Despite what people may think and what they read and hear in the press, we’ve actually had a huge reduction in homelessness in Clackamas County over the last year. And we have the data to prove it. According to the...
27 March 2023
It Takes All of Us – A Community-Centric Approach to Solving Homelessness
By Tootie Smith Chair, Clackamas County Commission We all agree communities face the monumental task of addressing homelessness, drug addiction, and mental health across Oregon. While we did not create this crisis, as elected leaders it is our responsibility to...
21 September 2022
Too Little, Too Late
Housing is, and has been, one of the top issues for the citizens of Clackamas County for years now. The simple fact of the matter is that the amount of available housing has not kept up with the demand created...
27 April 2022
The Perils of Progressive Policies
As of right now, so-called progressives have been in charge of Portland for decades, the Oregon Legislature for years, the U.S. Senate and Congress and the White House. So what, exactly, do we have to show for it? We are...
2 February 2022
Fleeing from a Free-for-All
Over the past year, I’ve written about the decriminalization of two of the biggest problems facing the residents of the Portland metropolitan area and Oregon—drug use and homelessness. Now, some people are hoping to add prostitution to the list of...
8 September 2021
Finding the Right Balance
Having completely failed to address the homeless crisis in any meaningful way, Portland politicians have concocted another way of dealing with it. This mostly involves passing legislation telling every other city throughout Oregon to take care of the problem while...
10 February 2021
Freefall from the Free-For-All
A simple drive on the freeway through Portland and the sight of all its homeless camps confirms what many have suspected for a long time—the tendency in this state towards the legalization of drugs has come with tremendous consequences for...
10 March 2020
How to Handle Homelessness
Everyone knows that rampant homelessness is a huge issue in the Portland area. But what people don’t know is that there is a solution available that Clackamas County can use immediately to help solve it. The current Clackamas County Board...
3 March 2020
The Housing Crisis is Largely a Self-Inflicted Wound… And They’re Only Making it Worse
The scourge of homelessness has taken over downtown Portland the past few years. Tents and piles of garbage are visible from multiple freeway exits and cluster all throughout the city. This problem has now spread beyond Portland and into many...
