At the end of the scorching day, Thursday, August 12, downtown Portland, Oregon, was deserted. There is no living soul in the streets, in 37 ° C, if not the homeless. In the recess of a doorstep, a man of Asian origin sleeps, completely naked, behind his jumble. Further on, a woman curiously sweeps a dry fountain, which obviously serves as her shelter. After a hundred yards, three young people are smoking cannabis. In a tent camp, a woman hobbles, urinating while standing.
In Portland, human dignity is violated in all the streets. And it’s the same in Seattle, 280 kilometers further north, in Washington state. In the tourist market district, after 5 pm, there are only homeless people left, drug addicts, wandering in the city, often with their dogs. As for the city center, it is almost impossible to explore it on foot, as each asphalt space is occupied by a tent for the homeless.
The arrival in Seattle is a shock. How does this left-wing bastion, known since the anti-globalization riots in 1999, but also cited the giant corporations (Boeing, Starbucks) and the richest men in the world (Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, Jeff Bezos, boss of Amazon), could he have come to this? By dint of living like this, the inhabitants seem to no longer really ask themselves any questions, while Washington State is one of the richest and most socialized States, by American standards.
“No right to housing in a shelter”
This is not for lack of charitable works, supposed to compensate for the deficiencies of the public authorities, as is the case in the United States. One of them is Mary’s Place, a drop-in center for homeless families. To get there, we double-checked the address: it’s right next to Amazon’s headquarters and its two tropical garden spheres, symbols of world power for Jeff Bezos, the richest man. of the planet.
This is normal: the building is made available free of charge by Amazon, which also sends its lawyers and volunteers to help the homeless in their efforts. The director, Marty Hartman, who welcomes families in Seattle (everyone except single men), gives a first explanation of the situation: “Unlike New York, there is no right to housing in a shelter. “
This dynamic leader takes us on a tour of the brand new building: a laundry room, a playground for children, dining rooms, an infirmary and individual accommodation per family that we will not visit due to Covid-19: the building has 200 beds, and was a godsend when the pandemic broke. “We had to create a two-meter distance. As a result, we had to close two shelters. Our number of beds has increased from 800 to 500 ”, she laments. Fortunately, the Amazon building was inaugurated at the right time. “The building opened on March 9, 2020”, she tells us. “It has been an incredible gift of love. I call this building “our saving grace” ”, rejoices Marty Hartman. Amazon’s loan is valued at $ 22 million (18.8 million euros) in the association’s accounts.
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