OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Communities have a responsibility to their homeless members
omelessness is one of those
perennial topics in the news-
paper that we cover decade
after decade, often with not much
news to report beyond “Locals say
something needs to be
done.”
There are people in
the community who
have been serving Herm-
istonians living out of
their cars or in tents, of
Jade
course. The Hermiston
McDowell
Warming Station, Des-
NEWS EDITOR
ert Rose Ministries, the
Agape House and local
churches are a few names that come
to mind.
As Hermiston continues to
strengthen its lead as Eastern Ore-
gon’s largest city, however, the time
seems ripe to move beyond offering a
meal or a night’s stay on a cot during
freezing weather and into a new
phase of services. And with a cred-
ible proposal now on the table, it’s
time for a serious, community-wide
conversation.
Recently, a group of locals formed
Stepping Stones, a nonprofi t that
hopes to establish a year-round
source of shelter for the homeless.
They have put in signifi cant plan-
ning, coordination and effort already,
and are now seeking approval and
fi nancial support from the city of
Hermiston.
The proposal is based on a model
used by the Walla Walla Alliance for
the Homeless, which include indi-
vidual, lockable Conestoga huts for
sleeping and a community building
for activities, such as playing cards
together or charging a cellphone.
Paid security staff would super-
vise the camp, which would only be
open to guests at night, and once it
H
HH fi le photo
A sign along Umatilla River Road prohibits camping in an area that served as a homeless camp
in 2016 before the camp was disbanded by law enforcement.
gets going the board plans to add an
“exiting homelessness” coordina-
tor to help guests connect with the
resources they need to eventually
fi nd a permanent home.
The small huts aren’t equipped
with their own electricity or running
water, representing their purpose as
a temporary shelter and not a perma-
nent home. They do provide a clean
bed, shelter, security and privacy that
is a more humane option than sleep-
ing under bushes or on a river bank.
I’ve listened to multiple presenta-
tions on the topic to the city council
now, and overall the proposal seems
well thought out, with plenty of pro-
visions to address concerns about
safety and nuisances. Recently, a
member of Stepping Stones told the
council that she was working on a
website with information about all
of those details, which I think is an
important step so that community
members know exactly what is being
proposed.
The next step, which is equally
important, is for everyone to be given
ample opportunity to voice their con-
cerns and advocate for adjustments to
the plan. The concerns I’ve heard are
valid. Will the shelter bring increased
crime to the businesses and resi-
dences nearby? Will it run into the
same problems the Hermiston Warm-
ing Station has encountered in not
being able to fi nd enough volun-
teers to check people in for the night?
Is the plan fi nancially sustainable?
Should the city help fund it?
A fi rst draft of any plan is never
perfect, but this one is a very solid
start, and I believe the commu-
nity is better off going all in on dis-
cussing and refi ning this idea, rather
than rejecting it for a vague notion
that sometime in the future some-
one else might “do something about
homelessness.”
I recently read of a controversy
in which a popular Instagram infl u-
encer, under pressure from concerned
viewers, admitted she had “rehomed”
her adopted son after three years of
caring for him.
People were rightly horrifi ed at
the idea that a parent would give up
on their child because they no lon-
ger wanted to deal with that child’s
“behavioral issues” that were marring
their idea of a perfect home. And yet
many people advocate for their own
cities to do the same thing with their
residents who are homeless because
of mental illness, addiction, crimi-
nal backgrounds or other factors that
make them not “ideal” citizens.
“Send them to someone else to
take care of them,” people say. “It’s
not fair for me to have to deal with
the problems they are causing.”
Like many children who display
diffi cult behavior after being adopted
out of far from ideal circumstances,
many of the members of our home-
less population who are considered
“diffi cult” also come from a place of
trauma. They, too, can benefi t from
security and stability as they try to
overcome their challenges. Each
community should address that idea
head on, rather than continuously
hoping that someone else might take
care of the problem.
