Eugene weekly., January 03, 2019, Page 9, Image 9

NEWS
BY M E E R A H P O W E L L
C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 8
causes of homelessness is eviction. “A no-cause eviction or
even for-cause, you see people spiral into poverty,” he says.
The city of Eugene’s no-cause eviction law requires 30
days for tenants to move out, Cronin says. “Portland has a
90-day notice and they have relocation assistance, which re-
ally helps as a remedy to discourage it,” he says. “But also,
the extra 60 days really helps people get their life together.”
Cronin’s task force visited the University of Oregon
for a renters round table discussion and found that among
students, the vast majority of whom are renters, no-cause
evictions are incredibly common.
“I asked, ‘Raise your hand if you know someone who
has been no-cause evicted or you yourself has been no-
cause evicted.’ Everyone raised their hand,” he says.
Sue Sierralupe, clinic manager of Occupy Medical, says
homeless students are a large part of Eugene’s unhoused
community, though they are rarely visible.
“They’re couch surfing or they’re staying with a rela-
tive while looking for housing that they can afford,” Sier-
ralupe says.
Due to the inherent shame that comes with being un-
housed, Sierralupe says, many of these people who have
access to shelter of some kind (whether it be their vehicle
or a friend’s place), don’t use the services they might need.
“Their embarrassment or shame in this situation brings
them down, away even more from resources,” Sierralupe
says. “People come into our clinic not wanting to take re-
sources away from ‘the real homeless.’”
She adds: “In our system there is no greater shame than
being economically disadvantaged, and it’s just luck of the
draw.”
Sierralupe says being unhoused can spur other problems
like drug and alcohol dependencies. Those sleeping in cars
or other cramped spaces easily develop back pain and other
muscle pain, which can lead to self-medicating, she says.
Being in the medical field, she says, the biggest thing
she hopes to see in the future is single-payer health care.
Locally, Sierralupe hopes to see less criminalization of
the unhoused — as well as more public restrooms, charg-
ing stations and available wi-fi.
“Don’t make it illegal for people to take care of them-
selves,” she says. “Make it easier for them to take care of
themselves.”
Sierralupe also hopes that Eugene focuses more on its
unhoused population and addresses “big box rental com-
panies,” who she says are exacerbating the unhoused situ-
ation, echoing Cronin’s concerns of expensive application
fees and constant no-cause evictions.
“They’re making money off of this community left and
right,” Sierralupe says. “Poverty is not a crime. Causing
poverty is a crime.”
Cronin also has similar hopes for the city to improve its
housing crisis, but is skeptical, especially with actions like
the City Council’s tabling the construction excise tax last
year — a tax on both residential and commercial construc-
tion (including those “big box” apartment buildings). That
tax money would go toward affordable housing.
The Eugene City Council is scheduled to have a work
session Jan. 28 on “Housing Tools & Strategies” which
will include discussion on the construction excise tax.
The renters’ protections task force is surveying renters
in the area on their needs and creating a report from that
data. Cronin says the task force should be done sometime
in the spring. Then it will compile a report for ideas on so-
lutions and hand it off to the Housing Policy Board, which
will in turn communicate with the city council on how to
act on Eugene’s housing crisis.
“We need people to step up,” Cronin says. ■
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eugeneweekly.com • January 3, 2019
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