David Dudley ForJournalism Lab

Homelessness is a death sentence for thousands of Americans each year. To memorialize those who died, the Longest Night vigils are held annually on Dec. 21, the winter solstice. Also known as Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, the vigils offer family, friends and service providers space to share their memories of those who lost the battle […]

Service providers who work with homeless people in Central Oregon stand at a crossroads, and the number of organizations dedicated to serving those in need has increased to meet rising demand for services. While specific numbers are hard to come by, several nonprofit leaders told FORJournalism that interagency collaboration has increased as organizations seek to […]

Lucy Wolfe spends most evenings at a table in her dining room, surrounded by various beads and string. Inspired by stars in the night sky, she enters a meditative state. Once her mind slows down, she slides a bead onto a strand of waxed thread, followed by another. The beads may be metal, wood, glass […]

The tiny homes on the corner of Franklin Avenue and 5th Street in Bend went up quietly enough. The lot was cleared with the help of several local Eagle Scouts and preparations were underway in May. Four tiny homes reserved for families and elderly people were delivered to the site in June. Later that month, […]

At first glance, Christine Greene would appear to be living a version of the American Dream. She lives in a camper trailer with her partner, a dog, a pair of kittens and a toad. A white picket fence marks the boundary between their yard and the desert that surrounds it. Greene is friendly with her […]

Several campers who were displaced from the China Hat area in May allege that the U.S. Forest Service has failed to facilitate the return of personal belongings ranging from RVs to an urn containing the cremains of one man’s wife. The 90-day grace period to retrieve personal belongings expired on Aug. 1. Many of the […]

Though Thomas “Tommy” Mercer has been living in a juniper forest east of Bend for only seven months, the 56-year-old said it “feels like a lifetime.” “I mean, we’re surviving,” he said on a hot morning in June. “But we run out of food stamps in the middle of the month. I go into the […]