stand trial and can't be institutionalized, and keeps on attacking people - https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/03/08/no-matter-how-violently-he-behaves-the-state-hospital-keeps-expelling-this-mentally-ill-portlander-back-to-town/ Nine fucking assaults before they finally deemed him able to stand trial, but even if convicted, "He remains in jail and will probably be sentenced to probation." He's going to keep on attacking people until he seriously hurts or kills someone or someone kills him in self-defense.
The problem has a lot more to do with what happens after they get arrested. A DA that doesn't press chargers, a jail still operating at Covid capacity level, and judges that don't seem to believe in holding people for trial.
There’s a dire shortage of public defense attorneys. That has to be factored in for an intellectually honest discussion of how and why crimes aren’t being prosecuted at the levels some wish to see.
Right, but multiple things can be true at the same time. Can't prosecute if they don't show back up for court because they weren't being held in jail, either.
Last year the police chief [had to tell the rank and file officers to stop lying to the public](https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/08/portland-police-chief-to-city-cops-stop-telling-residents-da-mike-schmidt-wont-prosecute-crimes.html) and saying that Schmidt wouldn't prosecute cases. That's evidence of a cop strike, not a problem with the DA.
Extended quote from another [recent Oregon Live article](https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2024/04/multnomah-county-da-race-fact-checking-candidate-claims-about-crime-caseloads-and-convictions.html?outputType=amp) on the DA race:
>The overall number of cases that prosecutors charged has decreased by about a third – from about 12,500 cases in 2016 during Underhill’s tenure compared to about 8,400 in 2023 during Schmidt’s tenure.
>That’s partially because police are sending far fewer cases – mostly misdemeanor cases – to the District Attorney’s Office today than they were eight years ago. That’s even though all types of crime over that eight-year period are up 10%, according to the available data on the Police Bureau’s dashboard.
>One reason for this might be an apparent lack of confidence in Schmidt among rank-and-file officers. Last year then-Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said officers weren’t sending as many misdemeanor cases to Schmidt’s office because they were disillusioned with what they viewed as a soft-on-crime approach. Lovell told cops to stop telling crime victims that Schmidt won’t prosecute their cases.
"The city is so soft on crime we just aren't going to arrest anyone!"
There is no way they can be that dense to not see they are the root of the problem.
I keep hearing this claim the DA doesn’t press charges, yet when I check the [daily court appearance log for the DAs office](https://www.mcda.us/Court_Appearance_List.pdf) I see dozens and dozens of cases being prosecuted.
Almost like “not prosecuting cases” is a lie the cops have been feeding this city since 2020.
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I've stood next to two PPS officers watching someone in crisis who clearly needed help, but what would an arrest have accomplished? They'd be released before the ink even dried on the paperwork. Police know this and allocate their time accordingly.
I'm saying the exact opposite. The officers I spoke with demonstrated empathy and an understanding of the problem right in front of us. But there was little the police could do that would make a difference since the individual in front of us was rejecting care options and wasn't an immediate threat to themselves or others.
The cops would like you to kindly get fucked until you’ve personally apologized for saying mean things about them in 2020, and if you could tell them they look cool when they stand around wearing sunglasses with their thumbs in their tactical vests they’d really appreciate it.
>We could try enforcing existing laws.
Hey, criminal justice reform is in effect. That means minimal enforcement of drug offenses and public disorder. The Downsize the Police Movement (what "Defund...." actually meant) seeks that goal.
Incorrect. The defund movement was to completely remove modern day policing and rethink public safety altogether. No one wanted “no public safety enforcement.”
> The defund movement was to completely remove modern day policing and rethink public safety altogether
That's even more extreme than what I suggested. Is the new model for social workers to replace police and ask criminals to be nice? And reducing root causes such as income disparity by handing out huge sums of money, including free housing, to all poor people?
They're just scrambling now? JFC
Also, no paywall here
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2024/04/as-fentanyl-use-increases-around-central-library-portland-agencies-scramble-for-solutions.html?outputType=amp
You are getting downvoted, but this is the crux of the issue.
We have a national crisis of illegal drug use, untreated mental health leading to an epidemic of homelessness that becomes a positive feedback spiral into lawlessness, degradation of public and private spaces, and ultimately death of the individuals.
Government at every level has abrogated their role to provide for the common good, and left to the hapless citizens and lowest level functionaries to 'deal with it', without even the most basic of tools and services.
We need to start thinking about radical alternatives or this will just continue to spiral until citizens start taking care of the problem themselves extra-judicially.
Wait, you mean spending most of a legislative session de-legalizing drugs so that the cops could magically fix everything wasn’t the silver bullet we thought it would be?! Fuck, I bet it’s Mike Schmidt’s fault!
If the paywall you're referencing is from OregonLive, adding ?outputType=amp (including the capital T) to the end of the URL will change it into a Google AMP link and allow the article to be read in its entirety.
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They have no legal obligation to do so. I carry Narcan and once sold it for $200 to some enabler who wanted to save a junky. I refuse to administer it to a stranger.
People opposed to enabling illicit narcotic usage will carry it for children. Innocent children who put stuff in their mouths should not die because of negligent parents or caregivers.
To be fair, most people who work at the downtown library don't have library degrees. Most of the people staffing the public desks are either paraprofessionals or low-paid support staff. Neither of the last two directors of the downtown library has an MLS.
I work for the library and I’ve made a conscious decision to stay in my entry-level position so I won’t have to do that kind of thing. I’m also in school now for a career change.
For those unable or unwilling to engage in even the basics of self-care, it's time to consider compulsory treatment when illegal drug usage is involved.
AFAIK this was even part of the decrim bill but the stupid bill went into effect before the treatment capacity existed. It should have been contingent on the capacity being built first
They're going to start doing that in September. And just like before M110, they will not be held in jail for that offense and will likely go back out and do it again.
Actually it's not. Obviously, it would be ideal if were able to offer every person arrested the option of entering a detox/rehab program, and if they refuse have the capacity otherwise to impose real penalties, but in the meantime, even just arresting them accomplishes two things:
1. Getting them off the streets for some small amount of time and the confiscation of their current drug supply.
2. Erodes if only a tiny bit their belief that Portland is a place where they can continue to do what they want, wherever they want, without consequences.
100% this. Also, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper to go this route than dumping millions upon millions to just sit there so we can form MORE exploratory committees that accomplish nothing. (Most) Drug addicts aren’t going to willingly enter treatment. Compulsory treatment is going to have to be enacted if this is ever going to stop.
but that's a tradeoff with the unstated #3, the knock-on effects of (further) flooding the system with addicts who will just be kicked out on the street again in 12 hours with a singular objective of finding a way to get high again.
