Michael Piper wrote an excellent letter to the editor about homelessness in Vancouver (“Compassion fatigue sets in,” Our Readers’ Views, Nov. 15).
As a follow-up to that I drove both Interstate 5 and Interstate 84 in Portland yesterday. What are the officials in Portland thinking? Both freeways are disgusting. Tons of graffiti. Graffiti is not homelessness. It is criminals defacing public property.
It is totally out of control and Portland now looks like a slum.
Homeless tents were gone for awhile but they are all back. Trash from them contributes to the slum.
In my 55+ years this is the worst I’ve ever seen it. It is so sad to see a beautiful city looking so awful. Portland’s officials need to wake up and address this with all the tools they have. Cleanup crews, police and mental health facilities.
