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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1991)
COMMUNITY Agencies working to aid homeless Plans to use funds from Legislature to be discussed By Hope Nealson Emerald Reporter Help is on the way for lilt: in creasing number ol homeless, because oily groups have pro posed new strategies lo help the homeless get off of the streets and become self-sup porting. Community and governmen tal agencies met to discuss new strategies for the homeless in August <md earlier this month, s.iid Steve Manela, Lane Coun ty Intergovernmental Human Services administrator. The Lane County Health and Human Services, the Intergov ernmental Human Service C o m mitt e e B a s i i Needs/Community Action Sub committee, and other interested groups will put their strategies to work with $500,000 in emer goncy housing funds set aside by the Oregon Legislature in 1991. The strategies Include help ing to resettle families and indi viduals into affordable housing and enhancing support services to include child care services. They will also try to help the homeless evolve from home lessness to permanent housing and economic independence through guidance and support Susan Hun, executive direc tor for Eugene Emergency Mousing, saiii the main prob lem is that there is not enough affordable housing for low-in come families. Ban said home lessness in Eugene is increasing and needs to be dealt with now The waiting list (or beds is three to four weeks long. Ban said. This means people are forced to live on the streets, in their cars or In the camp grounds. Four years ago the average length of stay in the shelters was 10 days, the average stay last year was -tH days. Bun said. However, Munola said there are open beds available in other shelters now "Alxrut half of tho people wo have served have had an adult or two employed at minimum wage,” she said “The issue is not that they are not employed, hut that minimum wage cannot support them. " Ban said Manela's strategies are significant for addressing long-term problems, but the short term problem of needed housing still remains. "The Eugene Mission has a 2f>0-bed capacity and generally thuv have fit) available beds for singles,” he said. "There are some folks who hu\e an independent nature who choose not to be institu tionalized, whether that's emer gency shelter or housing pro ject," ho said. "Their prefer ence is to he more indepen dent "Some object to staying at the Mission on the basis of the religious requirement for stav ing overnight for chapel.” Nevertheless. Ban said more low-income housing is needed now, so that people can stay in their houses and remain self sufficient. Finding resources that support them in a crisis is important, she said. The Lane County Housing Authority is part of one of the My M G Funds from the Oregon Legislature may be used to improve condi tions and space tor homeless tamities in local shelters proposed solutions for the shortage of low income hous ing Jim McCoy, executive di re< tor of I.,me County Housing Authority, suit) his role Juts been more technical than poll tical. McCoy saiil he will use his agency’s resouri es to develop low-income housing. He said LCHA is currently working with services such as White Bird Clinic to provide impor tant support systems m order to keep the homeless in their homes when crises hit "We will provide the hous ing. but what we want to see is service provided that will help that family stabilize," he said One service covering the sup port aspect of the plan is the White Bird clinic in Kugene Director Bob Dritz said his group's part in the new plan is to help the homeless by provid ing support and guidance. He said the clinic concentrates on mental and physical aspects, and substance abuse counsel ing. L)rilz said the clinic runs dif ferent kinds of groups to meet different types of needs The cure varies from providing indi vidual long-term counseling, to support groups that offer ways of meeting other people in the same situation. “As I look out my window now, 1 see a group of about 25 or 30 meeting." he said, refer ring to an open group whore anyone can come anil discuss the problems they are facing. Driiz said the meeting gives individuals a sense of a social setting to vent their feelings, because homelessness can lie a very lonely existence The homeless are many times mis taken as one homogenous group, but are almost a cross section of society, he said One group might be the ones who are confident and skilled, but bei ame homeless due to unusual i ircumstences. he said, adding that tills is the group that get b.u k to sell sufficiency quickly For another group homeless ness is a longer process First, they lose their jobs, then their benefits, then their family and support and finally their home "When someone has been on a downhill slide for four years, you don't get bur k on square one right away," Drit/ said The last group is the people who never had the skills to be self- supporting Thu people who were bom into poverty Drit/. said each of those groups have one thing in com mon. "All of these people feel that they are failures," he said. 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