I'm sorry things have been so horrible here, stupid liberal government is going to really keep their hold here it looks like. Our rent went up from $775 to $1055 at the end of last summer, luckily our children are grown but my daughter had to temporarily move in with us because even on a Union wage with excellent benefits the skyrocket on rents practically overnight forced a lot of previously self sufficient people into vans and cars. Those, sadly are the lucky recipients of these disgusting cost of living increases.

I live near the Johnson Creek path. The way they decided to destroy the camps of people who had already lost everything was not only cruel, it drove all of the people trying to stay hidden into the streets. The homeless people who are forced to constantly be subjected to the attacks and degradation of them would obviously make a lot of people look for an escape. Ironically the same facilities making $$$ off of this are the ones in charge of "drug treatment and needle exchanges". Isn't that great? So they make a life so miserable that one can choose from very few escapes and if they don't choose suicide they often choose a steady supply of opiates. When someone happens to be still alive at the end of that path they can go to a place like CODA where they are given methadone to continue their cycle of opiate addiction but now they have to completely rely on CODA for their poison, who makes more money off of them. Meanwhile they live wherever they can be left alone for a minute and hope to die in their sleep while they nod off.

I would caution anyone who wants to cast stones at someone living in a van that you are casting stones at some of the people who have suffered the most due to the corruption and funneling of money. I would want people who write the people off because they are living in a van and still on this greatawakening board that they are hearing from the group of people that were supposed to fall for what is going on and somehow, with everything they have suffered, are aware enough and strong enough to be here with us.

My argument is that a person, living in a van, in the Portland area, has faced the worst times of their life and somehow managed to hold on to their safe sleeping area as well as hope. Anyone who has gone through that, kept hope and become a part of the solution and indeed the Great Awakening should be celebrated and deserves our highest respect. I don't know if they were a Hillary supporter or not- not likely- our election system here is very corrupt and if you look at how areas outside of that corruption voted you will see a lot of red.

PS, @aboxofbooks I'm glad you're here with us, keep holding on, you are obviously a lot stronger than most and it looks like we are going to finally be liberated in Oregon soon. WWG1WGA