Both the criminal justice system and the harm reduction movement seem to be facing an intractable problem with fentanyl and homelessness. (We lost the war on drugs, but surrender isn't working either.)
Here are two NYT stories, from Oregon and California.
The Struggle to Save Portland, Oregon. The city has long grappled with street homelessness and a shortage of housing. Now fentanyl has turned a perennial problem into a deadly crisis and a challenge to the city’s progressive identity. By Michael Corkery
"This city of 635,000 ... has long grappled with homelessness. But during the pandemic this perennial problem turned into an especially desperate and sometimes deadly crisis that is dividing Portland over how to fix it.
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"In 2022, Portland experienced a spate of homicides and other violence involving homeless victims that rattled many in the community.
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"The search for answers points in many directions — to city and county officials who allowed tents on the streets because the government had little to offer in the way of housing, to Oregon voters who backed decriminalizing hard drugs and to the unrest that rocked Portland in 2020 and left raw scars.
"But what has turbocharged the city’s troubles in recent years is fentanyl, the deadly synthetic drug, which has transformed long standing problems into a profound test of the Portland ethos.
"Outreach workers in Portland say rampant fentanyl use has coincided with the increasing turmoil among many homeless residents.
"Doctors who care for people living on the streets say fentanyl addiction is proving harder to treat than many other dependencies."
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Homeless Camps Are Being Cleared in California. What Happens Next? One of the state’s largest homeless encampments was recently shut down in Oakland, but that didn’t stop the problem of homelessness. By Livia Albeck-Ripka
"The evictions have brought into sharp relief one of the most intractable challenges for American cities, particularly those in California. As homelessness has surged, more people have congregated in large encampments for some semblance of security and stability. But such sites are often unsanitary and dangerous, exhausting neighbors and the owners of nearby businesses.
"What happens after the closure of Wood Street and other camps in California will serve as the latest test of how effectively the state is addressing homelessness. Nearly half of the nation’s unsheltered population — those who sleep on the streets, in tents, in cars or in other places not intended for human habitation — resides in California, according to last year’s federal tally of homelessness. The state makes up about 12 percent of the country’s overall population.
"In California, Democratic leaders who previously tolerated homeless camps have lost their patience for the tent villages and blocks of trailers that proliferated during the pandemic.
"Governor Newsom has helped clear homeless camps himself and has told mayors he was trying to set an example. San Diego recently banned encampments on public property. And Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, has moved more than 14,000 homeless people into temporary housing since taking office in December, her office said last month.
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"Community cabins and safe camping sites usually provide only temporary shelter, falling short of the permanent housing that is considered ideal. But they seem to be the best that California can do, with a severe housing shortage and high costs. Despite the state’s spending of more than $30 billion since 2019 on housing-related programs, the homeless population there has continued to grow.
“This is a very difficult population to serve, with very complex needs. And if we can bring someone inside even for a little bit, that’s a victory for that person,” said Jason Elliott, the deputy chief of staff for Governor Newsom. “We may not have permanent housing stick the first time, or the fourth time or the fifth time, but we’re going to keep trying.”
"According to a September audit of Oakland’s homelessness services, close to half of the people housed in community cabins ended up back on the street in the 2020-21 fiscal year."
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