PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — As part of our series “A Year in Downtown,” we’re taking a closer look at substance use — and the role it plays in Portland’s road to recovery.
The focus: a stretch of downtown many consider ground zero for homelessness and drug activity — from West Burnside Street to Southwest Harvey Milk Street, and from Southwest 11th Avenue to Broadway. It’s an area community members point to as a snapshot of the challenges downtown has faced in recent years.
Take a walk through that area in broad daylight, and you may see it yourself: what appears to be people using drugs in plain sight, sometimes just steps from the sidewalk…