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What
Homeless Problem?
Being
down and out in Eugene is still illegal.
By John
Hubbird - Photos by Dan Orleck
When I ask people in Eugene about this area's homeless
problem, I get a number of interesting responses. Mostly, however,
I get puzzled looks, as if to say, "Well, if there is a homeless problem,
it's certainly not my problem."
Many seem unaware that — even by conservative
official estimates — there are about as many homeless people
in Lane County as there are in the Portland metro area, or about 3,600;
yet there are only about 500 shelter beds locally to deal with it.
Perhaps it's not surprising that Eugene's homeless residents have
popped into full public view again on the steps of the County Courthouse.
On Wednesday, Sept. 4, about 40 homeless people showed
up at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza on the steps of the County
Courthouse. The Courthouse Plaza is technically off-limits to the
public between 11 pm and 7 am. On Sunday night, Sept. 8, according
to protesters, 20 to 25 police in riot gear showed up at midnight,
whereupon the protesters staged a prompt tactical retreat to sleep
elsewhere for the night, only to return at 7 am to resume their protest
legally. Each night since then, they have voluntarily vacated the
plaza at 11 pm.
Protesters say they are responding to a wave of recent
city raids in a number of low-profile unsanctioned encampments along
the river and are upset about the wholesale confiscation of their
belongings. They are asking the city to return their personal belongings
and to allow homeless people to create self-governed encampments on
public or donated land, provided that they are kept drug/alcohol-free,
safe and sanitary — similar to Dignity Village in Portland or
Dome Village in Los Angeles
A
Crime to Sleep?
Eugene's Ordinance 4.816 prohibits
camping anywhere in Eugene except on business, public, or church land
with their permission, and only in vehicles; or in a tent in the backyard
of a house with the resident's permission. The city estimates that
there are as many as 100 homeless people staying in the city-sanctioned
business, public or church sites, but there is no official estimate
of how many are camping in backyards.
The ordinance leaves several thousand homeless people
with no place to sleep, except to hide out in unsanctioned encampments,
with no sanitation facilities, where they are easily victimized by
violence-prone elements, and are routinely subjected to citations
and sweeps by police and public works authorities. As our homeless
population continues to mushroom, this hide-and-seek arrangement is
becoming increasingly untenable.
City officials and nearby residents certainly have
voiced legitimate concerns about safety and sanitation issues that
may arise in unsanctioned camps. Ironically, many homeless people
themselves have the very same concerns, only more so, since they are
the ones most personally impacted by such adverse conditions. Building
on such common ground, maybe the city could invite the homeless protesters
to participate in a communitywide collaboration involving all identified
stakeholders to explore possible solutions.
Point/Counterpoint
Several city staff members, city councilors
and Human Rights Commission members have visited with the protesters.
"It looks to me like the street kids moved from the Broadway Mall
to the Park Blocks and then to the Courthouse," says Richie Weinman,
the city's manager of neighborhoods and affordable housing. The jury
is definitely out on whether the city will cooperate with any effort
to establish a city-sanctioned encampment. "I seriously doubt this
will ever happen in the city of Eugene," says Weinman, adding, "Eugene
has tried that already, and it just hasn't worked here." He cites
an attempt three years ago to create a car camp, which fizzled due
to public opposition and the inability to locate a suitable site.
Weinman also says the city has no money for new programs, and that
Eugene's land-use and building codes won't allow such permanent encampments.
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Protest organizers respond that Eugene has yet to
create an ongoing self-governed, self-help intentional community like
Dignity Village, run by and for homeless people. Rather, the Centennial
Car Camp 10 years ago was administered alternately by two local non-profits
(White Bird and ShelterCare) under contract with the city. The camp
was seasonal and residents could only stay for up to three months,
whether or not they had found housing. They also note that Dignity
Village does not rely on public funds, as it is funded by private
contributions.
Regarding zoning/code issues, Dignity Village attorneys
recently discovered a state law (ORS 446.265 — sponsored by
Rep. Al King of Cottage Grove) that allows any municipality in Oregon
to establish up to two "transitional housing" encampments, with semi-permanent
structures (such as yurts or sturdy tents) for "persons who lack permanent
shelter and cannot be placed in other low-income housing." The law
effectively sets aside normal building and zoning code requirements
for this use. Eugene's homeless protesters are asking Eugene to do
the same thing here.
Another
Dignity Village?
Khi, one of the protest leaders,
recently visited Dignity Village in Portland and was impressed. "Dignity
Village has created a self-help community to be an ongoing cost-effective
resource for other homeless people there," he says. "They have already
blazed a trail for us by creating a working self-governance model
that has not been tried in Eugene yet. I believe Eugene needs something
like this. We've decided to call it Liberty Village" (For more information
on Dignity Village, see their website, www.dignityvillage.org)
On Thursday, Sept. 12, representatives from the nascent
Liberty Village met with Weinman and Greg Rikhoff (Program Manager
for Eugene's Human Rights Comm-ission) to explore possible solutions.
The meeting produced no clear resolution, but may have provided an
amicable beginning for continued dialogue. The next day, Weinman showed
up at the plaza with Sgt. Mike Galick of EPD, apparently seeking to
open lines of communication to minimize chances of a confrontation
with police.
In
Conclusion
Regardless of how the protest at
the courthouse plays out, we can do better than making criminals out
of 3,000 people each night for sleeping outdoors. Until we recognize
that homelessness is a major community-wide problem that affects us
all, the problem is likely to grow steadily worse. The more we listen
carefully to what homeless people themselves are saying they want
and need, the sooner we can mobilize community-wide collaborations
with our homeless brothers and sisters "at the table" to help co-create
more effective, humane and cost-effective solutions.
John
Hubbird is a community organizer, homeless advocate and co-founder of
Dignity Village, who worked for 18 months on its behalf. He can be reached
at jhubbird@efn.org
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