NEWS
B Y K E L LY K E N O Y E R
CHOKE ON SMOKE
The homeless can’t escape when the
air outside is unhealthy
W
alking through downtown last week was
like trying to breathe underwater. The
heavy smoke stung the eyes and turned
even a casual stroll into intense exercise for
the lungs. The streets were quiet — most
citizens were hiding indoors to stay away from the pol-
luted air.
Some, however, had no refuge.
“Most people are able to have some reprieve from the
smoke and with our homeless population — they just don’t,”
says Wendy Choi, medical director at White Bird Medical
Clinic.
“The biggest problem with our population is that they
don’t have anywhere to go to get away from it, that’s the sad
truth,” Choi adds.
From Sept. 3 to 5, the air quality index (AQI) averaged
in the unhealthy range according to Lane County Regional
Air Protection Agency (LRAPA). In that range, “everyone
may begin to experience some adverse health effects, and
members of the sensitive groups may experience more seri-
ous effects,” according to the LRAPA website, which gives
hourly air quality updates.
LRAPA spokesperson Jo Niehaus says on Sept. 5 the air
moved into very unhealthy, and over that time period there
was an hour or two where the AQI was in the hazardous
range.
Christopher Porter is unhoused. He says of the smoky air,
“There’s no way to get away from it.” Porter was stuck out-
side in the worst of the pollution. “I need places where I can
go and be accepted hanging out a little longer,” he says, add-
ing that having access to phones can help many unhoused
get out of town and away from the bad air because they can
call friends or relatives for help.
Urgent care physician Graham Kaiser says he saw a sig-
nificant increase in patients with respiratory issues on Labor
Day. “This time of year, normally I would see two or three
cases a week, and I saw eight on Monday morning,” he says.
Kaiser says that when it’s smoky, it’s best to stay indoors
and keep windows shut. “The best thing is air conditioning
with some kind of air filter.”
Homeless populations don’t have that option, so Kai-
‘The biggest problem with our
population is that they don’t have
anywhere to go to get away from
it, that’s the sad truth.’
— WENDY CHOI, WHITE BIRD MEDICAL CLINIC
ser suggests they seek out an N95 mask — which filters
95 percent of very small particulate matter — to protect
themselves. “Wearing a surgical mask or a bandana or a wet
washcloth or whatever doesn’t really filter the particulate out
very well or at all,” he says, adding that those in need of N95
masks can pick them up from his Valley River Urgent Care
clinic.
The young, the elderly and those with underlying lung
disease are the most at risk of having serious reactions to the
smoke. Additionally, Kaiser says, “it’s best not to be exer-
cising, because when you’re exercising you’re using twenty
times as much oxygen or air than you normally would at
rest.”
Thomas Berry was stuck outside due to homelessness
when the smoke was hanging heavy in the air. “It gave me
heartburn really bad; cigarettes do it, too,” he says. “That
much smoke was pretty heavy on my lungs and stomach.
It got more on my nasal passages than my throat. I tried to
breathe through my nose.”
This summer has been a bad one for toxic air. In August,
the LRAPA reported nine days with on-average unhealthy
air quality in the Eugene/Springfield area.
In that same month, “PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical
Center at RiverBend in Springfield’s emergency department
admitted 157 patients reporting shortness of breath,” ac-
cording to Sarah Allen at PeaceHealth. “For comparison, we
admitted only 57 patients the previous month with similar
conditions.” Early September had days with worse air qual-
ity than any day in August.
In response to the dangerously toxic air, White Bird is
also providing free N95 masks to those in need. Choi points
out that “having the face mask appropriately fitted” is key to
getting actual lung protection.
At the Eugene Service Station, a St. Vincent de Paul day
room providing resources to the homeless, program man-
ager Keith Heath says, “If it comes back I would suggest that
they go get a mask and then seek refuge here. We’re open
from 8 in the morning to 5 in the evening.”
Paul Neville, public relations director at St. Vincent De
Paul, which also administers the Egan Warming Centers,
says that “I see people who are just exhausted and drained.
Their life is a physical one, they take everything with them
in backpacks.”
Heath says the Egan Warming Centers volunteer crew
is prepared to open a night shelter using Egan resources if
the air quality gets unhealthy again. Egan volunteers were
on standby over the weekend and trained volunteers may
be called on again to aid the unhoused during the shelter’s
off-season.
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We’re Ready to Roll
Ride free on EmX and all LTD bus routes, this Sunday, September 17.
Fast, frequent EmX bus service now goes even further, from Gateway all the way to West 11 th and Beltline. But there’s more
to this story. There are improved roadways, bike lanes and sidewalks along West 6 th , 7 th , and 11 th avenues. There are also
new bike-ped bridges, safety and accessibility enhancements, and lots of new trees, landscaping and public art. Come out
and see the new West Eugene. We’ll drive.
It’s your Community. It’s your EmX.
LTD.org
eugeneweekly.com • September 14, 2017
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