A14
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
NO HOUSE, BUT NOT HOMELESS
By BRENNA VISSER
The Bulletin
BEND — Michael Parker doesn’t
consider himself homeless.
Instead, he considers himself
houseless because he does not live in
a structure most people would con-
sider a house.
Parker, 46, is one of dozens if
not hundreds who live in the wilder-
ness off China Hat Road in Bend. He
said he goes by the nickname “Rev,”
because he considers himself a rev-
erend of a religion he refers to as
“Parkerism.” The basic tenets: Don’t
be rude and stay happy.
He lives under an intricate setup
of tarp and trailer. Inside he has
made an insulated fi replace out
of scrap metal and rocks to stay
warm and as a way to reduce fi re
danger.
The tarp, which is hung beneath
two trees and serves as the walls of
his home, is adorned with art.
Perhaps not a house, but defi nitely
his home, Parker said.
Due to a variety of mental and
physical disabilities, living in a tradi-
tional house or apartment is diffi cult
and feels like confi nement, he said.
“I like to be able to pick up and
move in 25 minutes,” Parker said.
For the last 15 years or so, Parker
HOW TO HELP
For suggestions on how to help
the region’s residents experienc-
ing homelessness, contact the
Homeless Leadership Coalition by
email at info@cohomeless.org.
has been in Central Oregon and liv-
ing outside in some capacity.
Parker doesn’t remember what
exactly brought him to Central Ore-
gon, other than he enjoys the cold
nights and warm days the High Des-
ert climate provides.
He has lived at several camps in
Bend, including the camp that was
cleared by the Oregon Department
of Transportation off Revere Avenue
last year.
Parker moved to China Hat Road
roughly six months ago because he
thought it would be a better place for
his dog to have puppies.
Before coming to Central Oregon,
Parker said he lived in Chicago. He
used to be a chef and, at one point,
owned a house, Parker said.
“I like to eat. I’ve always been
into food,” Parker said. “But it got
too hard to do.”
Dean Guernsey/The Bulletin
Michael Parker in the camp structure off of China Hat Road that he calls home.
In the past, Parker said he has
been told he has dissociative iden-
tity disorder, more commonly known
as multiple personality disorder, and
ADHD, because he hears voices and
can’t concentrate.
He said he doesn’t agree with
those assessments from professional
behavioral health workers.
Parker’s only income comes from
donations from nonprofi ts and indi-
viduals. He has tried to apply for dis-
ability in the past but fi nds it diffi cult
to focus long enough to complete it.
“I get frustrated, and then I give
up,” he said.
When asked what he would say to
the people who may judge the way
he lives, Parker suggested people
shouldn’t judge in the fi rst place.
“If you don’t like it, don’t look,”
Parker said.
Parker represents a subset of the
Central Oregon homeless population
who choose to live outdoors, said
Colleen Thomas, Deschutes Coun-
ty’s homeless outreach coordinator.
Thomas said it is important to
remember every person’s reasons for
becoming houseless are personal, but
in general that in her work she has
rarely seen someone start off wanting
to live outside.
There are usually several fac-
O utlook
SENI
R
Do you remember
what huge thing
Prairie City
happened 42 years
ago? Mount St.
Seniors
Helens blew its top.
If you were very
quiet, you could have
Rose Coombs
heard the sound of
the explosion here in
Grant County. By the time it got to us, it was just a soft thump,
however. ‘Twas quite the happening. Reminds you of just Who is
in charge of the earth’s affairs…
The other thing that happened was the invention of a very
important item that we all use every day. This was in 18
something (oops, forgot to write that down). Anyway, the table
that knew it got to go first today. The answer was perforated
toilet paper. Now you have been informed.
Del Lake led the flag salute and Tom asked the blessing. Our
volunteer helpers included Pam H., Sharon T., Gwynne W.,
Carlos B., and Chris & Theresa K. Thanks to all for all you
do. The only announcement was that we had such a good time
at the yard sale last week, we decided to join the Prairie City
Community Yard Sale and do it again!
Our great cooks, Pam W. and Pam G., made sweet and sour
meatballs over rice, with baked beans and a fruit salad. To top it
off was coconut cream pie!
Wowser, dowser was it ever good! The sponsor for today is John
Coombs. Thanks so much for your donation.
