Deaths and Displacement In Portland’s Dangerous Cold
This week has seen a devastating storm hit Portland. The record-breaking drop in temperature, alongside the snow and ice, is something that has happened in the Pacific Northwest every other year. Instead, this has come to be a new reality every season, as we are witnessing the climate catastrophe come to bear.
This recent storm began last weekend, as a polar vortex brought in a snowstorm to the Pacific Northwest. In a few hours, the temperatures became unbearable, to under 20 degrees, with a negative windchill. As we organized against Helium Comedy Club, we knew that soon people would die.
That night, the first two deaths were recorded from the elements. The first two that could be tracked, that is, as there are scores of people in this city that exist outside of the visage of the authorities. As we would witness throughout the week, the city’s response to the state of emergency was wholly inadequate, and in some cases intended to allow Portlanders to die.
It was not until the evening hours that the city opened a series of warming shelters. Yet this is inherently a flawed system, as they opened after 8 PM, and sent people back out into the dangerous cold at those with beds. For those that were open through the day, they were not officially opened until after the first night of the dangerous freeze set in. Many of them were at capacity, and it was hard to travel in the continually freezing wind, as unhoused Portlanders were forced to seek shelter elsewhere.
The city and Tri-Met offered free fare for those traveling to warming shelters, yet the MAX lines were forced to close, as the dangerous winds brought down trees and power lines. This left many stranded in the bitter cold.
The deaths continued to rise. The news recorded over 60 hospitalizations for “cold-related illnesses”, nearly 20 for carbon-monoxide poisoning, and 4 deaths to hypothermia. This again only accounts for the deaths that the city wishes to count. One must consider how many “overdose” deaths were likely to have occured amongst the unhoused population that found it impossible to survive the severe storm.
At the beginning of 2023, and the day before one of the worst temperatures drops in recent history, Portland’s Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) announced a new policy. No longer would response crews be allowed to give unhoused Portlanders tarps and gas stoves. This policy was announced by new commissioner, and now mayoral candidate, Rene Gonzalez. While he acted as if the policy was intended to combat encampment fires, the purpose was abundantly clear.
Rene Gonzalez, alongside Mayor Ted Wheeler, and other city commissioners, hoped that the move would push unhoused Portlander’s out of the city, and if not they would die in the single digit temperatures. And die they did, as multiple deaths were recorded amongst the unhoused population due to the lack of warming resources.
In a statement to the Willamette Week about the policy, Gonzalez stated, “Hypothermia is a risk, as is frostbite. But when talking about frostbite, you’re losing fingers. But these burns, they’re life changing even if they don’t kill you.”
Since then, they have updated the policy, to provide tarps amongst other items. Yet, in the midst of a cold snap, they are still forbidden from providing gas stoves or firewood that could provide life-saving warmth.
This recent winter storm was no different. Even after the deaths of Portlanders the year before, the city continued its trend of denying warming resources to those living in encampments or tents. And as we have seen, this has led to multiple deaths from the polar storm.
In the meanwhile, commissioners like Gonzalez have worked to dismantle Portland Street Response. PSR was founded two years prior, in the midst of the national reckoning with police brutality and racism, fueled by the murder of George Floyd. It was intended as an alternative to violent policing that sought to lock away those dealing with mental health crises and living on the street.
PSR has met its goals of reducing police interactions by responding to mental crisis calls, in the place of armed officers. In 2022 they responded to over 7,000 calls and according to researchers at Portland State University, have created an excellent program that deals directly with Portlanders in the midst of crisis.
Yet, despite the record-breaking successes, Gonzalez has worked to destroy the program. The reason is simple. Gonzalez won his seat, working on behalf of rich benefactors, promising to reduce the unhoused population. While he has acted as if this meant alternative and affordable housing, it has only been a series of policies intended to put unhoused Portlanders in jail or allow them to die from the elements.
Gonzalez has stated that part of his issue is that a number of those working for Street Response are police abolitionists, who joined the program as a means of offering an alternative to policing. In a statement to Oregon Public Broadcasting, “A police abolitionist as a city employee involved in first responding… that is problematic for [the Fire Bureau],” Gonzalez said. “Firefighters view police as key to their safety in certain circumstances.”
These statements are a complete fabrication. The president of the Fire Fighters Association and the unions representing Portland Street Response have discredited this claim, as they see absolutely no “cultural differences” in achieving their mission of assisting Portlanders living unhoused.
Gonzalez’s lies are dangerous and intended to demolish the safety nets and new systems assembled. As he runs for mayor, one must recognize the response that he and Mayor Ted Wheeler are embracing; the old cycle of jail and sweeps that work to push unhoused Portlanders to the very edges of existence.
This became evident with the recent storm, which brought an extreme drop in temperatures, alongside cruel wind and snow. As the snow set in, and the snowfall dropped, the freezing rain soon became the reality.