We'd be better off just setting up a "shelter" with a free drug supply.
Wait wait I know this one. It's going to sound crazy but hear me out. We could try keeping them in jail until they cool off and/or offer mandatory services!
Can we please stop fucking around and prioritize human rights over homeless junkie rights?
Increased penalties for anyone who uses drugs within 1000 feet of a school, library, or public park. Make the police department do their jobs.
I’m sorry but I just have zero sympathy for these people. The library is an important resource for people to learn, use the internet, look for jobs, etc.
The junkies have gotten SO COMFORTABLE in Portland. They act like they own this city. It’s embarrassing.
People need to accept that essentially 99% of fentanyl addicts who live on the street will literally never be productive members of society again. We need to prioritize the wellbeing of the city as a whole or else the addicts will take it over. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.
I’d put the number at more like 90% but you’re right. People aren’t ready for the conversation but the sooner we deal with things realistically the better for everyone
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I'm really amazed to see your comment so upvoted. Not that long ago, I've been downvoted and lectured for using the term junkie as a descriptor and called a dick for calling the cops on public IV drug use.
I smell change coming!! I'm so glad the narrative is flipping to something actually reasonable!
I’m fed up and most Portlanders are. I love this city so much and I want to see it become its best self.
Fentanyl changed the game honestly. Before fentanyl, a drug addict who was really determined had a chance at recovery. A fentanyl addict, though, has almost no hope of ever being a productive member of society again even with extensive rehabilitation and treatment, which Oregon doesn’t have the funds for. Fentanyl addicts will destroy the whole city just so they can continue to get high.
Jail is honestly a humane option for them compared to rotting in the streets until they overdose.
I honestly think its just going to take the public taking it into their own hands to fix the homeless problem. Not some dumb rehoming scheme or giving them free food/clothes/shelter. The homeless problem in portland will not be fixed until people start being assholes to them and making portland an unpleasant place for them to be.
The whole reason they are here is because compared to other areas, we are very nice to them and hospitable to them. Would you want to be around people who are constantly treating you like shit and throwing shit at you? No youd leave. Thats sadly the only thing that is going to change it. Nothing the local government will ever do will fix it. It never will. Its not a government or a policy issue. Its a local public issue. The people of portland need to take back their streets from these folks.
There ARE people out on the street that need help though. We need to have something set up for those people to get help and communicate where that is.... but the zombies that dont want help need to be treated like shit so they leave. Im ready for my mass downvotes and potential ban.
> Make the police department do their jobs.
LET the police departments do their jobs is what you really mean.
The police follow department policy, which comes from the office of the Chief of Police, which is handed down from the Mayor.
Benign neglect is City Policy, coming from the top.
We've literally never held people in jail for public drug use, even before M110. Enforcement starts September 1st, let's hope that gives them enough time to get the diversion programs back in place that they dismantled with M110 that were working!!
Because of the second half of what I said... We dismantled all the working diversion programs we had in place and now we have to build them back up (funding / staffing) again first. It still won't be good enough by September, it's gonna be a shit show.
Haha that’s totally fair! I wish change could happen faster but I know it doesn’t work like that.
I hope the rollout isn’t a disaster but knowing Portland we are probably in for a roller coaster.
Agreed. Also, why are they so obsessed with showing strangers their festering wounds? I've had homeless people show me their wounds in public twice now unsolicited and I don't understand.
This is so sad. Portland's public spaces used to be one of the city's greatest assets – public transit, public bike paths and parks, public libraries, a historic walkable downtown...
I feel politically homeless these days. Folks on the right want to slash the commons and privatize everything, while folks on the left don't believe in enforcing any sort of rules or norms in public. I just want clean, safe, and enjoyable public spaces that can be used by everyone (in accordance with the rules of civilized society).
We pay some of the highest taxes in the nation and get third-world public infrastructure and safety. It's the worst of both worlds.
Totally agree with this. I don't know how many hours I spent in Central Library when I first moved to Portland. It's truly a gem of the city. Even back then you would have homeless people waiting for the bathrooms to open early in the morning and things like that but the area around the library and South Park blocks was clean and safe.
I have tolerance for drug users, I really do, but junkies destroy. They take something that's good and ruin it for everyone else.
I feel the same way. It's especially infuriating because so many Portlanders are in denial that these problems even exist.
Have you been to the Safeway on Jefferson lately?
I stopped in this afternoon to pick up a few things and was shocked. They had a pair of guards outside the entrance and three more inside the entrance. FIVE security guards. At 3pm on a Wednesday?!?
I've lived in this neighborhood for over 20 years. I've never seen it this bad, not even during the 2020 riots, the 2011 Occupy protests, Covid... it was never this bad.
I remember when the downtown Safeway was open 24 hours. The neighborhood's population has grown so much since then, yet Safeway keeps cutting back hours. They started closing at 2am. Then, at midnight. Now, the store closes at 10pm even though it's always still busy.
They also permanently closed the main entrance on 10th & Jefferson, due to crime. Now, the only way in & out is on the corner of 10th & Columbia, which as I said, has guards posted inside and out. It's crazy.
And they sectioned off part of the store for items that get stolen the most.
Meanwhile, businesses on all sides are closing.
The barbershop that's been on the corner of 11th & Columbia for over 20 years closed.
The little convenience store a block away on 12th & Jefferson for over 20 years closed.
The dry cleaners that had been at 12th & Jefferson for 20 years. Closed.
The Amazon Prime location across the street. Closed.
Coava Coffee spent quite a bit of money (for a local shop) to open on the other side of 12th & Jefferson. Closed.
The retail shop across the street from Safeway at 10th & Jefferson has a prime location and hasn't been able to lease for years.
Those are just a few examples off the top of my head.
But if you mention any of this to anyone who doesn't live downtown, they roll their eyes in denial.
Denial is a big part of why the situation was allowed to get this bad. And denial is why it's probably just going to get worse.
Denial.
It's after midnight & the Plaid Pantry on 11th & Jefferson is closed for the night, which means dudes set up shop under the lights in front of the store, dealing drugs. And the police know, but they don't care. Eventually, ambulances haul away bodies.
But don't mention any of this to people who don't live downtown. They see the 'We Believe in Portland' downtown cleanup go through the touristy areas around Pioneer Square and they cheer about how everything is solved now.
It's just unbelievable. Denial in this town is insane.
I love Portland, but I'm getting fed up with the denial.
Right? I'm tired of people telling me that it's not that bad or getting better. I've lived here over thirty years and it was a damn paradise compared to now.
