Re: The Willamette River has a trash problem. Homeless camp removals could be making it worse

 > social justice wrote:
 > On a cloudy late May afternoon, Rebecca Van Zandt’s fishing line
snagged on
 > something, dragging beneath her canoe.
 >
 > “Am I stuck or do I got a fish? Nope, I’m stuck. That’s all
right,” she said
 > with a resigned shrug, settling back into the boat with her two
dogs.
 >
 > Van Zandt was trying to catch something to eat from the Willamette
River in
 > North Portland before the sun set. She has been living along the
river for
 > eight years. Lately, it’s been getting crowded.
 >
 > “There’s a lot more people living out here,” she said.
“More and more every
 > day. People not knowing where to go.”
 >
 >
 > Over the last few years, environmental groups have been pulling out
mounds
 > of garbage from the Willamette River from Eugene up through
Portland, a
 > worsening problem that they tie to homeless encampments. It’s
gotten so bad,
 > this year Oregon proposed regulations that would require riverside
cities,
 > counties and private landowners to remove trash from the river.
 >
 > Homeless advocates and researchers say the mounting river trash is
a direct
 > result of homeless camp removals in urban areas. Like many cities,
Portland
 > has recently cracked down on public camping, mostly in residential
and
 > commercial neighborhoods. Those removals appear to be pushing
people into
 > remote wild areas, spurring environmental hazards like mounting
trash and
 > sporadic fires. Some spots are tucked so deep into the woods that
they are
 > only accessible by boat or unmarked trails, leaving the people
living there
 > alone, and far from help.
 >
 > Trash services could help. So would more housing
 > In 2020, San Diego University researchers Shawn Flanigan and Megan
Welsh
 > interviewed about 80 people experiencing homelessness to understand
why
 > people camp near San Diego waterways. They concluded that people
were driven
 > to the river by local homeless policies, including arrests and
forced camp
 > removals.
 >
 > At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people
experiencing
 > homelessness across the country briefly declined, and many cities
like
 > Portland temporarily paused enforcing camping bans. As federal
funds for
 > rent forgiveness and eviction deferrals ran dry, more people
started lining
 > city streets with tents and campers. Multnomah County counted about
6,300
 > homeless people last year — a 57% increase from 2019.
 >
 > The increased visibility of homelessness has outraged business
owners and
 > housed people. Starting around 2022, Portland politicians ushered
in a
 > string of public camping bans, ultimately leaving few places where
people
 > can sleep in a city where shelters are chronically full.
 >
 > “The city did a pretty dramatic change over the last year, moving
to more
 > and more encampment removals,” said Portland State University
land-use
 > professor Marisa Zapata, who also leads the university’s
Homelessness
 > Research & Action Collaborative.
 >
 > According to city data, Portland removed over 6,100 camps this past
year —
 > twice as many as the year before the pandemic. Zapata expects that
number to
 > increase as Portland’s latest camping restrictions take effect.
That will
 > push more people into areas where they are less visible and where
there are
 > fewer resources like food, clean water, health care — and trash
services.
 >
 > She said daily trash pickups near encampments could help, but the
most
 > effective solution would be addressing Oregon’s extreme housing
shortage.
 >
 > “If we actually just tried to house people faster, it would end
the issue
 > altogether,” Zapata said.
 >
 > Grassroots groups lead cleaning efforts
 >
 > Clearing trash from Oregon’s rivers usually falls to a hodgepodge
of
 > nonprofit organizations and volunteers. Among those volunteers is
Zora Hess,
 > who uses a kayak to fish out trash from around the Willamette River
and the
 > Columbia Slough in North Portland.
 >
 > “My whole goal is no more cleanups,” Hess said. “I cannot
tell you how many
 > times I find [trash] — mostly plastic — and it’s been nibbled
on by fish and
 > birds.”
 >
 > Hess is a little different than other river cleaners. She uses her
time
 > clearing trash to connect with people who are living outside and
offers
 > help. Sometimes it’s food and water, sometimes it’s pulling
together funds
 > for temporary dumpsters.
 >
 >
 > “I’ve got one bag of dog food,” he said. “I make sure that
dog’s fed first.”
 >
 > Hess later approached a beachside camp that appeared empty. She
pointed to
 > bags of trash.
 >
 > “There are so many unhoused people cleaning up the trash here,
but then
 > there are no trash cans. They cannot put it anywhere,” Hess said.
 >
 > Then there’s the illegal dumping. Hess often finds piles of
construction
