Exploring help for the houseless

The collective knowledge and experience represented at the three-hour meeting last week concerning "houselessness" challenges in the Sisters community was considerable.

Close to 30 people from throughout Deschutes County, as well as Sisters, gathered at Sisters Fire Hall's community room for a facilitated initial conversation to develop a better shared understanding of the issue, by capturing stakeholders' concerns and needs, as well as ideas and opportunities for action. They then took a look at possible next steps and who might be involved in both the short and long run. There was consensus by the end of the meeting that the conversation needs to continue.

Increasingly, people are becoming houseless in Central Oregon and in Sisters. This issue has many facets and affects many stakeholders, most of whom were at the table at the June 25 gathering.

Representatives invited to participate in the discussion included public lands and recreation, local government, public safety, faith communities, housing support groups, houseless community members, employers, school district, homeowners living at the interface of public lands, community groups, and healthcare. The two groups with no spokesperson were the houseless in the community and those residents who don't want them here.

After brief context-setting by a number of the stakeholders as to how they are impacted, participants broke into six small groups to brainstorm different challenges as well as ideas that might help. Following the small groups, participants reassembled to report out, consolidate information gathered, and map possible next steps.

The U.S. Forest Service was represented by Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid and USFS law enforcement officer Fred Perl. Sisters is surrounded on three sides by National Forests which provide thousands of acres in which people with no secure housing often camp. There are restrictions on camping, including a 14-day limit in any one location.

Reid shared his concerns about resource destruction, safety for both the campers and the general public, and limited resources available to deal with those issues. Perl boiled down his mission as "safe forest, healthy forest," his job being to monitor the forest and provide for safety. He reported there are usually 10-12 camps in the forest, most with one person, although he does encounter entire families with children.

Perl said with no budget for cleanup, his workload has increased due to the increase in garbage over the past 15 years. He did indicate that many different groups are responsible for the garbage - locals who choose to dump no-longer-wanted items, recreators, kids, and the houseless. As property accumulates in a houseless camp, when it is time to move, the people can only take what they can carry so items are left behind. Perl stressed that "everyone has to be in this together," to effectuate change.

Family Access Network (FAN) advocate Dawn Cooper pointed out summer is a time of migration into Central Oregon by houseless individuals and families because of "great weather, it's safe, there's fresh food and water, and they will be gone by early October," when the weather turns colder.

Cooper shared not everyone lacking permanent housing wants to be in a shelter, which is not their own space and which comes with someone else's rules and regulations.

The term "houseless" is coming into more common use, said Cooper, because there are many negative connotations connected with "homeless," which to many people denotes mental illness issues, criminal behavior, unemployment, substance abuse, and public nuisance. "Houseless" is a term describing an economic condition which can be the result of sudden financial changes due to medical expenses, loss of employment, loss of permanent housing when a rental unit is sold, or lack of affordable housing, which is a big issue in Central Oregon.

Colleen Thomas, who conducts outreach to the homeless for Deschutes County, indicated there is a large population of people with severe and consistent mental illness issues and she is the one person for all the county to reach out and build rapport with this population. She indicated with limited county resources it is difficult to get the word out as to what services are available. The other side of that is there is no mandate or law to force people to access the services that are available, unless they become a threat to themselves or others.

Ashley Reed Okura, part-owner of the Ponderosa Best Western motel in Sisters shared how their business is impacted by the homeless camp in the woods behind the motel. The homeless use the laundry, get ice for their coolers from the motel's ice machine, and some use the motel swimming pool, all of which impacts the paying guests and staff. As an employer, she tries to provide stable employment, but she sees a need for more resources for the houseless.

The Sisters Library is one of the few places in town for those experiencing homelessness to get out of the weather, whether hot, cold, or wet. It is a place of safety that offers resources such as restrooms and computers.

Local librarian Zoe Schumacher says she has seen an increase over the past five years in the numbers of houseless people coming into the library. She reports an average of six to eight a year who come on a daily basis, but during the summer she estimates 45 people a day, who she classifies as transients, come in mainly to access the computers. She does deal with lots of mental health issues and has specific expectations she enforces for the safety and comfort of all library

patrons.