Friday, December 27, 2024

What I Learned Reporting in Cities That Take Belongings from Homeless People

On a May afternoon, Teresa Stratton sat on her walker near a freeway in Portland, Oregon, talking about how much she wanted to live inside. She missed sleeping uninterrupted in a bed and having running water. When you live outside, "the dirt embeds in your skin," the 61-year-old said. "You have to pick it out, because it just doesn't come out anymore." Living inside would also mean no longer having her belongings repeatedly confiscated by crews the city hires to clear encampments. These encounters, commonly known as "sweeps," are the "biggest letdown in the world," she said, noting that she lost the ashes of her late husband to a sweep.

Posted by retort at 09:13 AM | 12 COMMENTS | permalink

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When Christian Smith's dentures were thrown away, it made her feel "ugly, unworthy." She wrote: "Can't go get a job with no teeth so how can [I] get off the streets until another pair can be made?"

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-- ProPublica (@propublica.org) December 27, 2024 at 7:00 AM

Comments

Stealing from the poor is the lowest of the low. The message sent is: DIE.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2024-12-27 09:38 AM

I Agree. It's State oppression and used to be illegal until the SCOTUS proclaimed it Righteous.

Being poor in America is hell.

#2 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-12-27 01:02 PM

Being poor in America is hell.

And there are more poor than ever before.

Thanks largely to conservative policies.

#3 | Posted by ClownShack at 2024-12-27 01:46 PM

I'm not sure how many conservative policies managed to get implemented in Portland, OR but okay.

"Being poor in America is hell."

Thanks, Capt. Obvious

I've never done it. I also haven't managed a city that has to deal directly with these problems. I can sit on my ass and blog all day about how bad it's managed, though.

That's pretty ------ easy.

#4 | Posted by eberly at 2024-12-27 01:57 PM

You don't know Squat. Shocking! At least you admit you live in a narrow bubble of clueless privilege.

#5 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-12-27 03:40 PM

I'm not sure how many conservative policies managed to get implemented in Portland, OR but okay.

You're right.

I kinda cringed when I posted that.

Should have read,

" ... there are more poor than ever before.

Thanks largely to Capitalism."

#6 | Posted by ClownShack at 2024-12-28 01:53 AM

"At least you admit you live in a narrow bubble of clueless privilege."

Lemme guess ... ..you've been poor?

Share please ... ... .

#7 | Posted by eberly at 2024-12-28 04:55 PM

Why should I "Share"?

Poverty in America is a Stigma. It carries Shame and connotation of Deserved Sufferings.

My posting history has given ample evidence of poverty, I haven't hid it.

You just aren't very good at reading comprehension, I guess?

Or not reading my posts to be more fair possibly.

#8 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2024-12-28 05:07 PM

So, you've lived in poverty?

You can personally attest to the shame?

#9 | Posted by eberly at 2024-12-28 05:13 PM

This place is chock full of blowhards who know nothing about what they are bitching and moaning about.

Climate
Abortion
Medical care
Politics
Energy
Constitutional law
Economics

And yes ... ..poverty.

#10 | Posted by eberly at 2024-12-28 05:20 PM

Beverly the white racist ----.

---- off, you mewling bitch.

#11 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-12-28 11:54 PM

Life in an banana republic, it requires intentional scarcity and making the very poor the enemy...

#12 | Posted by Hughmass at 2024-12-29 06:19 AM

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