PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland’s homeless crisis is listed as the top priority by many people in the city, so we wanted to illustrate what one day of street-level response looks like – observing and documenting a snapshot in time.
The result is a 30-minute documentary, recorded and captured in one 24-hour period in April, showing the different outreach efforts and survival methods that are repeated each day.
When looking at the issues and the response to homelessness, our team of KGW journalists sought out different perspectives – varied by person, position, age, race, time of day, type of service, and other demographic factors.
In the production of this report, KGW talked to people ahead of the planned shoot date of April 21, 2022 to arrange times to meet, however the content of the documentary relied heavily on what happened that day.
From emergency calls to people receiving outreach services to conflict in the streets of Old Town late at night, stories evolved and shifted.
One example of a twist was the arrival of President Biden in Portland, an unexpected addition to the already-scheduled project that altered some plans.
We also felt it was important for the voices of the people to drive this story, rather than provide our own narration or description.
Ultimately, many of the subjects we interviewed said the current system of addressing the homeless crisis feels unsustainable, relying on the collective efforts of many to make it through each day.
We hope this special provides you with unique insight into one day of Portland’s homeless crisis and the many people who are affected.
KGW team members who worked on this documentary:
Producers: Kyle Iboshi, John Tierney, Allison Moulton, Evan Watson
Videography: Allison Moulton, Kurt Austin, Nick Beber, Evan Watson, Jon Goodwin, Kyle Connolly
Editing: Allison Moulton, Kurt Austin, Nick Beber
Color: Lisa Sherman
Sound editing: Zachary Carver
Graphic design: Jeff Patterson
Digital: Evan Watson, Celeste Ruiz
Additional help: Vince Jones