5A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2018
Homelessness: ‘It’s really hard to solve a problem unless you understand it’
Continued from Page 1A
Alan Evans, director of
Helping Hands, is worried
about what happens when
Walmart opens in Warrenton.
People are already moving to
the area for jobs and are strug-
gling to find places to live, he
and others say, adding that
many of the jobs they’ve seen
advertised by the retailer are
part time and lower wage.
A countywide housing
study will illuminate where
needs exist and what options
are available. At the same time,
though, county and city leaders
say they know there is a hous-
ing crunch and don’t expect
surprises. While some steps
have been taken to encour-
age housing development, crit-
ics say government should be
doing more.
Health care
and mental health
Like in many rural counties,
there are gaps in health care for
the poor and scant resources
for mental health treatment.
Jarrod Karnofski, the vice
president of ancillary and sup-
port services at Columbia
Memorial Hospital in Asto-
ria, has brought up three pos-
sibilities at task force meet-
ings: a health van to provide
medical services to low-in-
come students, medication-as-
sisted treatment for drug abuse
in conjunction with counseling
and behavioral therapies, and a
drop-in clinic for the homeless.
Amy Baker, the executive
director of Clatsop Behav-
ioral Healthcare, has pointed
to a need for a homeless facil-
ity that would be open daily
and offer a variety of services.
Project Homeless Connect,
which occurs only once a year,
offers a possible model.
Riverfolk, a nonprofit, has
tried to fill one particular gap by
focusing on getting the home-
less their birth certificates and
other identification. Lack of a
state-issued identification card,
a birth certificate or a driver’s
license can keep people from
landing jobs and getting hous-
ing, say Mary Docherty, of
Riverfolk, and Elaine Bruce,
executive director of Clatsop
Community Action.
Root causes
Every story is slightly
different.
Some people ended up on
the street because of addic-
tion or mental health issues.
Others became homeless
when medical bills or fam-
ily circumstances wiped out
their savings. Some are flee-
ing abusive relationships and
have nowhere to go. Some
just reached the end of their
options. Still others call them-
selves “travelers.” The Asto-
ria Warming Center staff
said they saw everyone from
elderly women to students use
the emergency shelter during
the winter.
Groups working with the
homeless often use different
words and phrases to describe
the people and situations
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A building in Uniontown is surrounded by scaffolding prior to the beginning of renovations.
they’re addressing. Many
of these terms have been up
for debate in city and county
discussions and can trigger
divisions.
Leaders struggle to find
succinct, accurate and inclu-
sive language. Planning com-
missioners working on a pro-
posed code amendment to
define emergency warm-
ing shelters in Astoria, for
instance, were accused by one
woman of using bigoted lan-
guage — charges they emphat-
ically refuted, saying the lan-
guage they proposed was
drawn from policies devel-
oped by other cities and orga-
nizations. The homelessness
solutions task force has also
borrowed language from other
cities, from advocates and
social-service organizations.
Some draw a line between
local homeless and transients,
who they see as contributing
to issues such as public def-
ecation and urination, public
drunkenness, and boisterous
behavior that can make busi-
ness owners and residents feel
unsafe.
But some of the people
these leaders would describe as
“transient” bristle at the term,
preferring the words “travel-
ers” or “alternative lifestyle.”
They aren’t here to make trou-
ble, they say, but they want to
live the way they choose.
Perceptions
Representatives of the
Astoria Downtown Historic
District Association and some
business owners say the pres-
ence of homeless people —
especially people who are
camping out in doorways,
using the sidewalks as a bath-
room, or harassing passers-by
— is hurting their business.
Astoria police say they
often hear a perception that
downtown isn’t safe. Where
perception meets reality is not
always clear, Chief Spalding
says.
Filling Empty Bellies, a
nonprofit that provides lunch
to whoever needs it at Peoples
Park, and the Astoria Warming
Center, which provides emer-
gency beds to homeless people
during the winter, have some-
times been accused of making
the city more attractive to the
homeless.
Both organizations dispute
the characterization, counter-
ing that they provide basic ser-
vices to people in need. Dan
Parkison, board chair of the
warming center, notes that the
center’s mission is simple: To
make sure people don’t die
from exposure. Filling Empty
Bellies feeds around 20 to 30
people a day.
Similar debates about “a
hand out” versus “a hand up”
have surfaced in the home-
lessness solutions task force
meetings.
