'The Five' react to the homelessness crisis getting worse in liberal cities
'The Five' panelists react to McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski sounding the alarm on crime in Chicago and the millions liberal cities are spending to fight the homelessness crisis.
A Portland woman showcased what she identified as an enablement problem within the city's homeless crisis in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday, telling philanthropist and outreach worker Kevin Dahlgren that being homeless in Portland is a "piece of cake."
"It’s a piece of cake, really. That's probably why you've got so many out here because they feed you three meals a day and don’t have to do s--- but stay in your tent or party. If you smoke a lot of dope, you can do that…," she told Dahlgren.
The woman, named Wendy, also said many among the homeless population wake up and proceed to repeatedly eat and get high throughout the day.
In a separate tweet, Dahlgren said Wendy is a licensed hairdresser and would like to work. In the video attached to the post, Wendy tearfully described the lawless state of the homeless community by revealing her dentures were recently stolen from her tent.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES OUTPACE MEDIAN INCOME IN SEVERAL STATES, STUDY FINDS
A homeless woman named Wendy appears in an interview posted to Twitter by Kevin Dahlgren. (@kevinvdahlgren/Twitter)
"I went and got my teeth about six months ago and then someone stole them. I was living outside, and somebody took them," she said.
"Now I can't go get new ones because I just got the first ones paid for. I don't know what I'm going to do… I can't go to work without teeth."
Dahlgren, affiliated with a nonprofit called "We Heart Seattle," said Wendy told him he is the first outreach worker to stop by and greet her in years.
"When I’m in charge I will have [to] bring outreach back. It will be daily and we will come with actual resources, not just peanut butter sandwiches. We need to work together to end this very fixable humanitarian crisis," he tweeted.
"[Oregon] is the only state that actually allows you to put a tent [on the sidewalk]…" Wendy said in video shared with Dahlgren's third tweet.
"You don't have any police around. If you get hurt, you're screwed because they're not helping anybody. You don't see them anywhere."
The city's developing homeless crisis is believed to be a byproduct of a cocktail of other problems, including recreational drug policies implemented in The Beaver State.
A homeless person makes holes in the top of their tent on a sidewalk in Portland on Dec. 8, 2022. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
The issue grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading residents and business owners to relocate.
In August, University Park Neighborhood Association Secretary Tom Karwaki told "Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy that encampments are wreaking havoc on the city streets, but officials have done little to nothing to solve the issue.
"We need to solve this problem, it's an emergency," he said.
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"There are six people so far who said that [they are moving]… three have sold their house and three are in the process," Karwaki added later. "We've actually had commercial businesses also put up their businesses and their land for sale."
Fox News' Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
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