letters
TO THE EDITOR
COUNCIL DELAYING ACTION
Jerry Ritter [Letters, 8/16] kindly
asked me why housing for the homeless
is a human right. The right derives from
common decency, apparently a foreign
concept to right-wingers.
Unfortunately the City Council is
dragging its feet on Opportunity Village
Eugene (OVE), and has not carried out any
of the recommendations of the mayor’s
Opportunity Eugene Task Force on
Homelessness. The OVE nonprofi t, which
is organizing the village, presented the
council with a 20-page proposal. On July
18, the council directed the city manager
to come back in September with a list of
possible city properties that might be used
to house the homeless and a process to
consider them. Councilors Brown, Ortiz
and Taylor pushed for faster action but
were outvoted. So far the issue does not
appear on any of the September work
session agendas on the council’s website.
The word we’re hearing is that the city is
unlikely to take any action in time for OVE
to get homeless people out of the rain and
cold by next winter, and there is no plan B.
The Egan Warming Centers, First Place’s
housing of homeless families in churches
at night, and the expansion of the Eugene
Mission are all good things, but they will
not meet the need. The last homeless
count in January 2011 recorded over 2,000
people homeless in Lane County. Most of
them are in the Eugene-Springfi eld area,
because this is where the population is. See
http://wkly.ws/1cc
What we’re seeing is a massive failure
of leadership, which is what we’ve come
to expect from all levels of government.
It’s going to take public pressure to get the
homeless indoors. I’m hoping for some
public disruption in the fall.
Lynn Porter
Eugene
HOUSING IS A LEGAL RIGHT
In reference to Jerry Ritter’s letter Aug.
16, he asks where in legal documents there
is a legal right to housing.
If he will consult the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (which
the Eugene Human Rights Commission
ought to be able to provide to him, or
visit wkly.ws/1cd) he will fi nd that Article
25, Section 1 states that: “Everyone has
the right to a standard of living adequate
for the health and well-being of himself
and his family, including food, clothing,
housing and medical care and necessary
social services, and the right to security
in the event of unemployment, sickness,
disability, widowhood, old age or other
lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond
his control.”
The fi rst paragraph of this document
reads: “Whereas recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family
is the foundation of freedom, justice and
peace in the world.”
This declaration is an international
treaty signed by the U.S. in 1948, and
therefore the law of the land. Everyone
should acquaint themselves with it and
work towards its fulfi llment.
Lucia McKelvey
Eugene
PROTECT THE HEADWATERS
Another treasure could disappear.
Eugene’s Amazon headwaters is a special
area that must stay special for everyone
in Eugene! I’m sad to hear the owners
are trying for a fourth time to turn it into
a housing project. We can’t create another
beautiful area with a fl owing creek for all
of us to enjoy. It can’t happen. Do visit
this area and realize what we could lose if
developers get their way.
When I worked with the Eugene
Stream Team making our fi lm Speaking
for Wetlands, I learned how important it
is to keep the natural watershed. There are
vacant lots throughout the city including
fi ve on my block. Let’s keep the Amazon
headwaters as it is today.
Ruth Duemler
Eugene
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AUGUST 23, 2012
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