TMT Development CEO: The tragic side of Portland's abandoned RVs

Business Journals

3 days ago

It's easy for taxpayers to be cynical about government overspending and underperforming. That cynicism is nothing new. In 1940, an obscure Missouri senator named Harry Truman gained fame with a 10,000-mile drive around the country to uncover waste and fight wartime profiteering.
By 1944, the Truman Committee that evolved from his auto odyssey was credited with saving the U.S. government $10 billion-$15 billion (roughly $230 billion in current value). The fame Truman gained through that effort was pivotal to his ultimate selection as the vice president for Franklin Roosevelt, whom he ultimately succeeded as the president that presided over the end of World War II.
The Truman Committee created a model for impartiality and fairness as it critiqued and culled countless line items on countless ledgers, doggedly seeking to differentiate good allocations from the bad and the ugly.
But as every elected official knows, objectivity is inherently challenging in government budgeting. Programs considered invaluable by some can be dismissed as wasteful or unnecessary by others.
How does all this relate to the present day? Just as it was for the Truman Committee in the 1940s, debating government spending is as frustrating and controversial as ever. It's especially vexing with the added complication of the $93 million shortfall Portland elected officials must accommodate before the vote to finalize the city's budget later in June.
The fine art in budgeting is the sensitivity to understand not just what to cut, but what not to cut. Some proposed expenditures can appear expendable at first glance, but carry deceivingly important implications for the community.
An example is what The Oregonian reports as a $1 million line item on the City of Portland's proposed budget; 'General Transportation Revenues for increased towing and demolition of derelict RVs.'
Lurking within that unassuming line item is a tragic reality with far greater implications than merely removing eyesore vehicles from the roadside. Law enforcement officials are all too familiar with the dirty little secret that derelict RVs can be a culprit in the dark world of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is a gargantuan industry, with more than 20 million victims worldwide. In may surprise some to know that Oregon is among the top 20 states for sex trafficking. We're 10th in the U.S. for human trafficking victims per capita, with about 25% of cases involving minors aged 9 to 17.* Sadly, these numbers could be misleading because the numbers of trafficking victims are notoriously underreported.
Human trafficking takes many forms other than sexual exploitation. Victims could be subjected to forced labor in agriculture, domestic work, factories, bars, hotels, and forced marriage. Some of the many souls panhandling with cardboard signs at intersections may seem innocuous, but some of these folks may be involuntary beggars being managed and exploited by pimps just as sex workers are.
Some human trafficking victims could be housed against their will in the numerous derelict RVs scattered around the city. When you pass these rigs, often with flat tires and plastic tarps bungeed over the roof, you may think it's better for someone down on their luck to be sheltered in an RV than a tent. But what drivers whizzing past don't realize is that some of these RVs could be serving as roadside prisons housing sex workers involved in prostitution and pornography. Some could be used to manufacture drugs.
City sweeps targeting derelict RVs for towing do more than remove them, they give authorities the means to discover and shut down the clandestine roadside brothels, porn film studios and drug mills hiding within — and most importantly liberate the unwilling victims held captive in them.
Granted, city funding to tow derelict RVs is just one wrench in the box of tools used to fight human trafficking. But every tool that can be used should be welcomed and supported in a battle that is too often a whack-a-mole exercise for Portland's Human Trafficking Unit, which works tirelessly to give sex workers an off ramp from their perilous plights.
Thankfully there are numerous agencies in the Portland area doing what they can to locate and liberate victims trapped by human trafficking. But there are still too many of them out there that are hidden in plain sight along our roadsides. The $1 million proposed for towing of derelict RVs would be money well spent.
Harry Truman earned deserved praise for saving billions of dollars on his celebrated 10,000-mile drive around the country to fight government waste. Today's fight against human trafficking in Portland gives us the opportunity to save something more important than money — the lives of the humans held in human trafficking's evil grip.
*According to TMT Development
Vanessa Sturgeon is the president and CEO of TMT Development. For over two decades, Vanessa has led a team with a whole-hearted investment in preserving and innovating Pacific Northwest real estate for those who call it home. Her extensive board service, leadership mentoring and community involvement demonstrate her steadfast belief in Portland and its residents.