Residents of subsidized housing in Lloyd District say it attracts crime

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - Residents of a low-income apartment building in northeast Portland said they feel unsafe because of what’s allowed to go on right outside their doorstep.

The residents said their concerns are not being heard by management.

Patricia Golding came to Portland last year from out of state. She said after family issues, she needed a new start but the Louisa Flowers apartments in the Lloyd District were not what she had in mind.

“There’s homeless people that come in and put their beds down and build them a little fort right there,” Golding said. “They sit there and do their drugs. It’s very unsafe environment.”

Golding said she’s appalled by what she sees just outside her door every day, including drug use and prostitution. She said management isn’t concerned with stopping it.

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“They have these managers come in that start everything either all over or they do it a different way and there’s no consistency,” she said.

Golding said that also extends to dealing with tenants. She said it led to her daughter sleeping outside in a tent because a management change didn’t approve her lease.

“Management gave her a key, a fob, did everything except sign the lease with her and then they switched to new management within that time they were supposed to sign my daughter’s lease,” she said.

Home Forward, which owns the Louisa Flowers, acknowledges “weighty challenges” at the building and changing management. Home Forward said in a statement in part:

“A new security firm started at the building and we will open an office on site for supportive services this fall.”

The Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications sent FOX 12 statistics of calls for the last two years at the address. In 2021, there were 532 calls and in 2022 it jumped 22% to 651.

Resident William Clendenin feels that theft and trespassing are enforced less than when the building opened in 2019.

“They fined them $50,” Clendenin said. “But now nobody does that anymore.”

Golding said the constant issues with management has her worried for her daughter’s safety.

“It bothers me every day because I’m not allowed to help my child basically because of where I live,” she said.

Home Forward said some contractors have been replaced with its own staff recently. They feel confident the new building manager can improve safety.

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