Portlanders are beginning to sour on Mayor Keith Wilson’s homelessness plan that propelled him into office. On Monday night, Wilson was met with boos, scoffs, and thumbs down gestures from a crowd of people unhappy with his pitch to open a new shelter in the Pearl District neighborhood.
Is it fair to base this generalized statement about Portlanders on the attendees to one event? Or is there more evidence for a broader claim?
This is a great point. Very much a moment for “some” Portlanders that slipped past me. Appreciate you, Michael.
Those people represent approximately 0.0033% of the people who voted for him.
I live in the Pearl and am happy to see an overnight shelter open for folks. It’s much better to have them sleeping inside than on the streets.
It makes zero sense to pull people away from the areas of the city which provide social services, food assistance, transitional housing, SSI applications and job training. What possible long term good will suburban sleepovers provide?
Just to clarify, are you claiming the Pearl is “suburban” or are you saying the Pearl is a better choice than places further from the city center?
I work in Social Services. Homeless clients' needs will not be met by having sleepovers away from the services they need. My point is, a residential neighborhood is not designed to provide food assistance, transitional housing, mental health services, methadone treatment, emergency medical care etc.
It’s like a mile or less from everything. We’re talking about a 20 minute walk in the most walkable part of Portland. Or a 4 block walk to the streetcar which gets them downtown. It’s a better commute everyday than most housed Portlanders have!
I love the deep unseriousness of calling a night shelter a "sleepover" like they're having pillow fights and doing each other's nails.
It’s a suburban sleepover! We’re going to order pizza and froyo and watch Love Island!!!
And then, in spite of having access to bathrooms in the night shelter, we'll spend the day pooping in the park!
Their answer clearly indicates they are not a serious, or even real person. Stop interacting, list. Block.
Most of the social service agencies are located adjacent to the Pearl and Downtown. You obviously don’t know anything about the geography of Portland or its services or you would know that.
Nimby is alive and well.
Sister, how are you? We really need to hope that you will offer us what you can.💔💔
Oooh! Tell us about your years of experience in Social Services and how building sleepover facilities will address chronic homelessness.
Are the homeless illegal immigrants and refugees or are they actual American citizens?
NiMBY's are the worst.
How dare people want to live in a nice, clean, safe neighborhood! I have a friend who owns a downtown shop. Every morning he has to hose off the vomit, phlegm, fecal matter and dirty needles left by homeless people in front of his shop door. Should he have to deal with them at home, too?
Dumb ass Nimby account with zero posts.
On here replying to every comment with same empty shit
And ideologically inconsistent. First they want shelters closer to downtown services, and then we get this "friend" who has to hose off their downtown sidewalk. Which do you want? PS, travel to any major European city, and they're all hosing off the sidewalks first thing in the morning.
Not hearing any solutions. NiMBY.
It's not even their backyard, LMAO.
Would you rather have the homeless living on your street, or a shelter two blocks away?
Are you talking to me? I think you may have me confused with the weird troll in the feed. I have shelters in my neighborhood. I prefer them to having people live on my street, which I have also had happen. I cheered when they finally got that shelter up and running.
Well, his first mistake was proposing this shelter in the NIMBYest neighborhood that ever NIMBY’d. I hope the city builds 5 more shelters in the Pearl. Fuck these selfish ghouls.
Is it selfish to want to feel safe in your own neighborhood? I work in Social Services, & I do not feel safe during daylight hours in certain parts of Tacoma. I have been followed, grabbed, aggressively asked for money, had people try to take my purse & scream nonsense in my face. NIMBY? You bet.
Dude, you apparently believe that the Pearl is a suburb, which it most assuredly is not. Maybe stick to your own backyard instead of spouting off all this nonsense.
I mean, the suggested area is in a vacant office building next to the freeway overpass and within public transport distance of downtown.
This is what they voted for.
When have NIMBYs ever liked a shelter plan?
This particular shelter has faced resistance from day 1, wonder what it could be? Opinions vary elsewhere. Don’t generalize Portlander’s perception of Wilson and his goals based on Pearl residents. At least he’s working to fix the issues.
It's not a shelter. It's just for sleepovers.
Yes, whatever you wanna call it - every neighborhood needs to do its part
They don't even live here. They think the Pearl is a suburb far away from downtown.
Yeah lol replying to every comment here thinking this is across town not literally downtown
Right? The only folks that would quibble with describing it as "downtown" are the ones busy writing neighborhood association newsletters.
Looks like the NIMBYs were there in full force.
It makes no sense to draw unhoused people away from where they can receive food, medical care, transitional housing assistance, mental health care & job training into suburban neighborhoods for sleepovers. NIMBY? Why should anyone be forced to feel unsafe in their neighborhood?
You clearly aren't from around here, or you'd know that the Pearl District is directly adjacent to downtown, not some suburb. Better luck next time!
A small segment of nimby Portlander’s “are beginning to…”
NIMBY, they did not think they would have a shelter in thier neighborhood. The Pearl is too fancy for that, right?
Think! The things unhoused people need, social workers, food assistance, transitional housing, mental health care, job training... Will not be met by having sleepovers in the suburbs.
They prefer tents lining their streets.
They prefer the poors stop existing.
They prefer mental health treatment, medical care, food assistance, job training and social workers be provided. Having sleepovers in the suburbs doesn't actually help, does it?
They were hoping for muzzleloader season and bagging limits.
Meanwhile, more Portlanders are optimistic Wilson will actually do something about homelessness, since he's willing to stand up to people like this. I am struggling to see how you thought this framing was fair.
How do sleepovers do anything to reduce homelessness?
I feel like the correct headline should be “wealthy Portland NIMBYS to houseless: ‘Drop Dead (literally, but out of sight so we don’t feel bad about it)”
Either you want people off the streets or you don’t. You can’t keep shuffling people around the city, trying to hide them like they’re dust bunnies or something. The lack of safe women’s beds in this city is appalling already and this just infuriates me even more.
In my building downtown, it’s one hateful asshole driving the grief. Don’t make a few jerks sound like a movement.
A few people with a whole lot of negativity and no answers… it’s always “do something”, until that something is in “their” neighborhood. 🙄
Expand existing treatment areas which are usually downtown. SNAP, Section 8, SSI, drug treatment, mental health services. Build transitional housing away from neighborhoods.
I support Mayor Keith Wilson. He inherited a mess. He is smart, compassionate, collaborative and hard working. Keep going Keith!
Well, I suppose if you're a NIMBY you look at a room full of people as everyone that voted for him.
But I thought Portland was, I don’t know… good?
I support the existence of shelters in my inner SE neighborhood and they should, too, in theirs.
If none of us are willing for housing for homeless people in our neighborhood, where do we build them?
Wow, I had no idea Portland had become an old folks home! But this must be at least a somewhat a representative sample otherwise the story wouldn't be framed so broadly...
Yeah, why would anyone want to house the homeless; let them pull up their own bootstraps....😿😿
Why are you framing it this way?