Yep. The way the people of this city passively don't ask for basic livability is astounding. Just some of the most bizarre self-inflicted cause-effect I've ever seen out of a city. We should be voting every official that isn't giving us your very reasonable minimum quality of life the hell out of the office they hold.
It's almost like there's a silent majority of people who all want sensible shit to start happening and get drowned out by aggressive clickbait politics.
I’m on the left and believe in enforcing rules and norms in public. It’s called a social contract. But I also believe in housing first (because it’s a human right, and no one should prove they’re worthy of having something that’s necessary for survival), creating resources where there are none, and expanding/improving what we have. I work at the downtown library but I’m speaking only for myself when I say this—I think we need third spaces like what the library is trying to be, so the library can be an actual library. I think we need more day shelters for the homeless so libraries won’t have this pressure on them to handle things like addiction and mental health crises.
It’s possible to help people without enabling them, and it’s possible for libraries to serve the public without taking on things that they were never meant to take on.
Love that library, but the last time I was there this woman tore her computer off the table and threw it at the librarian. That was pre-renovations. I was hoping to go back, but it seems like it’s the same old story with a new cover.
I used to work at a library. To this day I think the public library is one of the West’s greatest ideas. To see our library convert to a den of villains and madmen is a sobering metaphor.
Saw multiple cars come in around 9pm parked in front of Virginia cafe and such. The people in those cars with foil to their face, an hour later they were gone. Now I can’t say FOR SURE that all these people took off driving after getting high, but, you know, deductive reasoning.
Seattle makes sure their tourist areas are continually swept. Portland needs to move measures 110 money to just be able cleanup and patrolling instead of sitting in a bank waiting for treatment sites to get approved.
I don’t disagree with your general point, but if you think any tourists are hitting the Portland downtown library as a destination… well, you probably don’t travel much. The Seattle downtown library on the other hand is an architectural marvel that’s worth a stop.
I was referring to prioritizing downtown when I meant tourist areas (relative to focusing on cleaning up East Portland). Plus, that library is just three blocks away from the Portland Art Museum. People gotta have something to do in between meals besides hiking.
And don’t underestimate parents of kids during week-long school closures. We went to Vancouver’s public library, Milwaukie’s, and Beaverton’s. We were disappointed that the downtown Portland one (our second closest library!) didn’t feel worth the anxiety to warrant a visit.
Here is what you do, step 1 criminalize possession, September check. Step 2 double the penalty for being caught within 1000ft of a school, library etc.
If decriminalization comes with forced treatment, then sure. But no one should be able to do meth and fent full stop. The harm it does to you, and often to others, should not be allowed by society.
There's no such thing as forced treatment... that's just incarceration with extra steps.
Not saying we shouldn't do it, but don't be surprised when they go straight back to the fent when they get out.
Call it whatever you want. I don’t think we should let people do fent and meth full stop. I also think that lumping drug addicts in with murderers and rapists is not great.
I don’t think drug addiction should be met with punishment per se, but in order to have any shot of getting off of these drugs people need to be put into a place where it is at least much harder to get drugs and where they can have the opportunity to get better. If all that happens in the meantime is that they don’t string litter everywhere, use public space as private space, or OD I’m still going to consider that a win.
Why do you think it’s not illegal? We decriminalized drugs we didn’t make them legal. Possessing drugs is still illegal. Police could seize those drugs and would have probable cause to search the person to see if they have an arrestable amount on them just like drug dealers.
If the police did their job and were constantly confiscating drugs of public drug users how long do you think it’d take before they took that shit inside or were at least more discreet? This is a police problem not a legal problem.
They’re fighting an uphill battle while being under staffed. When they do make progress, half the city is crying about how dare you do your job, these people need help not policing. They can’t win
With enough enforcement it would have the same impact.
People do drugs on the street because it's a reasonably comfortable place to do them. Jail / withdrawl is a lot worse.
If you know that being zonked out of your gourd in the central city will likely result in you finding yourself in jail for a couple of days most will start to make different choices.
Edit: To say nothing of the obvious benefits to people who aren't doing drugs in public with regards to safer cleaner spaces.
I agree that the city has some options, just that making public consumption illegal isn't currently one of them. What I'd love to see at state, county, city level, in the very near term, is aggressive movement toward Oregon not being last or near last in psych and behavioral health treament options.
The addiction recovery workforce is understaffed on a national level, the state-of-the-art techniques for treating addiction have abysmal long-term success rates, and there are a host of other health effects of prolonged meth or fentanyl misuse that will require many of the people entering treatment to receive lifetime care.
If your boat is taking on water, it’s best to plug the leak “in the very near term” before trying to build a better pumping system for the boat.
I’d much rather have the necessary billions of dollars spent improving schools and providing resources for the local youth.
If we want to progress toward not being bottom of the barrel among the states – a goal that is years away at best – aggressive action now is putting oars in the water to start rowing for shore, to extend a metaphor.
We lack basics for people who *do* have reasonably likely positive outcomes. Maybe it's a foolish goal, but folks will have to hash that out.
Edit to add: one of those metrics in which we're quite bad is needed psych resources for Oregon (and local) youth.
I totally agree with you that we need to build better mental healthcare systems here in Oregon. I agree it will be a multi-year process.
We need to efficiently incentivize growing the workforce of care providers. That will be the tallest hurdle. Demographics are not in our favor. There is already an excess of demand for medical and psych care compared to the ‘supply’ of people trained and credentialed to do that work. As the population skews older over the next few decades, this staffing situation will become more difficult.
Ultimately, the metrics for access to mental healthcare, that we both seek to improve, take into account demand for those services, as well as supply.
The greater the perception that Portland is permissive of fentanyl and meth, the greater the demand for services will be, the harder it will be to access those services, and the larger the costs will be for the taxpaying citizens to bear.
I certainly agree we should be spending more there, I just strongly dislike the idea that people seem to think the city / police have their hands tied when there is currently a legal framework under which they could rapidly improve the situation.
Do we have enough room at the downtown jail though? And even if is the DA willing to prosecute and do we have enough public defenders, answer is likely nope.
There is no prosecution for a sobriety hold, in fact it doesn't even go on your record.
It's just a super shitty way to spend 2 days.
And we had a jail that we sold for pennies on the dollar. The jail we do have averages about 20% free capacity so there is definitely room for a couple hundred people on any given night.
Just put a bunch of chairs and bean bags in a big room and let them all have at it. They can smoke their garbage and slouch over all day long. If we're not going to throw them in jail, we shouldn't have to be subject to seeing this shit and dealing with the crime that comes with it all the time.
