The Bend Don’t Break podcast returns with a chat with Jeff Eager of the Bend Humanity Coalition, a new organization that describes itself as “a group of caring Bend citizens working to make our city safe and humane for the unhoused and housed Bendites.”
The organization advocates for more enforcement of laws around accumulating trash and other concerns at houseless camps, stating on its website, “City Councilors have at their disposal the legal methods to remove camps that pose a danger to those living in them and those who find themselves near them. There are laws against littering, public urination and defecation, possession of open containers of alcohol in parks and other public places, and drug use.”
Source Weekly Publisher Aaron Switzer and Editor Nicole Vulcan chat with Eager about the effectiveness of adjudication for houseless individuals, the impact of a 9th Circuit Court decision in enforcing (or not enforcing) camping on public lands in Oregon and much more.
LISTEN NOW:
Or watch the video version here:
Related Stories
Listen: Chief Mike Krantz on Law Enforcement’s Approach to Homelessness 🎧
Listen: Bend Don’t Break with Russ Grayson, City of Bend COO and Asst City Manager 🎧
This article appears in Oct 13-20, 2021.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Beware this coalition masquerading as a voice for the disadvantaged and unhoused. This smacks a lot like the usual neocon private-property rights crowd. Not that theyre publicizing who they are. One thing they arent is concerned citizens with actual vision. Go ahead, peruse their site: you wont find a single idea, just tired, vague platitudes about safety.
And be careful with the throwaway Bend is becoming like Portland or Seattle punch line this coalition is asking you to copy and paste to City Councilors. Until Bend solves its gigantic issues with inequality, racism and social justice, or becomes a lot more educated and open, theres no danger of that.
There is no “fair or equitable” way to criminalize people experiencing houselessness. He mentioned enforcement around things that don’t focus on their housing status, but doesn’t seem to realize that people experiencing houselessness are disproportionately affected by basically every law.
What policies are they fighting for? He also mentioned Twitter so I looked at their feed and their website where I can’t find a policy anywhere. The single action they have is to contact City Council to tell them to move people, but move them where? Shelter doesn’t work for everyone and nobody should be forced into one just so people don’t have to see them anymore.
They don’t talk to law enforcement or service providers, but they claim to fight for fair and equitable policy. Do they meet often? What do they talk about? What are their goals? What does success look like for them? They also claim to care about the safety of housed and unhoused people, but everything they put into the world is negative toward people experiencing houselessness. Their name is misleading,