If you follow NextDoor or your neighborhood’s Facebook group, you’ll probably know that complaints about needles, trash, and graffiti are becoming increasingly common in Portland.
Neighbors say the problem is getting worse, but in at least one part of town, the city is having some success addressing it.
For 30 years, Central City Concern’s Clean & Safe program has hired formerly homeless Portlanders to lead the clean-up efforts in downtown and Old Town, providing job opportunities for people who need them and helping the city remove more than 2,700 needles and 6,000 bags of trash in December 2018 alone.