22
Wednesday, July 4, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
HOUSELESS: Tight
rental market has an
impact on residents
Continued from page 3
included public lands and
recreation, local government,
public safety, faith communi-
ties, housing support groups,
houseless community mem-
bers, employers, school dis-
trict, homeowners living at the
interface of public lands, com-
munity groups, and health-
care. 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 stake-
holders as to how they are
impacted, participants broke
into six small groups to brain-
storm different challenges as
well as ideas that might help.
Following the small groups,
participants reassembled to
report out, consolidate infor-
mation gathered, and map
possible next steps.
The U.S. Forest Service
was represented by Sisters
District Ranger Ian Reid and
USFS law enforcement offi-
cer Fred Perl. Sisters is sur-
rounded on three sides by
National Forests which pro-
vide 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 usu-
ally 10-12 camps in the for-
est, 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, rec-
reators, kids, and the house-
less. 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 effectu-
ate change.
Family Access Network
( FA N ) a d v o c a t e D a w n
Cooper pointed out summer
is a time of migration into
Central Oregon by house-
less 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 con-
notations connected with
“homeless,” which to many
people denotes mental ill-
ness issues, criminal behav-
ior, unemployment, substance
abuse, and public nuisance.
“Houseless” is a term describ-
ing an economic condition
which can be the result of
sudden financial changes due
to medical expenses, loss of
employment, loss of perma-
nent housing when a rental
unit is sold, or lack of afford-
able housing, which is a big
issue in Central Oregon.
Colleen Thomas, who con-
ducts outreach to the homeless
Holistic Mental Health Solutions
Medication Management
Counseling • Functional Medicine
for Deschutes County, indi-
cated there is a large popula-
tion of people with severe
and consistent mental illness
issues and she is the one per-
son 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 pay-
ing 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 homeless-
ness 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 house-
less people coming into the
library. She reports an aver-
age of six to eight a year who
come on a daily basis, but
during the summer she esti-
mates 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.
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
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and Family Dentistry
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304 W. Adams Ave.
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Sisters
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102 E. Main Ave., Downtown Sisters
Kiwanis Club of
Sisters Presents
the Third Annual
TOPAZ LODGE – NEAR RENO
JULY 24-27 | $149 PPDO
$30 free slot play, $15 food coupons.
Day visit to Genoa, complimentary
lunch and drink of choice at the
state’s oldest “Thirst Parlor!”
COWBOY DINNER TREE
AUGUST 11 | $99 PPDO
Enjoy your choice of a 28-32 oz. steak
or whole chicken! Includes visit to Fort
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Air fare, taxes and transfers, 8 days/7
nights, Shoji Tabuchi, The Oakridge
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Stay in this magical Bavarian Village!
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Sleigh ride, 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts, tour
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541-508-1500
Box 615 Sisters, OR 97759
(5K at 10:30 am)
Registration: Sign up online at
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For more information contact
Matt Kirchoff at 541-647-7586.