As the storm became prevalent, the JOHS released a graphic, which detailed “ways to stay warm”. This was highly insulting to those on the street, as Street Response and the city were forbidden from providing warming tools such as stoves and tarps to keep people warm.
Even as the temperatures set in and dropped, sweeps continued. Friday saw a series of sweeps, removing unhoused tents and encampments, the day that one could feel the polar vortex set in. The sweeps that the city engaged, that sought to remove Portlanders from sight, were clearly intended to push them to the edges of society.
While the snow came and went, the city continued to freeze for several days. On Tuesday, a major storm of freezing rain shrouded the city in a blanket of ice. This led to several deaths, such as a family that lost their lives as a power line fell onto their car.
Travel was nearly impossible, as many were stuck on the street. In the midst of the ice-storm, the city shut down its warming shelters. Wednesday saw rain move in, which only made the streets an ice-rink, and did not reach the temperatures needed to melt. As such, this presented an increased risk for those living in the elements.
Anarchists and mutual aid groups had begun their work over the weekend. Before the ice increased, they helped to move nearly 50 people into hotel rooms.
As the police extended their resources to continue the cycle of sweeps, which was not a solution; the responsibility of support for unhoused Portlanders fell to mutual aid groups, anarchists, and activists who used their energy to assist those dealing with houselessness.
Wes Defiant, of MedicBlocPDX stated the following in the wake of the sweeps.
“As temperatures dropped below freezing, 12 PM on Friday, I was still hearing about sweeps in Portland. Rapid Response and Portland Police Bureau were stealing people’s housing and items before a major storm came into town, certain to kill people if they had no shelter or ways to keep warm. This is not special, this is not new. This is a repeated and continued action of Ted Wheeler’s Portland Police.
The system goes, JOHS distributes cheap, fast and easy supplies to non profit organizations that clamor for the chances to get anything to keep people safe throughout the year and seasons, Portlanders pick up and distribute these supplies to unhoused neighbors in need. PPB and Rapid Response sweep those neighbors, take their things and places to get warmth including medications, vital documentation, food, clothing, and shelter. They put it in a truck and take it to north Portland for a brief hold. Whatever they decide is of quality, after the hold Rapid Response gives it back out to Portlanders to “re-distribute”. Except now things are in pieces, dirty, and used.
This vicious cycle prevents anyone from keeping themselves warm or keeping the things needed to continue accessing resources for further housing. You can’t even get a hotel if you have cash but no ID. These actions by Rene Gonzalez’s handling of unhoused services, and Ted Wheeler’s complacency to the PBA and his control of the PPB are killing people in this freeze.
As a Portlander, I worked to navigate this convoluted system to keep people warm this Tuesday, with another impending ice storm on the horizon. Under the state of emergency, JOHS has opened their appointments to anyone in the city. I’ve had a friend contact JOHS to get a pick up of hand warmers, some sleeping bags, some thin gloves, some flimsy tents, some sweatshirts and pants, and a ton of water to help replenish the supplies we’ve run out of everyday during this freeze. At my house I’ve been stocking in this freeze, with the same supplies I mentioned above, as well as more firm resources gathered from Mutual Aid storage spaces all over the greater Portland area. Thankfully my vehicle is ready for the weather we have had and I’ve been able to get out to these resources every day as the things I gather in my living room have disappeared each and every day.
So many of the people we have interacted with had just been swept in the week leading up to the freeze. They had nothing but the clothing on their backs, which was all of their clothing. No tents, certainly no sleeping bags, and no way to shelter in this rigid murderous cold. We have another housed Portlander we’ve met in this crazy week, that is doing the same Mutual Aid we are in our neighborhood. They have been going out to further smaller camps then we have but on Sunday they found two unhoused neighbors dead outside. But we can’t even find the people to check on because they have been moved from where we would contact and find them just a week before.
These actions again by Rene Gonzalez’s handling of unhoused services, and Ted Wheeler’s complacency to the PBA and his control of the PPB are killing Portlanders.
We will continue to help our unhoused neighbors through this freeze and beyond. Thankfully the community is finding ways to rise above what the city is wanting to provide and take away. Because without people caring about the well being of people living outside, there would be way more deaths during the freeze that has got so many Portlanders freezing in their own homes. And I’m sure as temperatures raise to 30–40 degrees in the coming days, Ted Wheeler, PPB, and Rene Gonzalez will continue to displace and sweep domestically-challenged Portlanders while temperatures are still deadly outside.”
The current policies of Portland City Hall are clearly intended to remove the unhoused population. This city does not care if people die, and as we saw in the recent week, the storm killed multiple Portlanders. While some were the result of infrastructure failures, the majority of deaths and hospitalizations stemmed from the inhumane response of city governance.
As the city fails, anarchists and mutual aid groups do the work of supporting unhoused Portlanders.
We take care of us.
