Thank you for the recent on-the-street-reporting on the outreach in Old Town on Sept. 9 (“ A morning of outreach on Portland’s streets starts with mayoral cheerleading, ends with a tent sweep ,” Sept. 10).

Day in and day out, folks on Northwest Fourth Avenue between Flanders and Glisan struggle to make something, somehow, better for themselves, at least in the moment. At the same time, volunteers, non-profits and city workers offer carrot-and-stick service approaches to the seemingly intractable reality of human (and pet) suffering among the unhoused.

Each unhoused person has a unique story, but certainly mental health and addiction challenges play large in downtown Portland. The story’s focus on Michelle is powerful; we learn about services and shelters she might access for respite or

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