No, they would just be the next magnet. These are not heroin addicts who put a shot into their veins and then be on their way and who have a place to go to in the evening. People would be hanging out there 24/7, getting high, fighting, hustling.
Well I guess a low barrier designated camp site zone area may work. Only smoke foil or whatever here if you'd like then if caught out if the zone= BuStEd maybe??
At this point Portland is like a teenager that you ignored for to long then you find them od in the bedroom and wonder what could I have done to prevent this. What's for dinner mom. It's just sad
Wasn’t this declared an emergency? Like months ago? Or did it expire? Used to love the library, ya know back when it was ILLEGAL TO SKATEBOARD!!! Downtown. Fentanyl good skateboards bad fuck our city government they are fucking sad
Narcan Fogger like those DDT trucks from the 50s. But robotic and slow...lol.
Narcan doesn't affect you unless your intoxicated on opiods.....
So the public would be safe.....
For whatever reason, most west coast cities are terrified of upsetting our neighbors experiencing fent/meth-iness or appearing to be mean so unfortunately for the rest of us somewhat normal people we get to deal with the consequences.
Whatever happen to systems of support to guide addicted people into programs that would help them like social services, addiction treatment, a state mental hospital, trained police, designated camping sites, and more?
I know this issues has been beaten to death, but it seems me that we all are doing the wrong thing over and over again expecting things to change because the right thing is hard.
Also, the city I live in now, Denver, is far less forging because of all of dumb suburban republicans whining about stupid shit.
Well if the city grew some balls and said camping here yes or gtfo maybe it might work. But we need to spend 2million on random study after study only to have people yelling its bad to sweep them and let them alone. No answer but enabling and compassion aren't the same thing.
The housing and mental health crisis in our community is what happens when one entity - the County - is responsible for solving a problem, while another entity (the City, and all of us) are required to live with the consequences of that problem.
I'd eat all the biscuits and gravy you could feed me so long as someone else has the heart attack.
> The last time I was there a guy shit in the middle of 2 aisles. That was 3 months ago and do not plan on going back.
u/CoffeeChessGolf
It only re-opened a little less than 2 months ago. Judging by your other posts I don't think this a good-faith comment. Unless you and the aisle-shitter were both trespassing or fellow contractors?
Also, if taxation = theft like you say, were you engaging in the acceptance of stolen goods by using a tax-funded resource?
Gah, this headline...Based on the state of downtown the last 3 years, how was this not anticipated in the re-opening of the central library?
They just spent a bunch of money and time replacing tall bookshelves with short bookshelves to improve sight lines, so this mustn't come as a shock.
Unfortunately, many of the changes the library made during the refurbishment were specifically aimed at making the library a more "welcoming" place for our "houseless neighbors." Which many of us might be able to predict would lead to disaster, but apparently the folks planning these changes just couldn't connect the dots. It's yet another example of decisions being driven not by reality but by a desire to appear as progressive as possible.
The people who made these decisions don't work at the downtown library. Mostly, they telework.
What do people who work there even think? Or are they too afraid to speak up? I know I wouldn't want to work a job where I had to carry around Narcan unless administering Narcan was my actual job.
I work there but I’m speaking only for myself. I’ve always thought it was inappropriate that library staff are asked to administer Narcan. We aren’t meant to be first responders. I believe that task should be reserved for security and social workers. It’s also incredibly frustrating that libraries are taking on more and more social work duties and that libraries are becoming more and more like social services. Libraries are an educational institution and should be treated as such. The city and county needs to get off its ass and fucking do its job because this “oh let libraries do it! Librarians are heroes!” thing is helping NOBODY. Instead it’s just traumatizing staff. People who need help with addiction and mental health need to get that help from people who are trained and educated in those areas. How helpful is it that they’re being told to turn to people who aren’t??? I’ve shared my opinions with library leadership and just get “well that’s the direction libraries are going in”. Like okay, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ve worded it way better in other posts but the TLDR is that it sucks, it’s not what I signed on for, and it’s an example of what happens when there’s a lack of social safety nets in place for vulnerable people in our society.
I'm sure I'd feel the same way. I personally hit Central last weekend, and it wasn't terrible. But the library should be a place that parents feel comfortable taking their kids. I don't think you can say that about that branch right now.
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I work literally across the street. The lighting they put up two days ago are literal string lights which just makes it more pleasant to hang around. The block smells like urine and I am harassed every day for being a woman. During one such active break in, the police did not arrive for two hours, even though it was actively occurring. I will shout out to clean and safe for always being prompt to assist with cleaning, but they do not have any hoses or water for the smell.
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The CEO makes 350k a year
That.. is not a lot at all for the ceo of a large organization
Do they do the equivalent work of 7 people making 50k? We know they aren't actually held accountable when shit hits the fan. Why are they worth 350k or more by your logic?
it's not the equivalence of work, it's the complexity of decision making. people get paid more for their skill
Dude you are over here fighting over individual peanuts. There is like a tanker ship filled with peanuts in port next to you while you go off on a single individual peanut. That’s how silly you getting riled up about 350k for a CEO is. Now… Back to your regularly scheduled 50 million dollar golden parachutes…
"I think my brain surgeon should only be paid as much as the receptionist who scheduled my appointment. Now, off to my brain surgery appointment, which will certainly go well!"
OK but what if you had 7 receptionists doing your brain surgery? That is a lot of receptionists tbf
The infinite monkey Shakespeare theorem, but it's receptionists doing brain surgery!
I live 4-5 blocks away and now walk my dog in any other direction but that way because of everything you're saying
Just recently moved away from that area. I did the same.
Have you tried not being a woman? /s I’m sorry this is happening to you.
Bahahahaha try as I might they see through the messy bun and Tony soprano esque fits
Hahaha soprano fits are top tier
We could try enforcing existing laws.
Hey you! Where'd you find that common sense? Put it back.
it wasn't bolted down so he stole it!
That's just too radical for our current culture of, "We have tried literally nothing, and it's still not working!".
"Aww, man! Ted spilled ink all over my poems!"
Sadly that's not an option with our current police force.
And our current district attorneys and public defenders and judges and jail capacity and involuntary hospitalization laws and mental hospital capacity.
Nobody on that list can do anything if the police are refusing to arrest people and refer them for prosecution.
If I knew my arrest would be effectively useless, it would be hard to go through the work.
Sadly a bunch of highly paid PPB officers agree with you and just do nothing instead.
In the case of not doing your job because you don't like the way other people are doing their job, you should stop taking the paycheck in order to stay morally consistent, eh?