For those of us who “work” the yard sale, it is a lot of fun to go
through the items that have been donated. “Ooh, look at this!” as
opposed to “What is that?!” Then there are the comments: ‘That’s
your color!” and “That’s your size!” I’m pleased to report that
we were the recipients of lots of good stuff! Thanks to all who
donated to the cause. We appreciate it very much.
We have had lots of activity on Highway 26 through our
little burg. My, it takes a lot of street marking and workers to
get the (I’m assuming) fiber optic cable from one end of town
to the other. Since I’m not online, I assume that it won’t have
any effect on my life. A group of ladies were trying to access a
certain program last night to watch together and the program
just wouldn’t work properly. We blamed it on the Ditch-Witch
digging through Front Street. Tee-hee!
Ephesians 1:4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the
world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”
2 Peter 3:13 “So then, dear friends, … make every effort to be
found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.”
First and foremost
is
to remember all the
John Day
people who volunteer
to make our senior
Seniors
center successful.
The cooks and cooks
helpers and others
Elise Huskey
who volunteer
to do dishes and
cleaning in the kitchen. The people who deliver meals to those
who cannot get out to do things for themselves, and the drivers’
helpers also. The people who clean our building so we can
have a sanitary environment to meet in. The ones who work
on the outside of the building to make it attractive so we can
be proud of our setting. This week we had Dale Stinnett and
Darron Huskey pulling weeds, etc.; thanks to both of you. The
people who sit on the board of directors to make sure business is
taken care of and manage the maintenance of the building and
entrances and parking lot. The ones that help with the greeting
of meal attendees and those who help serve food and clean up
after meals. The ones who lead in flag salutes and prayers. The
organizers of all the different duties and events of the center. And
my brain goes on and on because there are more than that who
do tasks and give their time to do other things, like writing this
news article for instance, and others who decorate the building
and then the library, oh Linda does a wonderful job with our
library. Her efforts are outstanding. Be sure to check our library
out. Goodness, there are more, too, but as you can see it goes on
and on. Our senior center cannot exist without our volunteers so
thank all of you that participate to make it work. We just cannot
thank you enough.
Monday, May 16, Darlene Nodine and Carol Roe were at the
desk to greet all the lunch attendees and make sure everyone
had their name in the can for the drawings. Darlene was the
announcer, Maya Ennis led the flag salute and Dale Stennett
asked the blessing. The Living Word Church members were
the servers and cleanup crew (Carolyn Stout and M. Coombs).
Thank you, ladies, for your time and efforts and all your smiles
and friendly conversations. We had meatloaf, cheesy potatoes,
corn medley and carrot cake. Great lunch. Thanks, Shay and
Kim. Sixteen people were in attendance to partake of this meal,
and I forgot how many takeouts there were.
The meal was sponsored by Marilyn Foss in memory of Wayne.
Kay Cotham won the Len’s certificate, and Darlene Nodine won
the free meal.
Forty-three fresh meals and 28 frozen meals were delivered
into our community by Mike and Patty Davis, members of the
hospital auxiliary (Tina S. and Matthew), and members of the
Living Word Church (Carolyn and Ms. Coombs). Thanks to all
of you.
Thursday, May 19, Darlene and Carol were at the desk to
greet everyone and get names in the drawing. Nancy Elliot led
the flag salute and Delores Beldon (sp.?) asked the blessing.
The Methodist Church members were our servers and cleanup
crew. Thanks, all of you, for helping and caring. Forty-two fresh
meals were delivered into our community by Linda and Dennis
Dickenson, Jeanette Julsrud and Richie and Sandy Colbeth.
Thank you all for caring enough about our community members
to contribute of your time, gas and efforts to be of service to
John Day residents and nearby folks.
The meal today was pot roast with wonderful gravy, mashed
potatoes with more gravy, green beans, and German chocolate
cake. A meal to die for, as some would say. Thanks, Shay and
Kim.
We had guests today from Valley View Retirement Home.
It was so nice to see all of you today, six residents (one man
surrounded by five lovely ladies, what a deal for him, ha). Kim
and Janet were helping each one in and out of the People Mover
and into the building and seeing that each one got a meal. It was
great to see all of them today, and I am sure it was great for each
of them to get out for a bit and see other people. I surely enjoyed
all of them.
Some people are loaded down with weeds this year with all
our rain. Rain seems troublesome to some folks, but we need it
so much so we will just deal with the weeds. It provides some
exercise for a positive note.
I will be north of Seattle this next week, coming home June 1.
