PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — People living in downtown Portland like Sandeep Divekar said affordability is a problem, but not the focus. He and other residents told the City Council on Tuesday they are most concerned with feeling unsafe as a result of rampant drug use and homeless crime.
“The government’s first responsibility is the safety and security of their citizens,” Divekar told KOIN 6 News. “That is the reason why we have government and why we had, you know, people that ruled our governments. They are missing the point here. Unless you make people feel safe, the rest of it really doesn’t matter, does it?”
Divekar said he urged city leaders to focus on a complete solution that also takes into account cleanliness, public safety and treatment for mental health and addiction. But he is concerned the message is not fully getting across.
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“We want to see some commitment from our local governments, the county and the city saying, ‘OK, we acknowledge this problem. Here’s how we’re going to deal with all of it,’” he said. “It’s not, you can’t just deal with it just by giving somebody a bed or this or that. It’s got to be a complete solution.”
The Portland City Council Homelessness and Housing Committee took time in Tuesday’s meeting to fine tune the language in their Objective for Unified Housing Strategy, points like building housing and preventing displacement…