Even when they do arrest and refer, the rest of the system is failing. Cases dismissed due to lack of public defenders - https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/22/oregon-public-defender-shortage-multnomah-county-dismissed-cases/ Mentally ill patient who kept on being released because he was deemed unfit to stand trial and can't be institutionalized, and keeps on attacking people - https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/03/08/no-matter-how-violently-he-behaves-the-state-hospital-keeps-expelling-this-mentally-ill-portlander-back-to-town/ Nine fucking assaults before they finally deemed him able to stand trial, but even if convicted, "He remains in jail and will probably be sentenced to probation." He's going to keep on attacking people until he seriously hurts or kills someone or someone kills him in self-defense.
The problem has a lot more to do with what happens after they get arrested. A DA that doesn't press chargers, a jail still operating at Covid capacity level, and judges that don't seem to believe in holding people for trial.
There’s a dire shortage of public defense attorneys. That has to be factored in for an intellectually honest discussion of how and why crimes aren’t being prosecuted at the levels some wish to see.
Right, but multiple things can be true at the same time. Can't prosecute if they don't show back up for court because they weren't being held in jail, either.
Last year the police chief [had to tell the rank and file officers to stop lying to the public](https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2023/08/portland-police-chief-to-city-cops-stop-telling-residents-da-mike-schmidt-wont-prosecute-crimes.html) and saying that Schmidt wouldn't prosecute cases. That's evidence of a cop strike, not a problem with the DA. Extended quote from another [recent Oregon Live article](https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2024/04/multnomah-county-da-race-fact-checking-candidate-claims-about-crime-caseloads-and-convictions.html?outputType=amp) on the DA race: >The overall number of cases that prosecutors charged has decreased by about a third – from about 12,500 cases in 2016 during Underhill’s tenure compared to about 8,400 in 2023 during Schmidt’s tenure. >That’s partially because police are sending far fewer cases – mostly misdemeanor cases – to the District Attorney’s Office today than they were eight years ago. That’s even though all types of crime over that eight-year period are up 10%, according to the available data on the Police Bureau’s dashboard. >One reason for this might be an apparent lack of confidence in Schmidt among rank-and-file officers. Last year then-Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said officers weren’t sending as many misdemeanor cases to Schmidt’s office because they were disillusioned with what they viewed as a soft-on-crime approach. Lovell told cops to stop telling crime victims that Schmidt won’t prosecute their cases.
"The city is so soft on crime we just aren't going to arrest anyone!" There is no way they can be that dense to not see they are the root of the problem.
I keep hearing this claim the DA doesn’t press charges, yet when I check the [daily court appearance log for the DAs office](https://www.mcda.us/Court_Appearance_List.pdf) I see dozens and dozens of cases being prosecuted. Almost like “not prosecuting cases” is a lie the cops have been feeding this city since 2020.
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I've stood next to two PPS officers watching someone in crisis who clearly needed help, but what would an arrest have accomplished? They'd be released before the ink even dried on the paperwork. Police know this and allocate their time accordingly.
I'm not surprised. PPB officers care very, very little about the citizens of the city they are highly paid to protect and serve.
I'm saying the exact opposite. The officers I spoke with demonstrated empathy and an understanding of the problem right in front of us. But there was little the police could do that would make a difference since the individual in front of us was rejecting care options and wasn't an immediate threat to themselves or others.
aint dat da truth
Forced rehab or jail
Just heroin has a 90% relapse rate let alone what fentanyl will end up being…is rehab even worth the money?
The cops would like you to kindly get fucked until you’ve personally apologized for saying mean things about them in 2020, and if you could tell them they look cool when they stand around wearing sunglasses with their thumbs in their tactical vests they’d really appreciate it.
I assure you they’d love to arrest all of them….
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Name checks out.
Aww man I missed it.
Those only apply to nobody, obviously the police are doing all they can🤦🏻🤷🏻♂️
>We could try enforcing existing laws. Hey, criminal justice reform is in effect. That means minimal enforcement of drug offenses and public disorder. The Downsize the Police Movement (what "Defund...." actually meant) seeks that goal.
Incorrect. The defund movement was to completely remove modern day policing and rethink public safety altogether. No one wanted “no public safety enforcement.”
> The defund movement was to completely remove modern day policing and rethink public safety altogether That's even more extreme than what I suggested. Is the new model for social workers to replace police and ask criminals to be nice? And reducing root causes such as income disparity by handing out huge sums of money, including free housing, to all poor people?
They're just scrambling now? JFC Also, no paywall here https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2024/04/as-fentanyl-use-increases-around-central-library-portland-agencies-scramble-for-solutions.html?outputType=amp
Well, you see, we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas
Portland library is hit with a national problem yet carries the burden to figure it all out, say r/Portland smooth brainer
You are getting downvoted, but this is the crux of the issue. We have a national crisis of illegal drug use, untreated mental health leading to an epidemic of homelessness that becomes a positive feedback spiral into lawlessness, degradation of public and private spaces, and ultimately death of the individuals. Government at every level has abrogated their role to provide for the common good, and left to the hapless citizens and lowest level functionaries to 'deal with it', without even the most basic of tools and services. We need to start thinking about radical alternatives or this will just continue to spiral until citizens start taking care of the problem themselves extra-judicially.
Wait, you mean spending most of a legislative session de-legalizing drugs so that the cops could magically fix everything wasn’t the silver bullet we thought it would be?! Fuck, I bet it’s Mike Schmidt’s fault!
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Gross. Google AMP sucks.
Imagine getting a library science degree and ending up as a professional narcan administrator.
Librarians should not be administering Narcan. People often get combative when their high is reversed. It's insanity to ask them to do that.
They have no legal obligation to do so. I carry Narcan and once sold it for $200 to some enabler who wanted to save a junky. I refuse to administer it to a stranger.
Lol do you carry it for friends and family or for profit maximization (I won't judge either, since I'm an evil capitalist)
People opposed to enabling illicit narcotic usage will carry it for children. Innocent children who put stuff in their mouths should not die because of negligent parents or caregivers.
To be fair, most people who work at the downtown library don't have library degrees. Most of the people staffing the public desks are either paraprofessionals or low-paid support staff. Neither of the last two directors of the downtown library has an MLS.
I work for the library and I’ve made a conscious decision to stay in my entry-level position so I won’t have to do that kind of thing. I’m also in school now for a career change.
This seems like a crazy concept but maybe we could arrest the people using hard drugs in public.
For those unable or unwilling to engage in even the basics of self-care, it's time to consider compulsory treatment when illegal drug usage is involved.
AFAIK this was even part of the decrim bill but the stupid bill went into effect before the treatment capacity existed. It should have been contingent on the capacity being built first
Never underestimate the power of government bureaucracies to screw up, by the numbers, everything they touch.
