The standard procedure for dealing with the drunk, drugged, and disorderly homeless of this nation is to throw them in jail if they cause a disturbance or send them to the ER and try not to think who is footing the bill for room, board, and detox. Most people would rather not know the name or the story of those homeless; it’s a lot easier that way to avoid a guilty conscious when they freeze to death in the winter. I am ashamed to admit that I sometimes feel this way, knowing that successful recovery is rare and many of the homeless will stay that way, often by choice, or because of substance abuse and mental issues.
So it seemed awful strange to me that when the city of Portland received a grant to help homeless chronic addicts that normally circulate anonymously through the system, they decided that now would be a good time to publish this group’s identity. It seems sort of a perverse discrimination. Instead of being called to task and put on public notice in for habitually breaking the law and burdening the system, in Portland apparently you remain anonymous… enter treatment, and you’re blacklisted.
I think all arrest records should be a matter of public record, but for those that agree to enter treatment anonymity should be considered both as a courtesy and an aid in recovery (there is reason for that first A in AA).
