Helping the homeless in Sisters Country

The newly formed Sisters Homeless Coalition is asking the Sisters community to donate camping/survival gear such as tents, sleeping bags and other items to be distributed to homeless people in the Sisters Country.

It is especially critical during these cold winter and spring months to have gear on hand when homeless people suddenly find themselves sleeping out in the forest, in a car, or in a friend's garage.

Items may be dropped off at Habitat for Humanity's Thrift Store or at ReStore, 254 W. Adams Ave. (during regular donation hours; do NOT leave after hours) or at Ray's Food Place, where there will be a collection bin for the next four weeks.

All items should be clean and usable; no junk.

The start date for donations will be Wednesday, February 2. For a list of items see the online version of this story at www.nuggetnews.com">www.nuggetnews.comwww.nuggetnews.com.

The Sisters Homeless Coalition is affiliated with the broader Central Oregon Homeless Coalition. The coalition conducted a homeless count last week at the Kiwanis Food Bank. A total of 11 people were counted, including three children under 18.

Coalition members emphasize that those numbers are expected to go up when reporting from Sisters Family Access Network is completed.

"That's not going to be an accurate count," said coalition member John Gerke of the count held Thursday. He noted that getting a realistic handle on the extent and composition of the region's homeless population is a fundamental challenge for activists and government agencies. "You talk to FAN, you get some clues; you talk to the schools, you get some clues; the churches... but there's not a single agency that has a handle on it."

The definition of homelessness varies depending on what agency's guidelines are used, but it generally includes people who are couch-surfing, sleeping on floors in friends' houses, families living in garages and outbuildings.

"We tend to think of homeless as people living in tents - or even without tents - out in the National Forest," Gerke said.

There is some of that, even in the winter, and that population grows during the spring and summer as transients move through and families that found temporary winter quarters return to the woods.

Life is precarious in such circumstances, especially for families with young children.

Gerke noted that a couple approached Sisters Community Church for help in November. They had been living for 30 days in the forest with nothing but blankets and were in dire straits as the weather turned cold.

He also noted the case of a woman who had been living in a car in the woods with her children.

"Those situations have now been dealt with, but not through any official agency," Gerke said.

Gerke noted that there are multiple tiers to the effort to address homelessness. The immediate need, of course, is to find shelter for those facing the winter in the Sisters Country.

"We don't want people freezing to death," Gerke said.

The next challenge is to help people find transitional housing; then the issue becomes one of finding permanent housing for the homeless.

Gerke acknowledges that, while the coalition seeks to eliminate homelessness, the goal is not entirely reachable.

"It would be foolish to think that we're ever going to end homelessness," he said. "There are going to be some who choose to be homeless, regardless of what is offered to them."

But it is possible to help those who need it and want it, and the Sisters community is rallying its resources to do so. The first critical step is for those in a position to help to know who needs help.

If you are aware of people in the Sisters Country who lack a place to live, contact Gerke at 541-549-4976 or city planner Eric Porter at 541-549-6022.