Letter to Register-Guard re homeless shelter movement

Poor is the new black. Just as whites once fought to keep blacks out of their neighborhoods, now the middle class tries to exclude the poor. We see this in neighborhood opposition to any form of organized homeless shelter – while they complain about the mess created by uncontrolled homeless camping. 

Over the last few years the tide had begun to turn in Eugene, with city and county governments providing unused land free to new nonprofits setting up well-run, low-cost homeless shelter – Opportunity Village Eugene, Community Supported Shelters, Nightingale Health Sanctuary. 

NHS is just getting their two legal “rest stop” camps started, but OVE, with Opportunity Village, and CSS with their three rest stop camps, have established a good track record. Their simple shelters, built with donations and volunteer labor, work. They’ve taken over 90 people off the streets, and still growing. 

People who oppose this movement need to understand that their choice is between well-managed shelter and messy unorganized camps. The homeless and their advocates, working together, are putting a lot of energy into creating shelter. We need neighborhood support.