High crime forces big-name charity to close site in Portland: 'People were afraid to come in'

A major charity providing healthy food to vulnerable seniors has had to close two sites in its home base of Portland, Oregon, mainly on account of crime.

Earlier this summer, Meals on Wheels People, linked to the national organization Meals on Wheels America, closed its Hillsboro and Elm Court Center locations. While Hillsboro closed because of low site traffic, the Elm Court site in downtown was no longer safe, CEO Suzanne Washington indicated.

'If you’re out here by yourself, don’t come out here at night.'

"We couldn’t guarantee the safety of our staff and our volunteers. We’ve had many issues with drug dealing, threats of violence, and safety issues around needles and defecation," Washington said, according to KPTV.

"Every day, they’re stepping over feces, and there’s needles and drug dealing and deaths," she added, according to KOIN.

On at least one occasion, MOWP personnel had to step over a dead body to enter the Elm Court site. "We’ve been threatened with knives, and fires have been set," she claimed. "It was time to close."

Residents confirmed that crime and drug-use have become major problems in the area. Sean Meece, who rents an apartment above the shuttered Elm Court site and who used to dine there, said, "If you’re out here by yourself, don’t come out here at night. Because within a mile or two-mile radius, it’s not a fun place to be by yourself."

The Elm Court location opened in 2007 and served more than 300 clients. Though the site stopped providing in-person dining during the government-imposed COVID lockdowns, it had still been used as a distribution center for staff and volunteers to pick up food to deliver to seniors in need.

"We got to the point where we were paying for space for congregate dining, but we couldn’t use it because people were afraid to come in," Washington said.

Meals on Wheels America declined to comment on the specific situation affecting Meals on Wheels People, but it did provide Blaze News with the following statement:

Meals on Wheels providers across the country are having to make really tough choices every day given rising demand and inadequate funding. One in three Meals on Wheels providers has a waitlist while COVID-19 emergency funding has dried up. Meals on Wheels is proven to be the most effective solution to senior hunger and isolation, but the network of community-based providers needs more resources to ensure everyone who needs these services gets it.

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While Washington and her team considered finding an alternative location, they ultimately decided to save the cost. "Instead of paying for someplace else, we want to keep people fed," she said.

Washington noted that some of the COVID-era federal funding has since expired, and with further federal cuts looming on the horizon, MOWP has slashed more than $1 million from its 2025-26 budget.

"One of the things we’re trying to do is make sure the money we do have is going to feed people, not to pay overhead," she explained.

So far, the new MOWP budgeting plans have worked. Despite increased demand, MOWP has continued to provide meals without waitlisting anyone.

Still, Washington added, MOWP is ever in need of donations and volunteers. "We do need help, we need it every year," she said.

"Whether the Medicaid cuts impact us today or tomorrow, we need funding now to feed the seniors who are coming to us for help."

H/T: The Daily Mail

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