BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022 A5
LOCAL & STATE
Oregonians see homelessness as top issue
Local Briefing
BY ANNA DEL SAVIO
Oregon Capital Bureau
Tickets on sale for
Powder Valley
halibut feed
NORTH POWDER —
Tickets are on sale for the
20th-annual Alaskan hali-
but dinner, a fundraiser for
the girls basketball and vol-
leyball programs at Powder
Valley High School.
The event is set for May
7 in the Powder Valley
gym. There will be four
sessions: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.;
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; 4 p.m.
to 6 p.m.; and 6 p.m. to
7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $30 per plate
and include halibut, baked
potato, coleslaw, bread, des-
sert and drink. Tickets for a
hot dog, chips, cookie and
drink meal are $5.
For tickets or more in-
formation, call North Pow-
der Charter School, 541-
898-2244, extension 8821,
Monday through Thurs-
day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The office will be closed
for spring break from
March 18-28.
When Oregon’s legislative
leaders unveiled a plan to ad-
dress homelessness last month,
they stressed that it is not just
a Portland, or even an “urban,”
problem.
“Those who are unhoused
and unsheltered are as diverse
as our community itself,” said
Rep. Jason Kropf, a Democrat
whose Central Oregon district
is flanked by the Deschutes
National Forest and includes
much of Bend.
The regional concern on dis-
play in the capitol last month
reflected the views of Oregon
residents, most of whom — re-
gardless of zip code — want
local leaders to make respond-
ing to homelessness their No. 1
priority.
More than three quarters of
Multnomah County residents
and other urban Oregonians
said it was very important or
urgent for leaders in their com-
munities to make addressing
homelessness their top priority,
a recent survey from the Ore-
gon Values and Beliefs Center
found.
“Getting the economy back
is an important first step. Get-
ting people with addictions and
mental health issues treated is
the next step,” one Multnomah
County resident stated.
But even in rural and subur-
ban areas, at least 60% of res-
idents surveyed in November
identified homelessness as a
topic of high priority.
Most Oregonians identified
mental illness, substance abuse
or a lack of affordable housing
as the top reasons why people
become homeless.
Erin Bunday, who lives in
Klamath Falls, said she believed
high rental costs were driving
homelessness in her Southern
Oregon community.
“I have several friends here
who are ‘career women’ and
parents, who have often had
to stay with friends, family or
in run-down hotels, which
spends all their income, mak-
ing saving for a home impossi-
ble,” Bunday said.
Bunday used to volunteer
with the Habitat for Human-
ity program in Bend, where
she lived before the bank
she worked at shut down.
Briefly homeless, she and her
son moved to Klamath Falls
in 2013.
About the survey
Dean Guernsey/The (Bend) Bulletin
City contractors with Central Oregon Biosolutions gather personal
items while dismantling a homeless camp on NE Second Street in
Bend on Monday, March 14, 2022.
“In Bend, programs like
NeighborImpact and Habitat
were able to include families in
the home buying or building
process, allowing them to really
want and work towards that
goal,” Bunday said. “I don’t see
that here.”
Klamath County’s Habitat
program shut down in 2014,
and while there still are some
services for people experienc-
ing homelessness in her com-
munity, Bunday said it’s tough
“when an individual wants to
shower, to get to a job, to make
their income, but doesn’t have
a home base or regular meal,
laundry. I’ve seen many people
quickly give up.”
Like many Oregonians, Mi-
chelle McDaniel is frustrated
that more hasn’t been done.
“It seems like they keep
talking about (solving home-
lessness) and they aren’t actu-
ally doing it,” said McDaniel,
who lives on the small Central
Oregon Coast community of
Otis. “Then they talk about
studies about it.”
McDaniel said high rent
costs and destructive wildfires
were forcing people out of
their homes.
Close to 300 structures in
Otis were destroyed in the
Echo Mountain Complex
fire in September 2020 — ac-
counting for a small fraction
of the Oregon homes lost to
2020 wildfires.
McDaniel said she’s “lost
faith in Oregon’s leadership” in
response to the housing crisis.
McDaniel moved to Port-
land from California in 2015
with decades of experience in
property management. Vacan-
cies were snapped up quickly at
the rental properties she man-
aged in Portland, despite con-
tinually increasing rents.
“People are getting hit with
huge increases. People are
upset and they say they’re go-
ing to move, and then they
look around and they see
that everything is just as high
and they’re stuck,” McDaniel
said. “As far as trying to buy a
home, it’s almost impossible
for the average person.”
She eventually left Portland,
disheartened and exhausted by
how difficult the rental market
made it for people to survive.
Otis is located just outside
Lincoln City, where the local
economy is largely driven by
tourism.
“The people that work here
in this town, primarily house-
keeping, hotel workers, people
who work in the restaurant in-
dustry — they cannot afford to
live here, so they drive in from
other towns,” McDaniel said.