“It’s really hard to solve
a problem unless you under-
stand it, and I think one of the
things that catches people up
is: Is homelessness a choice or
is it not a choice?” Baker said
in May, “… and there’s always
the question of do we punish it
or do we help it?”
People, even the ones who
seem lost, want to be a part of
a community.
“Whatever our solution is,
I think if we accept that this
is not whether you’re giving a
hand out, this is about helping
people become contributing
members of the community,”
she said. “That kind of breaks
down some of the barriers and
reluctance to help.”
Wedell: After leaving the 11th Street area, some businesses want him back
Continued from Page 1A
Jessi Anderson
John Wedell orders food at the Astoria Coffeehouse and
Bistro.
downtown and no business or
property owners are pursuing
any formal action to make him
leave. Wedell can come and
go from the area just like any
other citizen.
Wedell, who has split his
time between Astoria and
Forest Grove for decades,
said last week that he left the
11th Street area because he
was told he couldn’t loiter.
He often slept on the street
at night, surrounded by his
possessions, and then would
spend much of the daytime
hours on 11th and nearby
streets. It is illegal to camp in
city limits, but police had not
pursued charges against him.
Some businesses want
him back.
“He’s like family,” said
Vicki McAfee, owner of A
Gypsy’s Whimsy on Com-
mercial Street. She would
talk to him every day on her
way to the shop, and he used
to be a regular visitor when
she maintained a tea room at
a former location.
“He’s welcome here as
far as I’m concerned,” said
Scott Lee, a Clatsop County
commissioner and owner of
Bikes & Beyond, who had
been trying to get Wedell to
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6 PM
Complicated
Wedell’s move, from 11th
Street to a lot near a gas sta-
tion on Marine Drive and
away from the heart of down-
town, revealed just how com-
plicated discussions around
homelessness can become.
When city and county
leaders discuss where to
focus resources or add ser-
vices, the intended targets
are usually people who are
looking to improve their sit-
uations: kick addictions, treat
medical and mental health
issues, find employment,
qualify for housing, reunite
with family.
For many, Wedell seems to
fall into a different category
altogether. He has been here
for years. He is recognizable,
well-known and beloved by
many, but he is also generally
uninterested in seeking out
services or housing.
At a homelessness solu-
tions task force meeting in
Astoria in May, Spalding
commented that police offi-
cers serve all segments of
the population. To Spalding,
the question becomes: What
side of the community or the
problem do we listen to? Do
officers simply move Wedell
along? Are there more cre-
ative solutions?
“I think John is the hard-
est-to-solve
problem,”
replied Sarah Lu Heath, exec-
utive director of the Astoria
Downtown Historic District
Association.
SCHEDULE
THE DAILY
ASTORIAN
A
move back to 11th Street over
the past few days. “He’s wel-
come to camp in front of the
shop.”
Police
have
fielded
approximately 17 calls
related to Wedell this year.
The calls ranged from a wel-
fare check to complaints that
his possessions were clog-
ging up sidewalks or, as
on Marine Drive, blocking
drivers’ views of traffic. He
had been told before that he
needed to reduce the amount
of stuff he was leaving on
the sidewalk, often stacked
along one side of Godfather’s
Books at the corner of 11th
and Commercial.
The complaints about
Wedell’s possessions block-
ing the view of traffic was the
first time he or his stuff had
risen to the level of a public
safety issue, Spalding said.
“Most people know him
and like him,” Deputy Chief
Eric Halverson said. “We
know him and like him, but
we have to respond to the
complaints.”
To members of the Asto-
ria Warming Center board,
Wedell illustrates the need
for a range of solutions across
the “continuum of homeless-
ness.” One member com-
mented: “A ‘one solution fits
all’ is going to harm John.”
Local hangouts
Wedell said last week he
intended to return to down-
town at some point.
“I may not be sleeping
down there, but I’ll go about
my daily business,” he said.
Godfather’s Books and
the Astoria Coffeehouse and
Bistro, on 11th Street, were
two of Wedell’s regular spots.
He has long been welcome at
both, though at times employ-
ees have had to remind him
to keep his possessions out of
the main part of the sidewalk.
This year, Jimbo Defeo,
owner of the coffeehouse,
also had to ask Wedell not to
take over tables in the din-
ing room anymore or bring
his stuff inside, but Wedell
was still welcome to sit in the
lounge area.
Wedell told Defeo he had
been sick several times that
winter and spring. Defeo said
he emailed Wedell’s broth-
ers about Wedell’s health, but
never heard back.
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