Watch this space for news about events that will be over by then.
Proverbs 3:26 The Lord will keep you safe. He will NOT let you
fall into a trap. (This is great news).
I hope no one
showed up for
Tuesday lunch for we
did not have lunch. It
felt weird not having
to plan on going to
lunch at the senior
Soo Yukawa
center. We all had to
fend for ourselves! Ha.
We are hoping lunch will resume as normal on the 24th.
Well, I, along with some other women, painted the senior
center kitchen. Everything that could be moved was moved out
and we were painting the walls. I told Jan Ensign they might
have to fire me because I’ve never really painted before and I was
dribbling paint everywhere and making a mess! Jan said they
would not fire me. I don’t think she noticed the dribbled paint
on the floor.
We thank all the folks who came out to move things, cleaned,
painted, and helped out at the fixing-up of our senior center. The
work done would not have been possible without the help of
everyone who volunteered.
There have been some pretty sunny and warm days, but I
am not easily fooled anymore. I just patiently wait for the 1st
of June. I am not even tempted in the least to try and plant
something yet. Sure enough, when we thought it was so warm,
some freaky weather came in and it was windy, cold, hailing,
sunny, and rainy all rolled up into one funky day.
I am not looking forward to weed-whacking some areas that
have massive amounts of grass and weeds. I look at it and it
looks like a daunting task. Sigh. Too bad the goats are sometimes
naughty and eat what you don’t want them to eat and don’t eat
what you want them to eat!
I have some good news, though: The wild plum seeds that I
have planted are coming up! I think I have like 20 of them. I gave
four away already and will give away some more. They are only
about 2 inches tall. It is exciting to see new life coming out. I am
amazed how a little seed can grow into some big, tall tree and
bear yummy fruit. God is a wonderful Creator. I also have two
peach tree saplings coming up as well. I thought for sure those
seeds were duds! Ha.
Shay and Kiki are growing up fast now. Kiki still follows me
around, Shay not so much. I guess they are like human “kids”
and become more and more independent. I am looking forward
to some freedom in a month or so. Sheesh, having to bottle-feed
“babies” is hard work!
I like to watch Shay and Kiki run around and play, skip,
hop, and kick their hind legs in the air. It is pure joy and
entertainment to watch them. It lifts up my spirit when I sit
and pet them and scratch on them. I really hope they will let me
milk them when the time comes. No, I am not going to drink it,
blech! I’m gonna make goat milk soap.
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken.
Monument
Seniors
tors, like someone getting fatigued
hitting barrier after barrier or a con-
sistent experience hitting red tape,
she said.
People can become discouraged
when they attempt to use resources,
like a shelter, but are met with staff
that is not trained enough to handle a
mental illness-related episode, and so
they get trespassed.
It can lead to people becom-
ing isolated, and an easier response
is to choose to live outside of soci-
ety because when they do try to
engage in resources, they have nega-
tive experiences where they feel pun-
ished, Thomas said.
Instead of asking why someone
doesn’t want to live inside, advocates
need to consider what led them to
that response, Thomas said.
“How is the system on a large
scale been unable to support that
individual in maintaining some sense
of stability?” Thomas said.
Thomas said for some people, it
might take months or years to get
more comfortable in a community
setting, and it’s important to consis-
tently meet people where they are at
to address their needs.
“Having the consistency of fol-
lowing up and following through
goes further than we ever know,” she
said.
We offer a wide range of primary
care and medical treatment.
Zachary Bailey, MD • David Hall, MD • Raffaella Betza, MD
Zachary Bailey, MD • Janessa Sickler, DO • Emily Lieuallen, DO
• Janessa
DO • Emily
DO
James Cook,
FNP • Sickler,
Erika Adams,
FNP-C Lieuallen,
• Caitlin MacCoun,
MD
• Nora Jennings,
Healey, FNP
Clark, DNP
Brian
MD • Shawna
Robyn Jennings,
MD
Available Monday - Friday
180 Ford Road, John Day • 541-575-0404
Huffman’s
SELECT
MARKETS
Quality Healthcare ...close to home.
170 Ford Road
John Day
541-575-1311
112 E. 5th
Prairie City
541-820-3341
422 W. Main, 1st floor • John Day
If you have any questions or think you
know of someone who might benefit,
call: 541 575.1648
241 S. Canyon Blvd. John Day • 541-575-0529
T roy Hanson - Funeral Director