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ONGOING COVERAGE: STREET PEOPLE Homeless issues aired at Ashland 'listening session' 'Un-housed' speakers cite lack of jobs, affordable housing as contributing causes Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Feb. 15, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Feb. 15, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News A forum to hear the homeless, home-free and traveler people in Ashland sponsored by city Councilor Carol Voison on Friday started with people sitting in a drab basement room at the public library listening and speaking in turns and ended with the group holding hands and belting out a tribal chant of unity: “We! We! We!” Just another day in Ashland. Yet, many who attended this discussion pointed out that past meetings of this type yielded warming centers on particularly cold nights and the Ashland Community Resource Center to help those who sleep outside to access sleeping bags, gloves and a gathering place during the day. What this latest discussion may yield is yet to be seen, but roughly 50 people talked in real terms about their experiences of sleeping outside in Ashland. Some are currently not housed and many who spoke started out homeless but now have a home. Sangye Thauburn, a former traveler, 71 years old, is among them. He says he has been sleeping inside for the last year or so, but says the reason Ashland is seeing higher numbers of homeless people is displacement due to the high cost of housing, not just in Ashland but across the state. “It’s a refugee problem," Thauburn said. "We’re losing affordable homes for people in Portland and Eugene from gentrification. There’s no affordable housing. People have no place to go.” Another man who identified himself only as Michael told the group he struggled to find work, which is why he wound up homeless. He described being trusted by one Ashland resident who gave him odd jobs and, through that, he began to get more work. Now he gathers up his friends who sleep outside and helps them get odd jobs too. He says he is paying it forward and believes this is a part of the traveling and homeless community which is not noticed when there are discussions of the homeless as a problem. This view was echoed by long time homeless resident JC, who said, “I live here. I won’t let anyone screw it up.” Morgan Blank, a local business owner who is also formerly homeless, says what Ashland is experiencing is the going on everywhere; it's just more visible here due to the size of the community and its desire to find solutions. “It’s a topic that needs be addressed in Ashland as well as nationally." Bland said. "We’re a microcosm of what’s to come. The cracks are getting wider. Ninety-nine percent of us are one accident away. The homeless represent that fear in the common community. Everyone is on the verge of falling through those cracks. It’s not the physical threat of the homeless but the threat of knowing we’re all close.” Friday’s meeting organized by Councilor Voison was intended to be a listening session and an opportunity for the community of those who sleep outside to express their stories, their views of what is workable and what is not. It was not an official meeting of the Ashland City Council, although Voison, Councilor Pam Marsh and Mayor John Stromberg attended to listen in. The group agreed to continue meeting to come up with ideas to help people who sleep outside and also deal with “downtown behavior,” which the City Council is dealing with in a formal process, including creating ordinances to ban lying on sidewalks, aggressive panhandling, blocking entrances or exists, loitering too long in one spot and smoking downtown. Downtown smoking is not specifically considered part of the “downtown behavior” rules, but will have a greater impact on those who spend the day outside on the Plaza and other downtown areas where a smoking ban has been proposed. Blank urges a calm, fact-based response, both to the numbers and nature of homeless people in Ashland, suggesting that distrust exists between the housed and homeless. “Fear is a knee-jerk reaction," he said. "When you don’t know, you assume things and you normally assume wrong.” Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Feb. 15, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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