PORTLAND, Ore. — As of this week, more than 1,600 affordable housing units sat empty in the city of Portland, despite the thousands still living unsheltered on the city’s streets any given night — an issue Mayor Keith Wilson highlighted during remarks this week.
There are several reasons why so many units stay vacant in the middle of a housing crisis, city officials say, but for those living on the streets, the disparity just doesn’t make any sense.
Until recently, Brandie was one of those people. She went from street life to shelter, then eventually to an affordable apartment of her own…