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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 12, 2021)
Wednesday, May 12, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon HOMELESS: C4C plans online discussion of issues Continued from page 1 the county9s new Homeless Outreach Coordinator Katie DeVito are working with the Sisters Ranger District to reach out to that population. <We are working with the Forest Service to do col- laborative outreach to folks who are out in the woods in Sisters Country,= she told The Nugget. That outreach, conducted on Thursdays, involves making contact with people camping in the forest and making sure that basic needs are being met 4 needs like water, food, propane for heat- ing and cooking, clothing. Thomas has helped people obtain other needs, such as eyeglasses, as well. <We can help them to get connected to health insur- ance, Social Security disabil- ity benefits, food stamps,= she said. Those are items Thomas describes as <mainstream benefits.= <Navigating that system can be hard for anyone,= she noted. Thomas said that <the long-term goal is to connect them with housing 4 if that9s what they want to do.= Thomas notes that <home- lessness= in Sisters, as in most places, is not a single condition. <It ranges from situational to chronic and everywhere in between,= she said. Situational homelessness can come from a bad turn of fortune 4 job loss, loss of a rental situation, a fam- ily breakup. Chronic home- lessness may be a lifestyle choice, or it may be con- nected with mental health struggles and/or substance abuse. Mandee Seeley, a local housing advocate who has experienced what she pre- fers to call <houselessness= in Sisters, says that virtually all of the many people she knows who are camping in Mark Ossinger Fathom Realty OR, LLC 541-316-9643 MARKET VALUES CONTINUE TO RISE IN SISTERS Is it time to sell? VISIT WWW.PNW OREGONHOUSES.COM the woods want conventional housing. <I9m talking about the people who do not want to be in that situation, who are struggling, who are in sur- vival mode and need to find a way out,= she said. <I don9t know personally anyone who wouldn9t take that opportu- nity (to be connected to hous- ing) if it came about,= she said. Yet housing is hard to come by and is becoming less affordable by the day in Sisters. Seeley says that the most recent homeless count indi- cates that there are 83 home- less people living in the Sisters forest. She believes that it should be possible with Housing and Urban Development (HUD) vouch- ers and a concerted effort from landlords and develop- ers to house all the people in Sisters who want to be housed. Asked if there was a con- cern that even if the immedi- ate need were filled, Sisters would still continue to draw a homeless population, Seeley responded: <If you build it, they will come? I don9t really sub- scribe to 8if you build it, they will come,9 because if Sisters is where they want to be, I don9t have a problem if they come.= Conflicts between home- less campers, neighbor- ing residents, and people recreating in the woods have occurred. Last March, Deschutes County Sheriff9s Deputies arrested two 19-year-olds in connection with a shooting incident that occurred in the forest outside Sisters on January 17. In that incident, a mid- 1990s Chevrolet Tahoe was shot multiple times near a long-term camp in the area of Forest Road 1510 near the 450 spur, approximately five miles west of Sisters. The vehicle was in very close proximity to a tent that was being used for housing. Local residents, hikers, and horseback riders have said that they have been con- fronted by homeless people in the forest, and many locals have complained of camp- sites being trashed 4 with debris including human waste and drug paraphernalia. Under national forest regulations, campers can- not exceed 14 days in any one location on public lands. They are supposed to move after those two weeks, and they must move a minimum of five miles to a new site. The rule is hard to enforce, much to the frustration of some local residents. And Seeley says it9s hard to com- ply with if you9re living and not just recreating in the woods. <I understand the 14-day rule, but I have to be hon- est with you, it9s exhausting moving everything you own every two weeks,= she said. Housing advocates and impacted local residents alike express frustration that, in their perception, <nothing is being done.= Homeless peo- ple and their advocates com- plain of verbal harassment and a threatening atmosphere. <It used to be just teenag- ers harassing homeless peo- ple,= Seeley said. <Now it9s adults.= Residents and recreation- ists sometimes feel threat- ened, too, and imposed upon by a trashed and unsanitary environment. Some residents have repeatedly documented over-stayed campsites, aban- doned vehicles, and trash heaps in the woods. Besides the shooting investigation, the only recent law-enforcement action asso- ciated with homeless campers was an arrest made in mid- April of a homeless man on a warrant for a parole violation on a weapons charge. Reports of a fire that a camper felt was threatening were investi- gated, but <there was nothing to show that it was criminal,= according to DCSO Sisters Lieutenant Chad Davis. Davis said it is difficult for law enforcement to act without a timely complaint. <What it sounds like is that there have been some ver- bal confrontations between campers and residents and people out recreating,= he said. <I think that9s true.= <However,= he noted, <we9re not getting calls on a lot of these alleged incidents.= There appears to be a dis- connect and a difference in perception between home- less people who complain that they are harassed, yelled at, their campsites subjected to drive-bys by apparently hostile people, and local law enforcement. Seeley says that the victims of such alleged harassment often don9t call police because they have done so in the past and have been told nothing can be done. However, Lt. Davis told 21 The Nugget that threats and property damage should be reported immediately so that they can be investigated in a timely fashion. He empha- sized that people should avoid confronting others in the woods. <Let law enforcement do the job,= he said. The local group Citizens4Community will host an online community discussion of matters related to homelessness and forest camping from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 17. Ian Reid and John Soules from the Sisters Ranger District will share their per- spective, along with Lt. Davis from the Deschutes County Sheriff9s Office. Seeley will also participate. Attendees will have an opportunity to share their thoughts and ask questions related to the topic. Judge Paul Lipscomb will serve as the evening9s moderator. To receive an invitation with a Zoom link, RSVP by email to director@ citizens4community.com. Participants will receive the Zoom link a day or two before the event. Planning a Home Construction or Renovation Project? Our team believes quality, creativity, and sustainability matter. 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