Old Town sees increase in illegal activity

Posted May 2020

By Ethan Donahue

Staff Editor

Since the pandemic, the number of Portland’s homeless population has increased, along with the number of unwarranted violence and blatant drug deals, especially in Old Town.

Portland’s Old Town has over 100 homeless settlements set up on sidewalks, in parks, and all other available space. For the first two couple weeks of the stay-at-home order, Old Town appeared to be under control, but since mid-April business owners and residents of Old Town have been reporting large amounts of waste, violence, drug deals, and drug usage. A member of Blachent House, a non-profit that helps those in need, was cleaning with a group when a stranger approached and attacked. The stranger, a homeless citizen, punched the member in the face and broke his nose.

“I’ve seen people punching and kicking each other in the middle of the street,” stated bar owner Eric Bowler. “It’s pretty disheartening. My wife and I went down there to pick up a couple of things and somebody had pooped in our mail slot into our premises at Tube and then threw a syringe in on top of it.”

Portland Police has received complaints regarding blatant drug deals, aggressive behavior, and unprovoked assaults. Those complaints lead Police Chief Jami Resch to devise a high-visibility police patrol plan. This patrol plan has aided in arrests, including the arrest of two armed men, one a cocaine dealer, the other a buyer, on May 21.

One reason for the city’s lack of action taken to relocate the homeless are the federal health guidelines. The city has been following those guidelines since mid-March because of the concern that relocating a group of homeless to a new area will place both groups in danger of COVID-19. However, city officials have been pressured by the community to take action and plans on safely and peacefully dispersing the homeless groups.

“It’s going to be about balancing immediate risk with unknown risks that have been part of the equation since day one,” stated Public Health Officer Jennifer Vines, who has been consulting the city on its actions.

One plan that the city has made is opening three organized camps for homeless people. Each camp will focus on a certain group of homeless. One camp will be for LGBTQ+, one will be for people of color, and the other will be for everyone else, with an emphasis on the elderly. Each camp will have 45 tents; each tent can hold a single person or a couple, and the tents are on their own 12-foot by 12-foot square of land. The city will provide the homeless with sleeping items and clothing, and their items will be stored until they leave. These camps, while not making a dent in the number of homeless on the streets, will allow some to have a safer place to stay.