Truth on the Streets by Kevin Dahlgren
My name is Kevin Dahlgren. I am a freelance journalist, a drug and alcohol counselor, homelessness consultant, former cartoonist and cat lover. I live in Portland Oregon and have worked in social services for over twenty five years.
I started reporting on the homeless and addiction crisis a few years ago after many years of watching our government fail in ending this crisis and to my regret not speaking up.
I have been very vocal ever since. I entered social services with the genuine intent to make a difference. I quickly learned this was near impossible. Our social service system is extremely dysfunctional, has become very radicalized and at times corrupt. What once was a cause has now become a multibillion dollar industry. I was fortunate over the last eights years to work for programs I truly believed in and we made a real difference. But the problem is so big, a few successful programs with measurable results are barely enough to make a dent. However I am optimistic. We are creating a shift. shift. Questioning the status quo is becoming more accepted as many others have started to notice that the billions to solve this crisis has in fact made it worse.
It is why I decided to start this newsletter. I also have a very active Twitter account where over the last year few years I have interviewed hundreds of homeless. I started interviewing them when I realized nobody was really was listening to the experts with actual results. In fact they were often the ones bullied, doxxed and ridiculed by our current social service system. The homeless know exactly what is going on and have shared with me the brutal truth.
I am excited to share what I have learned over the last few decades and know it is no longer if we can end this crisis but when.
I appreciate each and every one of my readers. Please reach out to me anytime with questions or comments. Please consider supporting my work. www.truthonthestreets.org
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