PORTLAND, Ore — A Salvation Army building in Southwest Portland was tagged with graffiti twice in less than one week. Employees said the vandalism is an ongoing and expensive problem to manage.
The Salvation Army Female Emergency Shelter (SAFES) on West Burnside Street and Southwest 2nd Avenue was covered with blue and white spray paint on Wednesday, said Justin Moshkowski, the executive director of the West Women's and Children's Center.
"I spent the morning painting over the graffiti that has returned so quickly," Moshkowski said in a statement to KGW.
On Dec. 9, less than one week ago, volunteers with the Salvation Army, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe and Central City Concern were out in the neighborhood to scrub graffiti from buildings and pick up trash. The event marked the launch of a new program, One Block At a Time, which aims to clean up graffiti and trash in neglected areas in downtown Portland.
In a statement shared with KGW on Wednesday, Moshkowski wrote, in part, "It is extremely disheartening and gives us feelings of futility when we are able to bring together the community partners and organize so many people with more than 100 hours of labor spent cleaning up the building and streets to all be dismantled by an unchecked graffiti crisis."
Moshkowski said cleanup crews will paint over any new graffiti, rather than use a pressure washer, due to time and cost. Moshkowski added that the Salvation Army has dedicated eight to 10 hours a week of staff time to keep up with "the constant assault of crime and defacing levied against our building."
The city of Portland has recently grappled with the issue of graffiti. Earlier this year, the state legislature approved $2 million for the Oregon Department of Transportation to contract Rapid Response Bio Clean and Portland Graffiti Removal to clean up graffiti and litter.