Re: “Citing problems with transients, owners of Maria’s Ristorante want to leave longtime location” (July 13):
Preble Street’s executive director, Mark Swann, told the Bayside Neighborhood Association a decade ago that Preble Street’s responsibility for its clients’ behaviors ends at its property line. And the increased demand for Preble Street’s services is by its own design.
The word about the agency’s “no barriers” services (allowing people to live in Portland without having to work) spread nationwide. Of the “more than 400 people a day” now being served by Preble Street, it is a fair estimate that over 300 are not from Portland and more than half of those are from out of state. They are coming for the services – not to get a job, make a home, start a family.
This city would not have to be planning a new emergency homeless shelter if Preble Street had enacted a residency requirement for services 10 years ago. But if you depend on donations and grants, it looks better to have the constantly overflowing crowds of people in need. For Preble Street, it’s job security!
Jay York
Portland
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