Recently, I went to visit my friend in the ICU at OHSU. Every year about this time, my friend gets really ill, critically injured or arrested. Sadly, that is his unconscious plan for getting off the streets when the weather turns deadly.
Thirty years ago, my friend got a 35-year sentence for growing marijuana. He managed to get released in eight years. Like too many residents, he was put on the sidewalk upon release with $50 in his pocket, no family to turn to, and no home. He has never successfully made it off the streets.
Between his illnesses, accidents (he even got hit by a TriMet bus one year) and arrests, I would estimate that my sweet, well-meaning friend has cost the taxpayers over $1,000,000 since his release from prison. Just think if we had invested in his life and success instead of continually bankrolling his epic fails on the streets?
Now he has a broken neck and has suffered a stroke. If he lives, it will be an astronomical drain on our state’s resources. His situation is more the rule than an exception. We must focus on helping the homeless get off the streets instead of vilifying them. Economically, we are not unaffected by their plight. And as human beings, we really should give a damn.
