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A7 THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JANuARy 23, 2020 Rural areas differ on approach to homelessness An emphasis on law and order ‘GETTING My FEET BACK ON THE GROuNd HERE HAS ENABLEd ME TO GET BACK TO SOCIETy. MAKING ME BETTER MySELF. NOT MAKING ME, BuT HELPING ME WANT TO.’ By APRIL EHRLICH Jefferson Public Radio Chilly winds and hail don’t bother Buckshot Cun- ningham, who lived outside without a shelter for years until he came across a tiny house village in southern Oregon. “This is my umbrella,” he says as he shrugs on the hood of his coat, walking into a late January winter storm. Hope Village is run by Rogue Retreat, a nonprofit serving low-income peo- ple in Medford. It’s a collec- tion of about a dozen small cottages with a commu- nal kitchen, dining area and bathrooms. It’s what hous- ing advocates call a low-bar- rier shelter, in that there are few rules and requirements to get in. There are some behavioral rules — you can’t be violent or do drugs on the premises — but you don’t have to be sober when you come in, and you can bring your family, partner, or dog. “Twelve years of drug and alcohol” is how Cun- ningham says he got here. But there’s more to his story: a career as a firefighting smokejumper left him with physical disabilities. He lost his son to suicide, then his wife to cancer. “And I just went down- hill from there,” he says. Homelessness is often seen as an urban issue, but Buckshot Cunningham | lived outside without a shelter for years April Ehrlich/Jefferson Public Radio Buckshot Cunningham stands in front of a small cottage at Hope Village, a tiny house shelter run by the nonprofit Rogue Retreat in Medford. rural areas along the West Coast are also struggling with large homeless popu- lations. Many of these areas don’t have the resources for shelters like Hope Vil- lage, but even when they do, they’re sometimes reluctant to build them. Just across the state bor- der in rural Northern Cali- fornia, Shasta County had earned a $1.6 million grant to help fund a similar low-bar- rier shelter. County supervi- sors considered the proposal last winter when they heard from Anderson Police Chief Michael Johnson. “It is just another enabling mechanism for the homeless, the transients, and the displaced people here,” Johnson told the board in February 2019. “When you create something and enable people, you’re going to attract more.” Shasta County supervi- sors pushed the project back several times, citing their concerns about crime and a fear that it would attract more people. So Johnson proposed an alternative: a detention facility to house people who have commit- ted low-level crimes like public drinking, urinating in public or sleeping in public spaces, crimes that are often unavoidable when you don’t have a home. Johnson says incarcera- tion can be used as a tool to provide services to people who are homeless and strug- gling with drug addiction or mental health issues. “That’s our opportu- nity to try to get that par- ticular person involved in a program that will turn their life around and help them,” Johnson says. “That’s when they’re most vulnerable, when they’re the most will- ing to accept help and pos- sibly agree to go into a pro- gram like that.” Back in Oregon, Jackson County Sheriff Nathan Sick- ler has a similar sentiment. Sickler has spent the last few months advocating for a bal- lot measure to increase jail OBITUARIES Columbia City May 25, 1944 — Jan. 16, 2020 Helane Lee Koniak, who fled Brook- lio survivor herself, and later was a care- lyn in the 1970s and became a distin- giver for one of the attendees. She more guished Oregon educator for more than recently became a certified volunteer four decades, died Jan. 16 in with the Community Emergency Columbia City, where she lived Response Team and a Democratic with her husband, lifelong Ore- Party committee person. gonian Ken Doney. She was One of her best friends 75. At her request, there was no described her this way: service. “She was a teacher, mother, The couple owned a home in wife, seamstress, jewelry maker, Warrenton for many years. tile layer, carpenter, polio survi- Lane is survived by a son, vor, excellent cook, world traveler Sheperd Doeleman, and his — and never left home without wife, Elissa Weitzman; a her knife and $100. Something she Helane Koniak daughter, Jeffa Doeleman, said ‘every woman should have and her husband, Jack Levy; for emergencies.’” her best friend and “debate The words of other friends and foe,” Mark Jensen; a brother, co-workers say much the same Robert Koniak; and several thing: grandchildren. “She was one for the record She finished her teach- books — for many reasons.” ing career working with visu- “What an amazing force she ally impaired students for the was.” Education Service District in “She was one of a kind, a good Washington and Multnomah friend and always there when you counties. needed her.” After retirement, she helped “I admire you for helping so create and direct a nonprofit organiza- many people. You have done so all your tion, Second Sight International, to help life. And you’re knowledgeable about so people with vision disabilities world- many things. And I love your laugh … and wide. Her efforts on behalf of Second your huge heart of love.” Sight have included gathering and send- Her husband, who married late in life ing school supplies and basic personal because of his Norwegian hippie heritage, items to weather-devastated regions such acknowledges all of this, but says the best as Puerto Rico. way to remember her is to read the bumper She also led an organization that held sticker on her prized 1999 Toyota PreRun- monthly meetings for people living with ner: “Real women drive trucks.” That was post-polio syndrome. She was a post-po- our Lane. SUNDAY MONDAY The Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for veterans, a flag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 9 a.m. the business day prior. