Decision to Leave Gresham Brings More Fire to DHS

The decision by the Oregon Department of Human Services to close an office in Gresham and force hundreds of Gresham families to travels miles for important services is drawing more criticism.

As Patch first reported two weeks ago, DHS is moving an office that serves needy families from Gresham to Portland.

While DHS says it was a cost-saving, needed consolidation of facilities, critics say that it will force families to travel miles for services they need.

The Oregonian is now chiming in, saying the explanation by DHS "challenged logic. The need for social service - borne by families struggling for food and to make rent - expands eastward, away from Portland's center."

The paper points out that in Gresham the number of people living in poverty exceeds the statewide level.

In the editorial the paper also blasts DHS for making the decision without talking it over with Gresham officials first "lays bare a woeful disconnect."