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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Portland dispensary fined $2,500 for handing out products in parking lot ... Surveillance video captures Medford surgery center thief ... Rogue River offers guided tour through Palmerton Park Arboretum ... Portland dispensary fined $2,500 for handing out products in parking lot ... Surveillance video captures Medford surgery center thief ... Rogue River offers guided tour through Palmerton Park Arboretum ... TWO-DAY SPECIAL REPORT: HOMELESS VILLAGES Eugene's homeless villages: A model for what Medford could do here? Comment By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 23, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Aug 24, 2015 at 10:11 AM By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 23, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Aug 24, 2015 at 10:11 AM » RELATED CONTENT --> Homeless camp rules Opportunity Village in Eugene offers shelter to about 30 residents who get a roof over their head as long as they abide by five simple rules: &bull... » Read more X Homeless camp rules Opportunity Village in Eugene offers shelter to about 30 residents who get a roof over their head as long as they abide by five simple rules: • No violence • No theft • No alcohol or illegal drugs on-site • No persistent, disruptive behavior • Everyone must contribute to the operation and maintenance of the village. What residents receive: • A small, safe and private space • Access to common kitchen, bath, laundry, gathering and workshop facilities • Computer and Wi-Fi access • Quarterly bus pass What residents must provide: • $30 a month utility fee • 8 hours a week of front desk duty • 2 hours a week towards community improvement • Clean community bathroom once a month • Attendance at the weekly village meeting • Creating Haven Park • Eugene sites for the homeless » Social News Carlos Vasquez hit the skids a few years ago when he lost his job and spiraled into depression and extreme anxiety. When he lost his home, he moved from Maui to Eugene, struggling to find his way. “After being out on the streets for that long, you get a lot of insecurities,” the 45-year-old says. “Homelessness makes you very skeptical and cautious.” Vasquez has found greater security for himself and his wife at Opportunity Village, part of a movement throughout the U.S. to provide tiny houses and other temporary living quarters for the homeless. “The transition camps are very, very important,” Vasquez says. “Everybody’s pretty welcoming and open.” Eugene has more than a half dozen sites for the homeless spread throughout the city and run by local organizations. The success of its camps, with their Conestoga-style tents and tiny houses, has attracted the attention of organizations in the Medford area who want to create their own village for the homeless. A tiny house that could serve as the template for a local camp was on display in Central Point during a July 4 parade. Vasquez, like most of the residents in the Eugene camps, is happy to meet strangers and is proud to show off his tiny house, where most of the space is taken up by a bed. A few residents have hooked up solar panels to provide electricity at night. Residents share a communal laundry facility, showers and toilets at Opportunity Village, which opened in August 2013. A yurt houses the community room. Residents pay $30 a month to rent the units. The camps are overseen by a board of directors made up of residents who are quick to boot out anyone who doesn’t follow the rules. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy says offering housing to the homeless can be complicated for a community but does have its rewards. “It reduces public safety costs, emergency costs and lessens the impacts on parks,” she says, adding it also provides a central location for the homeless to receive services and medical treatment. Some of the bizarre behavior associated with the homeless is the result of traumatic encounters they’ve had over the years, she says. “We had a woman who grew up in Pleasant Hill who carried urine and feces around with her in her shopping cart,” Piercy says. She says the woman thought she could use the items in her shopping cart to barter with homeless men to keep them from attacking her. “We asked her what it’s like to live in this village,” Piercy says. “She said, 'It’s wonderful to be able to go to sleep at night and be OK.’” Eugene has a large area to the west of light industrial properties that are well suited for housing the camps. Many of them are not close to residential areas. “I often ask myself, what if someone wanted to put a rest stop across from me?” Piercy says. “My first thought is, would it decrease my property value, and then I have other concerns that come to mind.” Piercy says that the homeless camps in Eugene, many of which are on city-owned land, have operated with relatively few incidents. She says the city has made a promise to find a place for all homeless veterans to stay by the end of the year. John Hankemeier, a spokesman for the Eugene Police Department, says his officers haven't seen any increase in calls at the legitimate homeless camps, though police are always on the lookout for illegal campers. Neighbors did voice concerns when the homeless camps were first proposed. “A lot of resistance goes away when the faith-based community is involved,” says Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul in Eugene. “Many people are surprised it is working as well as it has.” A board of directors made up of the homeless has been one of the best models for a successful homeless camp, he says. “The biggest trick is they have to be willing to evict,” McDonald