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This is an unvetted letter from the Montavilla Neighborhood Association.

Currently the Mayor’s budget provides only $125,000 for this important slate of services designed to holistically address prostitution in the City of Portland.  This $600,000 will fully fund the following set of aligned efforts/services:

Social services programming for prostituted persons, along the lines of those provided currently by Lifeworks Northwest.  These services are essential for helping this vulnerable population escape prostitution and build a productive, satisfying life.

Partial funding for prostitution detail cars, which contact prostituted persons on the street in a compassionate fashion but also apply a policing approach which benefits neighborhoods impacted by prostitution.

funding for Multnomah County District Attorney prosecutor time, which provides prosecutorial support to round out the slate of activities aimed at addressing prostitution.

In contrast to the $125,000 currently being offered for the PCT, it is noteworthy that the Mayor’s draft budget includes more than $2 million for the Service Coordination Team (SCT), which uses a similar approach, yet is focused on a somewhat different set of public safety threats and operates primarily in downtown Portland.  It is also worthwhile to review the negative affects of prostitution on our community; which include:

Degrade neighborhood livability and decrease public safety,

Increase gang activity, as many prostituted persons are pimped by gang members,

Increase neighborhood apathy, resulting in civic disengagement and disillusionment with elected officials,

Perpetuate a dismally low high school graduation rate, as prostituted women enter prostitution on average at age 13; such young women cannot complete high school,

Perpetuate chronic homelessness, as nearly all prostituted women are homeless,

posted 3 years ago
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