PORTLAND, Ore. — For several weeks, Portland Police Bureau has targeted the blocks around Southwest Jefferson Street and 10th Avenue. In the last two weeks, they’ve arrested 10 suspected fentanyl dealers.
On Monday, residents of a growing campsite on that corner were told that a Portland camp removal team was coming to clear their site.
“I use fentanyl and meth … The high will last for like five minutes and it doesn’t end, it’s the same thing over and over again,” said Keith. She spends her whole day trying to find enough money to keep her high lasting as long as possible.
Across the street from the campsite, members of the PPB bike squad arrested a man on four outstanding warrants. Officers initially approached him after watching him smoke fentanyl on the sidewalk. It’s a different side to the same cycle Keith is stuck in.
“There are days where it feels like drinking through a garden hose, we are arresting drug dealers at night as fast as we can, and it seems like we’ll arrest someone, and 30 minutes there’s someone else back out,” said Officer David Baer with the Central Precinct Bike Squad.
Stephanie, who lives in a nearby apartment, also sees the crisis daily — right outside her bedroom window.
“It’s every day. It’s every night,” she said, pointing outside. The amount of drug use that happens on the corner outside means she spends most of her time indoors. She is planning to leave Portland once her lease is up.
“When I get off work, I just come home, and I stay home … It just doesn’t feel safe anymore at all,” she said.
Even with a strong police presence, Stephanie and others said the crisis on Portland streets feels never-ending.
“I have empathy for people who have addiction issues or mental health issues," she said. "I don’t think the current solution is working for anybody."
In a statement to KGW, the Portland Art Museum on Southwest Park Avenue also expressed concern as well as its response regarding the crisis on Portland streets. Going as far as investing in a protection services team this past year:
“Over the past year, we have invested significantly in our protection services team in response to changing conditions in downtown and an uptick in activity in our immediate vicinity. Our staff is committed to doing all we can to ensure the safety and security of our staff and visitors while they are at the Museum.”
Even after four years of being addicted, Keith said that "people don’t have real consequences for their actions" in Portland.
"So, I feel like that might contribute to why people keep staying in this vicious cycle,” she added.
Portland police tell KGW they are doing everything they can and will continue to run night and weekend missions to be unpredictable and catch fentanyl dealers. Their focus is stopping drug sales, which under Oregon law is a felony crime.