The city has long grappled with street homelessness and a shortage of housing. Now fentanyl has turned a perennial problem into a deadly crisis and a challenge to the city’s progressive identity.
Come to Portland, his sister said. It’s green and beautiful, people are friendly and there are plenty of jobs.
In 2018, Anthony Saldana took his sister’s advice. He left Las Vegas, where he was working in a casino, and moved to a Portland suburb.
He rented an apartment and got a job at Home Depot. Mr. Saldana, though, never quite found his footing. By early 2021, he was living in a tent, under a tree on the edge of a highway in Portland.
Yoo Hoo NYTimes! Homelessness and fentanyl are what mark Portland as a progressive paradise.
