"I'm tired of it. It's mostly a nuisance, but it can also get a little bit scary,"
"I'm gay, very much a liberal Democrat, but compassion fatigue is a big thing,"
"Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares, surrendered to the homeless, the drug-addicted and the violent and dangerously deranged,"
"For who those are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them back to mental institutions, where they belong."
Downtown Portland combines busy commercial areas with visible homelessness, open drug use, and signs of severe addiction and mental illness. Local business owners report drug deals and frightening encounters that produce compassion fatigue and fear about safety and public space. President Trump has proposed expanding civil commitment so judges can force medical care and institutionalization for individuals with addiction and severe mental illness and signed an executive order urging local and state governments to increase such forced treatment. The proposal raises tensions between public-safety concerns, the effectiveness of compulsory care, and civil liberties.
Read at www.npr.org
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