Portland deserves safe and livable streets and public spaces.
We believe that the issue isn’t housing status but behavior.
Nonetheless …
Survey: 34% of Portlanders may leave the city because of homelessness
KGW is tackling the issue with a recent survey and television feature: #TentCityUSA
KGW writes: Homelessness has such a significant impact on Portlanders’ daily lives that 34 percent are considering moving out of the city because of the issue, according to a new survey from DHM Research.
In addition, more than half of Portlanders are dissatisfied with the way the mayor and police bureau are addressing homelessness.
KGW commissioned the survey as part of a larger project about homeless tent camping in Portland. The project, Tent City, USA, launches Monday at 6 p.m. on KGW-TV and online at tentcitypdx.com.
DHM Research, a nonpartisan and independent research and consulting firm, surveyed 300 Portlanders representative of the city’s population, based on age, gender, race, education level and area in which they live. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 5.7 percent.
The results show that homelessness is highly visible. The average Portlander sees someone living in a tent and someone panhandling five times a week. Residents said they see drug paraphernalia and human waste or urine more than twice a week.