The lawmakers who high-
lighted their $400 million pack-
age to ease homelessness and
promote low-cost housing were
careful not to claim victory.
“I want to make clear these
investments will not solve ev-
ery problem overnight,” said
Rep. Julie Fahey (D-Eugene).
“But Oregonians have immedi-
ate needs right now.”
The statewide survey on
attitudes about homeless-
ness was conducted by the
Oregon Values and Beliefs
Center online between Nov.
8 and 15, 2021. The survey
reached 1,200 Oregonians
who were at least age 18. The
margin of error ranges from
1.7 to 2.8 percentage points
for the full sample. You can
see more details about this
survey, and others, at ore-
gonvbc.org/blog/.
The Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center is committed
to the highest level of pub-
lic opinion research. To help
obtain that, the nonprofit
is building a large research
panel of Oregonians to en-
sure that all voices are rep-
resented in discussions of
public policy in a valid and
statistically reliable way.
Selected panelists earn
points for their participation,
which can be redeemed for
cash or donated to a charity.
To learn more visit oregon-
vbc.org/about-the-panel/.
priority for leaders, only six in
10 agreed that with the right
policies and resources, home-
lessness could be solved in
their communities.
Rural Oregonians were
slightly more pessimistic than
urban and suburban residents.
Some respondents favored
a harsher approach, forcing
homeless people off the streets
and into shelters. Others said
that while a few people may
refuse help, the right policies
and resources could get most
people into homes.
“Homelessness and lack of
affordable housing are prob-
lems that we could fix if we
had the compassion, under-
standing and political will,”
More Oregonians now see one Multnomah County re-
spondent said.
homelessness as an
With local and state elections
urgent issue
Overall, 70% of Oregonians approaching in May, home-
surveyed in November said it lessness is likely to become a
was very important or urgent key issue throughout the state.
for leaders to make homeless- And, the survey said, those
ness their top priority. Asked seeking office are likely to face
a similar question in an Oc-
tough questions as fewer than
tober 2020 survey by Oregon 12% of Oregonians are satisfied
Values and Beliefs Center,
with the homelessness services
50% of residents answered
where they live.
very important or urgent.
While seven out of 10 Or-
egonians believed ending
homelessness should be a top
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541.523.2020
Public hearing April 6 on
nuisance ordinance
for Unity
The Baker County Board
of Commissioners will have
a public hearing at 9:05 a.m.
on April 6 to solicit com-
ments on a proposed nui-
sance ordinance for the city
of Unity. The public hearing
will be at the Baker County
Courthouse, 1995 Third
St. in Baker City. Copies
are available at the Unity
Post Office, the Baker City/
County Planning Depart-
ment in the Courthouse, or
at www.bakercounty.org/
planning/unity.html.
Written testimony can
be given at the meeting or
emailed earlier. The hearing
will be broadcast online at
www.bakercounty.org/on-
line/meetings.html. More
information is available by
calling Tara Micka at 541-
523-8219 or by email, tan-
drews@bakercounty.org.
Saint Alphonsus
Auxiliary offers $1,500
scholarship
Time to remove
Saint Alphonsus Auxil-
iary-Baker City is offering
decorations at Mount
a $1,500 scholarship to a
Hope Cemetery
Baker City’s cemetery
college student who is en-
and parks contractor, HnT rolled in a health care pro-
Lawn Care Inc., will soon
fession course, is a graduate
be doing the spring clean
of a high school in Baker
up at Mount Hope Cem-
County or current Baker
etery.
County resident, and who
That includes removing will be at least a sophomore
deteriorated decorations,
in the fall of 2022. Appli-
flowers and floral designs, cations are available at the
as well as thatching, edging, front desk at Saint Alphon-
fertilizing, and weed spray- sus Medical Center-Baker
ing, weather permitting.
City, 3325 Pocahontas
This work is scheduled for Road, or from a member of
April 1-15.
the Auxiliary Scholarship
The city is asking resi-
Committee — Peggy Pay-
dents to remove decora-
ton, 541-519-8118, Marilyn
tive items from graves and Bloom, 541-523-2750, or
headstones prior to April 1. Marilyn Delfatti, 541-523-
Items that aren’t removed
4598. Applications are due
will be collected by the
by May 15, and the recipient
contractor and stored un-
will be notified by June 15.
til Nov. 1, 2022. Items that
Auxiliary members assist
conform to the city’s ceme- at the annual blood draw and
tery rules can be placed on other hospital events, and
graves starting April 16. A they attend the gift shop at
copy of the rules is available the Baker City hospital. New
on the city’s website, www. members are always wel-
bakercity.com.
come. More information is
More information is
available by calling Payton, at
available by calling the city the number above, or Laura
at 541-524-2047.
Huggins at 541-524-7732.
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