 > materials, like drywall and broken windows, on the Willamette’s
banks.
 > Similar construction piles have appeared near homeless encampments
within
 > the city.
 >
 > People can report illegal dumping to Metro, the tri-county
government agency
 > for the Portland area. According to its data, about a quarter of
the trash
 > it collects throughout the region comes from homeless encampments.
But
 > almost twice as much comes from residences — like couches, broken
fridges
 > and old mattresses. Metro officials say illegal dumping has
increased across
 > the board since the pandemic. Officials say some could be coming
from homes
 > that can’t afford their trash bills on top of the increasing
costs of food,
 > housing and other utilities. People look for other ways to discard
their
 > trash for free, whether in an open dumpster or a homeless
encampment.
 >
 > Portland used to make public dumpsters available around the city,
which were
 > intended as a resource for people experiencing homelessness. But
the city
 > has phased out that service in recent years after other people kept
dumping
 > their household garbage.
 >
 > “Yeah, people use them, that’s what trash cans are for,” Hess
said while
 > standing on a riverside beach. “There are always going to be
people who are
 > misusing the system. But you cannot punish everybody.”
 >
 > Isolated and alone by the river
 > Some nonprofit groups provide other types of trash services to
homeless
 > camps. Ground Score, which contracts with Portland to collect trash
around
 > the city, employs homeless and housing-insecure people as “waste
pickers.”
 > Much of the trash they collect is then reused or recycled.
 >
 > “Ground Score’s mission is to change society’s perception of
who and what is
 > considered valuable,” co-founder and co-director Barbie Weber
said.
 >
 > Most of its staff have been homeless at one point, including Weber,
who used
 > to camp along the Willamette River. She said waterways offer people
a sense
 > of peace and refuge from the constant threat of camp removals, but
they’re
 > not safe places for people to sleep.
 >
 > In December, a homeless man drowned in Johnson Creek after it
flooded during
 > heavy rain. Some people die just from being far away from medical
help.
 > People can get sick from being exposed to human waste, or from
drinking from
 > the river during a seasonal algae bloom. A 10-mile stretch of the
Willamette
 > River between the Broadway Bridge and Sauvie Island is a federal
superfund
 > site because of industrial pollution. People camping in Willamette
Cove are
 > potentially exposed to heavy metals, diesel fuel and other toxics.
The
 > isolation also makes people vulnerable to robbery and assaults.
 >
 > But camp removals are so jarring that people are willing to take
those
 > risks.
 >
 > “You don’t have any housed neighbors you’re bothering,
there’s no businesses
 > you’re bothering there,” Weber said. “There, the only thing
you’re taking
 > into risk is your own health.”
 >
 > The emotional toll of camp sweeps
 > Back on the Willamette River, Rebecca Van Zandt’s dogs got
restless as she
 > tugged at her fishing line.
 >
 > Although life by the river is rough, she said, it’s better than
being forced
 > to move her camp every few days. Having police suddenly raid your
home is
 > scary, and you’re forced to collect whatever you can carry. The
rest gets
 > bagged and taken to a storage facility. It can be difficult for
people to
 > retrieve these items later. It eventually gets thrown away.
 >
 > As she looked down into her row boat, she said her uncle died in
December
 > from a heart attack shortly after police evicted his camp. He was
one of her
 > few relatives nearby, someone she could confide in. He promised he
would one
 > day tell her more about her family history. Now he’ll never get
that chance.
 >
 > She blames his death on stress from having his camp evicted.
 >
 > “He was my close uncle,” she recalled, her voice cracking.
“But he’s in a
 > better place now. At least I know that much.”
 >
 > For Van Zandt, reflecting on this loss, the issue framed as
“river trash” is
 > bigger than the food wrappers she doesn’t know what to do with.
It’s the
 > humiliation of having her well-being, and that of others — their
ability to
 > merely exist — so easily disregarded by housed people. Like their
weekly
 > trash pickup, they don’t care where it goes, as long as it’s
someplace far
 > and unseen.
 >
 >
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/07/15/oregon-willamette-river-trash-
 > problem-homeless-camp-removals-make-worse/

1. Employers who
are messed up

2. Rental units with landlords and owners who are $#$#@ up.

The reason why anybody is renting is because of selfish reasons.

3. Again the President at the time did not handle it, outside of
Vagina ryhmes with China jokes.
Idiots want to elect this guy again?
 

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