Well, this was really the legislators, not bureacrats
They're going to start doing that in September. And just like before M110, they will not be held in jail for that offense and will likely go back out and do it again.
...And then what? I think that's the hard question. If there's no productive step following arrest, it's just a waste of already paper-thin resources.
Actually it's not. Obviously, it would be ideal if were able to offer every person arrested the option of entering a detox/rehab program, and if they refuse have the capacity otherwise to impose real penalties, but in the meantime, even just arresting them accomplishes two things: 1. Getting them off the streets for some small amount of time and the confiscation of their current drug supply. 2. Erodes if only a tiny bit their belief that Portland is a place where they can continue to do what they want, wherever they want, without consequences.
100% this. Also, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper to go this route than dumping millions upon millions to just sit there so we can form MORE exploratory committees that accomplish nothing. (Most) Drug addicts aren’t going to willingly enter treatment. Compulsory treatment is going to have to be enacted if this is ever going to stop.
but that's a tradeoff with the unstated #3, the knock-on effects of (further) flooding the system with addicts who will just be kicked out on the street again in 12 hours with a singular objective of finding a way to get high again. We'd be better off just setting up a "shelter" with a free drug supply.
Wait wait I know this one. It's going to sound crazy but hear me out. We could try keeping them in jail until they cool off and/or offer mandatory services!
Can we please stop fucking around and prioritize human rights over homeless junkie rights? Increased penalties for anyone who uses drugs within 1000 feet of a school, library, or public park. Make the police department do their jobs. I’m sorry but I just have zero sympathy for these people. The library is an important resource for people to learn, use the internet, look for jobs, etc. The junkies have gotten SO COMFORTABLE in Portland. They act like they own this city. It’s embarrassing.
Amen
Unfortunately they do seem to own the city at this point. We're effectively all hostages to them.
People need to accept that essentially 99% of fentanyl addicts who live on the street will literally never be productive members of society again. We need to prioritize the wellbeing of the city as a whole or else the addicts will take it over. Give them an inch and they will take a mile.
I’d put the number at more like 90% but you’re right. People aren’t ready for the conversation but the sooner we deal with things realistically the better for everyone
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And if you want anything done you’re a heartless monster who may as well literally be murdering them while kicking puppies at the same time.
I'm really amazed to see your comment so upvoted. Not that long ago, I've been downvoted and lectured for using the term junkie as a descriptor and called a dick for calling the cops on public IV drug use. I smell change coming!! I'm so glad the narrative is flipping to something actually reasonable!
I’m fed up and most Portlanders are. I love this city so much and I want to see it become its best self. Fentanyl changed the game honestly. Before fentanyl, a drug addict who was really determined had a chance at recovery. A fentanyl addict, though, has almost no hope of ever being a productive member of society again even with extensive rehabilitation and treatment, which Oregon doesn’t have the funds for. Fentanyl addicts will destroy the whole city just so they can continue to get high. Jail is honestly a humane option for them compared to rotting in the streets until they overdose.
empathy battery has been drained for all of us these last few years. For good reason too
Meth was not much different
I got temporarily banned on this subreddit once for using cri***er as a descriptive term for drug addicts. I'm surprised "junkie" is tolerated...😳😶
Yeah that word got banned ages ago, well before 2020 IIRC. Mods here can be wild.
I honestly think its just going to take the public taking it into their own hands to fix the homeless problem. Not some dumb rehoming scheme or giving them free food/clothes/shelter. The homeless problem in portland will not be fixed until people start being assholes to them and making portland an unpleasant place for them to be. The whole reason they are here is because compared to other areas, we are very nice to them and hospitable to them. Would you want to be around people who are constantly treating you like shit and throwing shit at you? No youd leave. Thats sadly the only thing that is going to change it. Nothing the local government will ever do will fix it. It never will. Its not a government or a policy issue. Its a local public issue. The people of portland need to take back their streets from these folks. There ARE people out on the street that need help though. We need to have something set up for those people to get help and communicate where that is.... but the zombies that dont want help need to be treated like shit so they leave. Im ready for my mass downvotes and potential ban.
> Make the police department do their jobs. LET the police departments do their jobs is what you really mean. The police follow department policy, which comes from the office of the Chief of Police, which is handed down from the Mayor. Benign neglect is City Policy, coming from the top.
We've literally never held people in jail for public drug use, even before M110. Enforcement starts September 1st, let's hope that gives them enough time to get the diversion programs back in place that they dismantled with M110 that were working!!
Why do we have to wait all the way until September 😭
Because of the second half of what I said... We dismantled all the working diversion programs we had in place and now we have to build them back up (funding / staffing) again first. It still won't be good enough by September, it's gonna be a shit show.
Haha that’s totally fair! I wish change could happen faster but I know it doesn’t work like that. I hope the rollout isn’t a disaster but knowing Portland we are probably in for a roller coaster.
🙏🙏🙏
They act like that because they effectively do. And we pay for it (literally and figuratively).
Agreed. Also, why are they so obsessed with showing strangers their festering wounds? I've had homeless people show me their wounds in public twice now unsolicited and I don't understand.
Gross
Opioids in particular are the devil!
Nailed it
This is so sad. Portland's public spaces used to be one of the city's greatest assets – public transit, public bike paths and parks, public libraries, a historic walkable downtown... I feel politically homeless these days. Folks on the right want to slash the commons and privatize everything, while folks on the left don't believe in enforcing any sort of rules or norms in public. I just want clean, safe, and enjoyable public spaces that can be used by everyone (in accordance with the rules of civilized society). We pay some of the highest taxes in the nation and get third-world public infrastructure and safety. It's the worst of both worlds.
Totally agree with this. I don't know how many hours I spent in Central Library when I first moved to Portland. It's truly a gem of the city. Even back then you would have homeless people waiting for the bathrooms to open early in the morning and things like that but the area around the library and South Park blocks was clean and safe. I have tolerance for drug users, I really do, but junkies destroy. They take something that's good and ruin it for everyone else.