COLUMN
CONTACT YOUR
REPRESENTATIVES
Unemployment department also needs some work
ooking for work during
a pandemic isn’t an
easy job. Not only have
there been limited opportuni-
ties, but my age and an under-
lying health condition limit my
options.
A friend
recently asked
me to fact-check
a Facebook post
that indicated
Antifa was adver-
tising on Craig-
Tammy
slist. In an effort
Malgesini
to recruit people
to wreak havoc
during Black Lives Matter pro-
tests, the job was said to pay
$25 an hour. While it appeared
to be fake, I jokingly told my
bestie that I should include the
time I spent researching it as
work seeking activities for my
weekly unemployment claim
form.
All joking aside, I fi nd
myself among some of the more
fortunate in regards to unem-
ployment insurance benefi ts.
However, that’s not to say I hav-
en’t had my issues with the Ore-
L
gon Employment Department.
A few weeks back I received
a letter saying I needed to call
within fi ve days to clarify infor-
mation or my benefi ts may be
denied for the week in question.
Five days from when? They
mailed it on May 19, I received
it on May 22 — and to compli-
cate the countdown even more,
May 25 was a holiday.
I was fearful that if my ben-
efi ts were cut off, it would take
an act of Congress to get them
reinstated. I’ve read numer-
ous articles regarding thousands
of Oregonians who have yet to
receive a single cent.
I fi gured if I could actu-
ally get through to a person to
explain the situation, it would
be quicker and easier than fi ll-
ing out the form. However, I
heard about people trying to call
for days — sometimes fi nally
getting through only to be put
on hold for hours, and then get-
ting disconnected. After getting
a busy signal on two different
numbers for nearly two hours, I
fi nally decided to complete the
form and send it in.
The issue surrounded doing
a freelance column, for which
I claimed earnings and work-
ing a couple of hours for that
week and none the next. If they
had cross-referenced my weekly
claim forms, they could have
fi gured it out. It makes me won-
der if someone actually looks
at them. Also, given that the
employment offi ce is so far
behind on processing claims,
I fi nd it a bit ironic that I’m
the one being asked for further
explanation.
My other issue is with how
benefi ts are disbursed. The state
sends a check for the fi rst week,
and then subsequent payments
are loaded onto a debit card. I’m
old school and not very fond of
the ReliaCard. I wouldn’t mind
so much but it’s affi liated with
U.S. Bank — not that I have
a problem with that particu-
lar fi nancial institution, but we
do our banking through a credit
union.
When dealing with our
accounts, I’ve ended up hav-
ing to go to the drive-thru at
both places. And one of the phe-
nomena that comes with being
unemployed is losing track of
what day it is. That happened
recently as Memorial Day
sneaked up on me. So, there I
sat in seemingly never-ending
lines on a holiday weekend.
Evidently, it’s a simple pro-
cess during pre-pandemic times
to set up direct deposit for
unemployment benefi ts. All you
have to do is provide a canceled
check. I did that seven weeks
ago, yet thanks to the ‘rona, my
weekly benefi ts continue to be
loaded onto my ReliaCard.
I shouldn’t complain — at
least I’ve been receiving weekly
benefi ts since becoming eligible
in early April. Also, we have a
suffi cient supply of toilet paper
and recently were able to pur-
chase hand sanitizer and disin-
fectant wipes.
———
Tammy Malgesini, the for-
mer Hermiston Herald com-
munity editor, enjoys spending
time with her husband and two
German shepherds, as well as
entertaining herself with ran-
dom musings.
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 22
Chris Rush | Publisher • crush@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2669
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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STATE REP. GREG SMITH,
DISTRICT 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Email: Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
———
STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL,
DISTRICT 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Email: Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
GOV. KATE BROWN
160 State Capitol
900 Court Street
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Email: www.oregon.gov/gov/Pages/
share-your-opinion.aspx
———
MAYOR DAVID DROTZMANN
180 NE Second St.
Hermiston, OR 97838
ddrotzmann@hermiston.or.us
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