Portland resident demands action on homeless crisis as families flee: 'Fortunately no one has been shot'

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Portland families forced to flee over homeless encampments

University Park Neighborhood Association Secretary Tom Karwaki joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss how the encampments have impacted families in the area as they fear for public safety.

Some Portland families are fleeing the city over public safety concerns as homeless encampments increase along neighborhood streets, riddled with crime and drug use. 

University Park Neighborhood Association Secretary Tom Karwaki joined "Fox & Friends" Thursday to demand action as many of his neighbors are choosing to list their homes for sale as a response. 

"We need to solve this problem, it's an emergency," Karwaki told co-host Steve Doocy. "You've said emergencies for five years. It's time to act now. Get the safe rest villages built here, which is a camp for people to get a services and sort of like a camp where you would go and turn your life around."

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Karwaki, who has lived in Portland for more than a decade, said his neighborhood was the only one to approve safe rest villages, a nonprofit effort to help mitigate the crisis. 

"We need them to be open for both the RV people with RV's, which is an innovation of Portland and also in the community," Karwaki said. "We need them now and fast, and we need to have the Peninsula… Crossing Trail and all of the parks open for children and people to play in the whole community, not just the homeless, or houseless, as we say here in Portland."

A large homeless camp at Laurelhurst Park in Portland, Oregon. Laurelhurst Park is at the center of one of Portland's most affluent neighborhoods. (iStock) (iStock)

Karwaki said there are 50 homeless people that stay behind his house at any given time, but as many as 200 people have been found there before. 

"Some people have gotten restraining orders from some people, too, but fortunately, no one has been shot," Karwaki said. 

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The homeless crisis in Portland worsened amid the pandemic, but little has been done since to address the growing crisis. 

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Many residents on Karwaki's block have had enough and ultimately moved to escape the encampments. 

Some neighbors are still in the process of selling their homes, and many have committed to doing so in the future. 

"There are six people so far who said that and three have sold their house and three are in the process," Karwaki said. "We've actually had commercial businesses also put up their businesses and their land for sale."