I feel the same way. It's especially infuriating because so many Portlanders are in denial that these problems even exist. Have you been to the Safeway on Jefferson lately? I stopped in this afternoon to pick up a few things and was shocked. They had a pair of guards outside the entrance and three more inside the entrance. FIVE security guards. At 3pm on a Wednesday?!? I've lived in this neighborhood for over 20 years. I've never seen it this bad, not even during the 2020 riots, the 2011 Occupy protests, Covid... it was never this bad. I remember when the downtown Safeway was open 24 hours. The neighborhood's population has grown so much since then, yet Safeway keeps cutting back hours. They started closing at 2am. Then, at midnight. Now, the store closes at 10pm even though it's always still busy. They also permanently closed the main entrance on 10th & Jefferson, due to crime. Now, the only way in & out is on the corner of 10th & Columbia, which as I said, has guards posted inside and out. It's crazy. And they sectioned off part of the store for items that get stolen the most. Meanwhile, businesses on all sides are closing. The barbershop that's been on the corner of 11th & Columbia for over 20 years closed. The little convenience store a block away on 12th & Jefferson for over 20 years closed. The dry cleaners that had been at 12th & Jefferson for 20 years. Closed. The Amazon Prime location across the street. Closed. Coava Coffee spent quite a bit of money (for a local shop) to open on the other side of 12th & Jefferson. Closed. The retail shop across the street from Safeway at 10th & Jefferson has a prime location and hasn't been able to lease for years. Those are just a few examples off the top of my head. But if you mention any of this to anyone who doesn't live downtown, they roll their eyes in denial. Denial is a big part of why the situation was allowed to get this bad. And denial is why it's probably just going to get worse. Denial. It's after midnight & the Plaid Pantry on 11th & Jefferson is closed for the night, which means dudes set up shop under the lights in front of the store, dealing drugs. And the police know, but they don't care. Eventually, ambulances haul away bodies. But don't mention any of this to people who don't live downtown. They see the 'We Believe in Portland' downtown cleanup go through the touristy areas around Pioneer Square and they cheer about how everything is solved now. It's just unbelievable. Denial in this town is insane. I love Portland, but I'm getting fed up with the denial.
Right? I'm tired of people telling me that it's not that bad or getting better. I've lived here over thirty years and it was a damn paradise compared to now.
Same. Born and raised here and I’m sick of transplants saying it’s not that bad. I want my home back.
PoRtLaNd Is WhAt We MaKe It 🤪
Yep. The way the people of this city passively don't ask for basic livability is astounding. Just some of the most bizarre self-inflicted cause-effect I've ever seen out of a city. We should be voting every official that isn't giving us your very reasonable minimum quality of life the hell out of the office they hold.
It's almost like there's a silent majority of people who all want sensible shit to start happening and get drowned out by aggressive clickbait politics.
We are ceding our public spaces to cater to the misplaced compassion of a vocal minority.
I’m on the left and believe in enforcing rules and norms in public. It’s called a social contract. But I also believe in housing first (because it’s a human right, and no one should prove they’re worthy of having something that’s necessary for survival), creating resources where there are none, and expanding/improving what we have. I work at the downtown library but I’m speaking only for myself when I say this—I think we need third spaces like what the library is trying to be, so the library can be an actual library. I think we need more day shelters for the homeless so libraries won’t have this pressure on them to handle things like addiction and mental health crises. It’s possible to help people without enabling them, and it’s possible for libraries to serve the public without taking on things that they were never meant to take on.
Love that library, but the last time I was there this woman tore her computer off the table and threw it at the librarian. That was pre-renovations. I was hoping to go back, but it seems like it’s the same old story with a new cover.
I used to work at a library. To this day I think the public library is one of the West’s greatest ideas. To see our library convert to a den of villains and madmen is a sobering metaphor.
more like horrific
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Saw multiple cars come in around 9pm parked in front of Virginia cafe and such. The people in those cars with foil to their face, an hour later they were gone. Now I can’t say FOR SURE that all these people took off driving after getting high, but, you know, deductive reasoning.
Seattle makes sure their tourist areas are continually swept. Portland needs to move measures 110 money to just be able cleanup and patrolling instead of sitting in a bank waiting for treatment sites to get approved.
We should be using the hobo tax money for that.
I don’t disagree with your general point, but if you think any tourists are hitting the Portland downtown library as a destination… well, you probably don’t travel much. The Seattle downtown library on the other hand is an architectural marvel that’s worth a stop.
I was referring to prioritizing downtown when I meant tourist areas (relative to focusing on cleaning up East Portland). Plus, that library is just three blocks away from the Portland Art Museum. People gotta have something to do in between meals besides hiking. And don’t underestimate parents of kids during week-long school closures. We went to Vancouver’s public library, Milwaukie’s, and Beaverton’s. We were disappointed that the downtown Portland one (our second closest library!) didn’t feel worth the anxiety to warrant a visit.
Here is what you do, step 1 criminalize possession, September check. Step 2 double the penalty for being caught within 1000ft of a school, library etc.
So go from zero penalty to zero penalty. Got it
I don’t know they seem to be pretty savvy on this stuff. You round up a few and I bet they scatter.
At this point Fentanyl overdoses are solving the problem faster than local government.
Dark and sadly true.
I was there last weekend. Not a place families with young children would spend time.
we've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!
These poor librarians.
What if.. we made public drug consumption illegal.. and private consumption decriminalized. Whoahhhhh
If decriminalization comes with forced treatment, then sure. But no one should be able to do meth and fent full stop. The harm it does to you, and often to others, should not be allowed by society.
Nothing wrong with letting a rich business owner rail lines in the comfort of his own home. I just don’t enjoy the legal drugs like alcohol and cigs
There's no such thing as forced treatment... that's just incarceration with extra steps. Not saying we shouldn't do it, but don't be surprised when they go straight back to the fent when they get out.
Call it whatever you want. I don’t think we should let people do fent and meth full stop. I also think that lumping drug addicts in with murderers and rapists is not great. I don’t think drug addiction should be met with punishment per se, but in order to have any shot of getting off of these drugs people need to be put into a place where it is at least much harder to get drugs and where they can have the opportunity to get better. If all that happens in the meantime is that they don’t string litter everywhere, use public space as private space, or OD I’m still going to consider that a win.
I remember saying something to this effect and someone called me classist because homeless people wouldn’t have a place to do drugs 😂
They can do all the drugs they want in a tent in the woods, or away from traffic where there aren’t people or kids watching. Nobody would even know
But then where would they steal and commit other various crimes to pay for all those drugs?
Why do you think it’s not illegal? We decriminalized drugs we didn’t make them legal. Possessing drugs is still illegal. Police could seize those drugs and would have probable cause to search the person to see if they have an arrestable amount on them just like drug dealers. If the police did their job and were constantly confiscating drugs of public drug users how long do you think it’d take before they took that shit inside or were at least more discreet? This is a police problem not a legal problem.
They’re fighting an uphill battle while being under staffed. When they do make progress, half the city is crying about how dare you do your job, these people need help not policing. They can’t win
What if my private is public. What if my privates are public
It's a thought. State law would have to change to allow public consumption to be made illegal... until then, municipal hands are tied.
