Portland has faced several issues over the past few months, and vandalism has been one of the biggest problems for businesses there.

According to business owners, as they faced vandalism and break-ins, the problems only got worse.

Ragan’s Boutique

Ragan VanSise, the owner of Ragan’s Boutique, received a call last Thursday.

Another business called to tell her that the front door of their store had been broken into.

VanSise is not the only victim of such crimes, as other companies have recently faced broken windows.

She is certain that she needs to replace more than just the windows.

“They got away with a whole bunch of denim, jewelry, and handbags,” said VanSise.

“It’s been rough. It’s been a rough week.”

Security cameras caught a man walking around the store shortly after the break-in.

Meanwhile, Ragan VanSise felt the exhaustion of crime.

She said it was her dream to own a boutique like this, but she noted that the past few years in Portland have been tough.

“I’m so tired of this, it’s wearing me down,” she admitted. “I feel sad.”

“I feel like giving up, and I never thought if I got a chance to do this I would give up.”

VanSise also revealed that she sees people taking drugs and going through mental health crises in the streets around her shop.

“I was born and raised here and it’s heartbreaking to me what’s happening – this is the worst it’s ever been,” she said.

“The city needs to figure out a way to help these people.”

Grindhouse Coffee

Meanwhile, a bar in North Portland faced similar problems.

Amanda Horne, owner of Grindhouse Coffee, spoke to KOIN 6 News and said:

“We’ve been seeing a lot of break-ins and unfortunately a lot of vandalism. It’s unfortunate this is happening in Portland right now.”

Horne revealed that despite adding bars to the window and steel doors to prevent burglaries, someone still broke the stained glass.

She said she often reacted to vandalism and at one point found homeless men on the doorstep who were clearly on drugs.

While Horne doesn’t try to take her personally, it’s hard to see past her damage, as her late father made the stained glass windows for her.

Amanda Horne’s father was a stained glass artist and died in February of this year.

Horne’s customers opened a GoFundMe page to help with window replacements.

As for police assistance, Horne did not call the police.

“The vandalisms, I haven’t reported. The last break-in, the cops took four hours to get here,” she explained.

“I know that they’re sparse and they have more important things to do, which is exactly what they told me.”

“I do feel like we need more policing and our streets need to be cleaned up and people who are homeless need a better direction.”

Reference:

‘It’s been rough’: Portland business owners exasperated over constant vandalism, break-ins