Citizens discuss houseless concerns

More than 100 Sisters Country folk joined 11 speakers at Sisters Elementary School on Sunday, October 6, for a community conversation about houselessness.

The gathering convened at 4 p.m. for the first public meeting at the brand new facility.

Instigated by the City of Sisters in partnership with 11 organizations, the 90-minute meeting was billed as a learning and input-gathering session. Its purpose was to learn about houselessness in Sisters Country and hear ideas, concerns, and questions from citizens.

After a contentious public reaction to a proposed emergency shelter last year, the City is hoping to obtain some community-wide consensus on the issue of houselessness in Sisters.

Attendees found themselves dealing with competing terminology. The program referred to houselessness whereas the principal data used for the basis of discussion referenced homelessness. The word unsheltered was added to the mix. Distinguishing among the differing descriptions was part of the discussion - and reflects the varied conditions in which unhoused people live, mostly in Sisters' forests.

Photo by Bill Bartlett

More than 100 local citizens shared concerns and ideas relating to addressing houselessness in Sisters Country during a "community conversation" held at Sisters Elementary School last Sunday.

The meeting was facilitated by a paid consultant, Jen Rusk, who opened the meeting laying out the agenda and expectations. She was followed by Colleen Thomas, Homeless Outreach Service Supervisor for Deschutes County Health Services. Thomas spoke again later in the meeting.

It was Thomas who presented the bulk of the hard data taken from the annual Point in Time census conducted each January of the traditionally unhoused in Central Oregon. Thomas and five others further visited the forest surrounding Sisters on September 9 to get a better sense of what needs and barriers exist for the unsheltered.

The January Point in Time count contacted 81 individuals and 33 were encountered on the September 9 visits. The 81 in Sisters compares to 1,799 for all Central Oregon.

Schools Superintendent Curt Scholl said there were typically 30 to 40 students enrolled each year who met some criteria of homelessness that could include couch-surfing.

Speakers, representing the partners in the program, were a who's who in community leadership and each took three to four minutes to explain their organization's role in houselessness in Sisters.

At 4:45 p.m. the speakers gave way to table discussions.

Attendees were seated at tables of eight and a designated note-taker was assigned for each table. Community leaders, including Mayor Michael Preedin, rotated among tables.

Conversations ranged widely from table to table. Some tables were focused on safety while others spent more time discussing the ramifications of the broader issues of health, addiction, home affordability, at-risk children, and employment.

The concept of "safe parking" was widely discussed. Deschutes County identifies this as designated areas where people experiencing houselessness can park their vehicles and stay overnight safely. The program idea includes offering case management support to help people transition from living in their vehicles to more stable housing.

During his presentation, Lt. Chad Davis, who heads the Sisters office for Deschutes County Sheriff, broadly categorized the houseless population in the forest. Those closest to town, he said, are the ones with the more significant amount of mental health issues.

Those with jobs are more apt to have vehicles to get them to work, and are generally deeper into the woods, and less visible. Davis talked about the around 10 percent he said who form a "criminal element." Most crime is property-related with little violence. There is some drug dealing and cases of convicted sex offenders who deputies are monitoring to be certain they are following the terms of their parole.

Several speakers emphasized the role of fire prevention in working with the houseless. Nearly every known campsite has been furnished with smoke or carbon dioxide detectors and/or fire extinguishers along with the instruction of their use. Many attendees expressed gratitude for this proactive prevention, especially the 10 to 12 in attendance who live immediately adjacent to the forest. Six residents from the ClearPine subdivision, bordered by North Pine Street, were in the audience. That is a particular area of homeless concentration.

Attendees included people from Tollgate, Cloverdale, and Whychus Canyon Estates as well as several other neighborhoods outside the city limits.

The City and its consultant will tabulate dozens of pages of notes from discussions and continue the conversation as concerns and ideas for action become evident.