says. Camps are self-governing and have a no-tolerance policy for bad behavior, whether in the camp or in surrounding areas. “They’re not allowed to go peeing or defecating in neighbors' property,” he says. “They cannot party outside the fence.” St. Vincent also runs a program called Overnight Parking funded by city police to help cut down on car camping on the street. When police receive a complaint about people sleeping in their car, program manager Keith Heath responds. He tells the offenders they can't camp on the street and then directs them to car camping spots designated for the homeless. Heath says he's had some unusual encounters. Several years ago, he approached a Jeep parked on the street. “Inside there was this guy with a knife whittling on something. The guy had some mental issues. He said, ‘I’m with the FBI, and I’m taking your license.’” Heath says he backed away and said, “I’m just here as a courtesy.” He left a piece of paper showing where the car camping sites were located along with other information about services available for the homeless. Heath says there are a number of reasons why someone is homeless. “The last few years it’s because of circumstances like somebody losing their job,” he says. “A lot of times they have a mental illness.” Heath also runs St. Vincent's Eugene Service Station, which provides a place during the day where the homeless can hang out, have a meal or log onto a computer. The service center allows people to come in even if they're tipsy, Heath says. But once they’re inside the facility, they have to follow a no-alcohol-or-drugs policy and watch their behavior. “As long as you’ve got some sense, we’ll let you stay,” he says. Across from the Service Station, Robert Hightower has been living in a motor home for five years on a St. Vincent car camping lot. “Like everything else in life, there are good homeless and bad homeless," the disabled 59-year-old veteran says. Hightower and the other residents maintain a community garden and take care of the lot. “This is a rough neighborhood, but it’s getting better,” Hightower says. Eugene is about to take its innovative homeless concept to a new level. Plans are in the works for Emerald Village, a tiny-house community that will give the homeless an opportunity to build equity. Opportunity Village doesn’t provide electricity or plumbing to the units, but Emerald Village will provide self-contained units of 200 to 250 square feet. Pastor Dan Bryant of First Christian Church in Eugene says the Emerald Village concept will create a homeowner’s association. He says initially the village will have about 10 units, but likely will be increased to 22. Bryant, who rides a motorcycle around town, has decided to take a turn at being homeless at Opportunity Village. He’s been staying for a week in a tiny house built by students in Berkeley, Calif. Bryant says he feels perfectly safe in the camp, though he couldn’t persuade his wife into joining him in a tiny house that doesn’t have a shower or kitchen. Bryant says he enjoys socializing with the homeless. “Why aren’t other communities doing this?” Bryant says. “We shouldn’t make it a shameful thing to be very poor. People need to live with dignity and without shame.” At the same time, the camps must have some very strong rules. “The first night this camp started, they evicted one of their own,” Bryant says. Opportunity Village has been so popular and has operated with relatively few problems that the city has renewed the agreement for another year and a half on the city-owned property. The camps are particularly good for homeless women who often become victims of abuse or rape when living on the street. Bryant says the camps are designed to be temporary, but it's difficult to ask people with mental illnesses to move from a safe place to a dangerous life back on the streets. “How do you kick somebody out who is 60 and as frail as can be?” he says. “We have one woman who is a former heroin addict. She’s a sweet old lady, but nobody’s going to hire her. You don’t just say to that lady, ‘You’ve got to move out.’” Last winter, Bryant says a homeless count in the Eugene area numbered 1,400, so the camps and other accommodations for the homeless only make a dent in the problem. A short distance away from Opportunity Village, Community Supported Shelters offers three camping areas for the homeless, including one for veterans and another for car campers. “Praise,” a 50-year-old man who manages one of the areas, has been living in a Conestoga-style shelter there since the camp opened in January 2014. “A business owner was against the idea when it was first proposed,” he says. “Now, he’s found out we can be good neighbors.” Praise, who goes only by his first name, says he’s struggled to keep a job over the years and had spent years couch surfing and living outdoors before moving to the camp. He says the camps operate with relatively little overhead since the city provides the land. Much of the work is done by volunteers and those living in the camps, he says. Often people give donations for the camp fund. Mel Hockley, 52, who lives in the same camp, says he was the victim of a house fire and hasn’t recovered since. He says he lived for a while at a camp for veterans, but much prefers this camp, situated inside a fence on city property. “We do not exist if the community is not with us,” he says. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter at @reporterdm. By Damian Mann Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Damian Mann Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 23, 2015 at 2:00 AM Updated Aug 24, 2015 at 10:11 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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