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and upcoming services will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by 9 a.m. the day of publication. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at DailyAstorian.com/forms/obits, by email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Astorian office, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext. 257. CLATSOP POWER EQUIPMENT , INC. SALES • SERVICE • RENTALS 34912 HWY 101 BUS • ASTORIA 503-325-0792 • 1-800-220-0792 TUESDAY WEDNESDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 54 49 Rain; winds subsiding 53 47 54 44 52 45 53 46 Cloudy, rain Periods of rain Mostly cloudy A touch of rain A chance of rain possible Cloudy, rain possible 52 43 50 43 Aberdeen Olympia 53/49 55/49 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Tuesday Tonight’s Sky: The Little Dipper stands in the north tonight and every night. The star at the tip of its handle is Polaris, the north star. Astoria / Port Docks Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Sunrise today .................. 7:49 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 5:06 p.m. Moonrise today .............. 7:12 a.m. Moonset today .............. 4:00 p.m. First Full High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 12:31 a.m. 7.4 5:54 a.m. 3.4 11:40 a.m. 9.1 6:57 p.m. -0.6 Cape Disappointment 12:24 a.m. 7.3 5:08 a.m. 3.9 11:19 a.m. 9.2 6:08 p.m. -0.6 Hammond SUN AND MOON New Time Last 12:29 a.m. 7.5 5:30 a.m. 3.5 11:30 a.m. 9.4 6:24 p.m. -0.8 Warrenton 12:26 a.m. 7.8 5:38 a.m. 3.5 11:35 a.m. 9.5 6:41 p.m. -0.5 Knappa 1:08 a.m. 7.7 6:55 a.m. 3.0 12:17 p.m. 9.3 7:58 p.m. -0.5 Depoe Bay Jan 24 Feb 1 Feb 8 Feb 15 10:34 a.m. 9.4 4:40 a.m. 4.0 none 5:38 p.m. -0.7 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Fri. Hi/Lo/W 49/42/c 46/32/s 34/31/sn 57/38/c 45/24/pc 81/67/s 68/43/c 73/53/s 77/64/pc 46/33/pc 69/48/s 59/48/pc 47/33/pc 56/36/t 46/35/pc 37/33/c 61/38/s 52/26/s 83/69/pc 65/40/s 73/52/s 79/62/pc 48/37/s 72/48/pc 59/50/pc 50/41/pc Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 42/38 Kennewick Walla Walla 49/43 Lewiston 49/44 46/39 Hermiston The Dalles 51/43 Enterprise Pendleton 44/37 53/44 47/40 La Grande 44/39 55/49 NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi/Lo/W Pullman 46/37 54/50 Salem 41/39 Yakima 46/41 Longview 54/49 Portland 54/48 Spokane 38/35 54/47 53/47 Astoria Temperatures High/low ................................ 51/44 Normal high/low .................. 50/38 Record high .................. 61 in 1981 Record low .................... 14 in 1962 Precipitation Tuesday ................................... 0.81” Month to date ........................ 9.93” Normal month to date ......... 7.21” Year to date ............................ 9.93” Normal year to date ............. 7.21” comes,” Bauman says. “Not only in health, but also in education. And importantly to any lawmaker: it saves communities money. In fact, it is the cheapest and most effective intervention, and that is established by a num- ber of national studies.” Still, not everyone is open to the idea. Rogue Retreat plans to build another shelter like Hope Village in Grants Pass, but it’s facing some pushback from city council- ors. They worry that it could increase crime and generate litter. But Cunningham says those fears are unfounded. “Look at this place,” he says, motioning to the neat row of cottages. “It’s clean. It’s beautiful. And it stays that way seven days a week, all year round. It’s pretty simple.” Cunningham has had his own room here for about four months. Now he’s sober, he has a girlfriend, and he’s saving money to rent an apartment. “Getting my feet back on the ground here has enabled me to get back to society,” he says. “Making me better myself. Not making me, but helping me want to.” OBITUARY POLICY Helane Lee Koniak SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY FRIDAY SATURDAY space at the Jackson County Jail in Medford. “Jail is a resource because when they come (to jail), there may be opportunities to become sober; and once they become sober, they tend to start to think differ- ently,” Sickler says. “Maybe they would see a benefit to taking advantage of avail- able services.” Sickler and Johnson say they don’t want their rural communities to become like San Francisco or Los Ange- les — overwhelmed with large homeless populations. They say providing free housing to homeless people is an urban approach and it isn’t working. Instead, they emphasize law and order: bigger jails and more police officers. Tristia Bauman, an attor- ney with the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, disagrees. “That is not only an inef- fective approach, it’s also the single most expensive approach.” Bauman says hous- ing-first initiatives — pro- viding free housing with few strings attached — is the best way to end homelessness. “It produces better out- Corvallis 55/48 Albany 55/49 John Day Eugene Bend 57/48 45/38 47/39 Ontario 45/34 Caldwell Burns 42/31 49/35 Medford 53/42 Klamath Falls 43/32 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 42/34/c 53/47/r 53/49/r 54/49/r 54/49/r Fri. Hi/Lo/W 44/33/sf 54/49/sh 52/48/r 55/47/r 53/47/r City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 57/49/r 57/47/r 54/48/r 58/49/r 54/49/r Fri. Hi/Lo/W 56/48/r 59/48/sh 53/48/r 58/47/r 55/47/r
