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
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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.
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