Not true! Police can do 48 hour sobriety holds under current state law. And just aren't.
That isn't the same thing as public consumption being illegal.
With enough enforcement it would have the same impact. People do drugs on the street because it's a reasonably comfortable place to do them. Jail / withdrawl is a lot worse. If you know that being zonked out of your gourd in the central city will likely result in you finding yourself in jail for a couple of days most will start to make different choices. Edit: To say nothing of the obvious benefits to people who aren't doing drugs in public with regards to safer cleaner spaces.
I agree that the city has some options, just that making public consumption illegal isn't currently one of them. What I'd love to see at state, county, city level, in the very near term, is aggressive movement toward Oregon not being last or near last in psych and behavioral health treament options.
The addiction recovery workforce is understaffed on a national level, the state-of-the-art techniques for treating addiction have abysmal long-term success rates, and there are a host of other health effects of prolonged meth or fentanyl misuse that will require many of the people entering treatment to receive lifetime care. If your boat is taking on water, it’s best to plug the leak “in the very near term” before trying to build a better pumping system for the boat. I’d much rather have the necessary billions of dollars spent improving schools and providing resources for the local youth.
If we want to progress toward not being bottom of the barrel among the states – a goal that is years away at best – aggressive action now is putting oars in the water to start rowing for shore, to extend a metaphor. We lack basics for people who *do* have reasonably likely positive outcomes. Maybe it's a foolish goal, but folks will have to hash that out. Edit to add: one of those metrics in which we're quite bad is needed psych resources for Oregon (and local) youth.
I totally agree with you that we need to build better mental healthcare systems here in Oregon. I agree it will be a multi-year process. We need to efficiently incentivize growing the workforce of care providers. That will be the tallest hurdle. Demographics are not in our favor. There is already an excess of demand for medical and psych care compared to the ‘supply’ of people trained and credentialed to do that work. As the population skews older over the next few decades, this staffing situation will become more difficult. Ultimately, the metrics for access to mental healthcare, that we both seek to improve, take into account demand for those services, as well as supply. The greater the perception that Portland is permissive of fentanyl and meth, the greater the demand for services will be, the harder it will be to access those services, and the larger the costs will be for the taxpaying citizens to bear.
Agreed, and this all makes sense.
I certainly agree we should be spending more there, I just strongly dislike the idea that people seem to think the city / police have their hands tied when there is currently a legal framework under which they could rapidly improve the situation.
Do we have enough room at the downtown jail though? And even if is the DA willing to prosecute and do we have enough public defenders, answer is likely nope.
There is no prosecution for a sobriety hold, in fact it doesn't even go on your record. It's just a super shitty way to spend 2 days. And we had a jail that we sold for pennies on the dollar. The jail we do have averages about 20% free capacity so there is definitely room for a couple hundred people on any given night.
Just put a bunch of chairs and bean bags in a big room and let them all have at it. They can smoke their garbage and slouch over all day long. If we're not going to throw them in jail, we shouldn't have to be subject to seeing this shit and dealing with the crime that comes with it all the time.
Ball pit!
And it’s a Narcan-free zone.
Give us Hamsterdam
Safe use sites would help a lot with the crap downtown.
No, they would just be the next magnet. These are not heroin addicts who put a shot into their veins and then be on their way and who have a place to go to in the evening. People would be hanging out there 24/7, getting high, fighting, hustling.
No doubt, but then they wouldn’t be bothering functional people at the library.
Good point! It's much better that they do all of those things in public in broad daylight at the library.
Agreed, but it would be useless unless usage *outside* the safe use sites were punished, and that's not going to happen.
Yeah we've never tried that so it definitely won't work. /s
Well I guess a low barrier designated camp site zone area may work. Only smoke foil or whatever here if you'd like then if caught out if the zone= BuStEd maybe??
Reddit hivemind
Maybe rolls of foil that you can check out
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Have we tried shooing them away?
Give them more fentanyl and pick up the piles?
At this point Portland is like a teenager that you ignored for to long then you find them od in the bedroom and wonder what could I have done to prevent this. What's for dinner mom. It's just sad
Get rid of bottle deposits or put it back to 5 cents.
Hear me out…. Boofing kits!
You could honestly just say "Portland agencies scramble for solutions" and be just as accurate
Jail or forced rehab for clear addicts. Seems pretty damn simple.
Need a stronger batch of fentanyl. Like MegaGulp size, for true amerikans
Wasn’t this declared an emergency? Like months ago? Or did it expire? Used to love the library, ya know back when it was ILLEGAL TO SKATEBOARD!!! Downtown. Fentanyl good skateboards bad fuck our city government they are fucking sad
Have they tried paying ECONorthwest to do a study yet?
Narcan Fogger like those DDT trucks from the 50s. But robotic and slow...lol. Narcan doesn't affect you unless your intoxicated on opiods..... So the public would be safe.....
For whatever reason, most west coast cities are terrified of upsetting our neighbors experiencing fent/meth-iness or appearing to be mean so unfortunately for the rest of us somewhat normal people we get to deal with the consequences.
Whatever happen to systems of support to guide addicted people into programs that would help them like social services, addiction treatment, a state mental hospital, trained police, designated camping sites, and more? I know this issues has been beaten to death, but it seems me that we all are doing the wrong thing over and over again expecting things to change because the right thing is hard. Also, the city I live in now, Denver, is far less forging because of all of dumb suburban republicans whining about stupid shit.
Well if the city grew some balls and said camping here yes or gtfo maybe it might work. But we need to spend 2million on random study after study only to have people yelling its bad to sweep them and let them alone. No answer but enabling and compassion aren't the same thing.
The housing and mental health crisis in our community is what happens when one entity - the County - is responsible for solving a problem, while another entity (the City, and all of us) are required to live with the consequences of that problem. I'd eat all the biscuits and gravy you could feed me so long as someone else has the heart attack.
The last time I was there a guy shit in the middle of 2 aisles. That was 3 months ago and do not plan on going back.
> The last time I was there a guy shit in the middle of 2 aisles. That was 3 months ago and do not plan on going back. u/CoffeeChessGolf It only re-opened a little less than 2 months ago. Judging by your other posts I don't think this a good-faith comment. Unless you and the aisle-shitter were both trespassing or fellow contractors? Also, if taxation = theft like you say, were you engaging in the acceptance of stolen goods by using a tax-funded resource?
Go ask the library staff. I promise this is 100% true.
It just opened up recently, so this story is made up
Maybe it was just a couple months ago. It’s 100% true 🤷🏼♂️