Chance Encounter With Formerly Homeless Sex Abuse and Rape Survivor
The woman on the bicycle was very angry. We had only passed her on the Springwater Corridor minutes before when she followed us on her bicycle to give us a piece of her mind. “I just had to tell you, I don’t like being stereotyped. I am not homeless; I am not like these people. These people (the homeless) are bad. So don’t stereotype me.” My daughter and I were walking along the Springwater Corridor, a bike and walking trail along Johnson Creek a hundred yards east of the Cartlandia food truck court off of SE 82nd, on the border between Portland, Oregon, and Clackamas County. We had passed the woman, resting with her bicycle just a few minutes before. We had eaten at Cartlandia and then walked to Green Lents food forest at Malden Court. My daughter is interested in food gardening. There are many homeless encampments along the Springwater Corridor. Portland mayor, Charlie Hales, formally tolerated them, and the city provided d...