Stabilizing Our
Community
Legacy bricks raise
capital for Allen
Temple rebuild
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVI • Number 52
See Metro, page 9
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • December 27, 2017
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
by D anny P eterson /t he P ortlanD o bserver
A homeless group of mostly women finds mutual support and camaraderie to survive the hardships of winter as they fight to survive the cold at a makeshift campsite
along a highway in northeast Portland.
D anny P eterson
t he P ortlanD o bserver
The dozen or so tents and ragtag shelters
on a grassy enclave on the side of the road
was an all too familiar sight. But finding
out who lived there and what they faced
was a revealing portrait of the city’s home-
less epidemic.
The camp was mostly women who were
supporting each other in a struggle to stay
alive outdoors in winter. One female from
the group almost died recently if not for the
help of her companions, a shocking experi-
ence, but one that is not uncommon on the
streets around Portland.
Last year, 80 people died while trying
to survive homelessness in Multnomah
County, according to a new report just re-
leased this month.
The homeless group of women I stopped
to talk to said they had been bouncing
by
Surviving
Together
Revealing portrait as homeless
struggle through winter
around various locations for the better part
of a year, usually near a freeway off ramp
or underneath a freeway overpass. They
said they frequently get kicked out of their
camping spots by Portland Police or the
Oregon Department of Transportation.
Lex, 32, the group’s designated “camp
mom” for the past year, said the frequent
moves are a strain for everyone involved.
“People get suicidal when they move,”
she said. “People get, you know, violent.”
The 80 homeless deaths recorded last year
marks the second highest count since Mult-
nomah County started tracking the deaths
in 2011. The top three causes of death were
accidental, natural, and suicide. Drugs or al-
cohol contributed to half the deaths. The me-
dian age of those who died was 49 and 17 of
the total deaths were female.
C ontinueD on P age 6