By André Randall, Contributing writer
I’m homeless not because I have no place to live. I’m homeless because I have a drug problem or because I’m an alcoholic or maybe I suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. Experts agree that in order to tackle homelessness we must begin with what causes homelessness. And until we do there will be no quick fixes to this issue that affects Portland and every other metropolitan area in the U.S.
In the '80s, homelessness became one of those fashionable issues that City Hall began to discuss. Twenty-plus years later the discussion goes on. However, the size of the homeless population continues to grow. In Portland we have a network of private organizations that are partially funded by state and federal subsides to help house the homeless. Central City Concern, Transition Project Inc., and the Salvation Army to name a few but still with that combined effort you still see people sleeping in the doorways of buildings and under bridges just to get out of the rain. We have more homeless men and women than we do beds to house them. And, even if we could house them all, many would still sleep on the streets.
There our no easy solutions. A lot of work has to be done. We can start by making sure that we treat the source of the person’s homelessness first.
Drug and alcohol programs should be available on demand for those who need it. To often there is a waiting list that takes up to six months in some instances for the addict or alcoholic to receive treatment. Honestly, that doesn’t help those who are tired and looking for help right away. They become discouraged and go back to the drugs and alcohol. Thus, the vicious cycle continues.
For those who are homeless because of mental illness, psychiatric facilities must be proactive in their efforts to seek out those who exhibit signs of mental disfunction and cannot ask for help on their own. We cannot abandon them simply because they do not seek treatment.
It is our civic duty to help those who are caught in this maze of misery. Because if we don’t, then we will continue to see the ranks of the homeless increase. And the economic burden will surely grow. The taxpayers of Portland deserve more for their hard-earned dollar.
In the New Year, let’s try something new. We can end homelessness if we tackle the root causes. Let us not continue the Band-Aid approach, because we know that it does not work.
