Portland homeless says being on the streets is a breeze

A homeless woman on the streets of Portland bragged about the perks of street life, including free meals and being high all day.

Wendy, a homeless woman, delved into the city’s homelessness crisis by explaining how the near-open drug policy is bringing more tents to the streets.

Portland currently has more than 700 homeless encampments across the city within less than 150 square miles, and the ordeal has also prompted a spike in cocaine, heroin, LCD and meth use, which officials decriminalized in 2020.

“It’s really a no-brainer, that’s probably why you have so many out here because they feed you three meals a day and they don’t have to do shit but stay in your tent and party,” Wendy told Kevin Dahlgren with the community engagement organization We love Seattle.

To which Dahlgren replied, “I appreciate the honesty, doesn’t feel that really helps anyone.”

“It’s not that, that’s why you see all the tents—people up all night and sleeping all day,” Wendy said.

Wendy, a homeless woman, spoke candidly about the benefits of living on the streets of Portland, Oregon. The city’s near-open drug policy has led to more tents on the streets, she said

Wendy is a hairdresser and has been living on the street for months. Officially from Florida, she became homeless after divorcing her husband.

She said someone stole her dentures about six months ago and was unable to return to work.

“That’s what they do here,” Wendy said. “I can’t get new ones because I’ll just take the first one that’s paid for, so I don’t know what I’m going to do.

“I can’t go to work without teeth.”

It’s unclear where Wendy gets her meals each day, but there are several homeless organizations in Portland that serve the community.

Some outreach services provide clothing and food, while others provide behavioral health services, transitional housing, and addiction support.

Portland decriminalized small amounts of meth, cocaine, and heroin in 2020

Some of the Pacific Northwest city’s most charming, trendiest and expensive neighborhoods are now overrun with tent cities that crowd the residential sidewalks

Days later, Dahlgren returned to Wendy’s tent and told her that her story inspired others to start a fundraiser to buy her new dentures.

“I used to be like everyone else, I used to have a really good job … I had a salon in Washington state, I drove a Lexus and I drove a house — and I loved doing hair,” she said.

Wendy’s video saga posted by Dahlgren on Twitter led to her brother and ex-husband finding her. You are now about to reconnect.

“You found my sister,” John Mitchell wrote in a tweet to Dahgren. “Thanks Kevin for posting this. We knew she was homeless and probably in Portland, but that was about it. Thanks for being nice to her.”

Dahlgren (left) later returned to Wendy’s tent and told her that her story inspired others to start a fundraiser to buy her new dentures

Wendy’s video saga posted by Dahlgren on Twitter led to her brother and ex-husband finding her

Portland currently has more than 700 homeless encampments across the city

Residents of Democrat-led Portland said in November escalating crime and homelessness were affecting their way of life and safety.

Some of the Pacific Northwest city’s most charming, trendiest, and expensive neighborhoods are now overrun with tent cities that crowd residential sidewalks and are littered with trash — and the problem is putting off locals and tourists alike.

In 2019, the city recorded just over 2,000 homeless people.

Three years later, that number has increased by 50 percent and is now over 3,000 living on the streets.

In October 2022, Portland’s Democratic Mayor announced plans to close the city’s unsanctioned homeless camps.

Mayor Ted Wheeler said Portland’s homelessness woes were a “maelstrom of misery.”

The mayor said, “The scale and depth of the homeless crisis in our city amounts to a humanitarian catastrophe.”

He added that banning the unauthorized camps across the city would make room for 20,000 units to be built in the coming years.

In October 2022, Portland’s Democratic Mayor announced plans to close the city’s unsanctioned homeless camps. Pictured: Mayor Ted Wheeler addresses the press at Portland City Hall on August 30, 2020 in Oregon.

In October 2022, Portland’s Democratic Mayor announced plans to close the city’s unsanctioned homeless camps. Pictured: Homelessness in Portland, Oregon, Image undated

Residents of Democrat-led Portland said in November escalating crime and homelessness were affecting their way of life and safety. Pictured: Homeless Camp in Portland, Oregon, Image undated

However, the mayor said construction of the units would take place over the next decade.

“We need to bring our dispersed, vulnerable, homeless population closer to the services they need,” Mayor Wheeler said.

The increase in homelessness has also led to an increase in crime in the city.

Portland set a record for homicides in 2021. 90 murders were reported – surpassing the previous high of 66.