Problem Solvers: Longstanding Bend homeless camp highlights clash between addiction, enforcement, and compassion
Harley Coldiron
(Update: Adding video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — A long-standing homeless camp at Second Street and DeKalb Avenue continues to spark frustration among nearby workers and concern from city officials, as drug use, mental health crises, and ongoing cleanup efforts collide with calls for more lasting solutions.
Many of the encampment residents are locals, including Brittany, who grew up in Redmond and attended both Redmond Proficiency Academy and Redmond High School.
She says her struggles began after losing her father at age 12, “My sister gave [drugs] to me after my dad died. I was 12, and I was really athletic,” Brittany recalled.
The camp sits in a designated “no camping” zone, but enforcement is limited, as Code Compliance Officers for the City of Bend don’t work at night. Zachary Nichols, who has lived unhoused for seven years, said people are well aware of the routine.
“Our due line is between 5:30 and 6 p.m. to set it up, and then seven in the morning to take it down, so that way the city doesn’t take it,” Nichols said. “I clock that crap down all the time.”
The City of Bend says code compliance officers monitor the site daily, enforcing regulations and offering resources. Contractors clean the corner twice a week, and police issue citations daily for trespassing and drug use. Still, some neighbors say it isn’t enough.
“This has to be relabeled a drug problem, not a homeless problem,” one nearby worker told KTVZ News. Another described open drug use, adding: “We’ll be having our morning coffee and they’re smoking off their foil, or heating up a shot, right out in the open.”
The City of Bend told the Problem Solvers that Bend Police even has a detail dedicated solely to the 2nd Street area.
The same worker we spoke to recalled walking by a body, “There was a guy lying out clearly dead. They were having a full conversation sitting there. The guy was dead. They’re laughing, joking, heckling us as we walked past.”
For some unhoused residents, housing isn’t an option if it comes with restrictions. But others, like Jeremy, his wife, and their dog Charlie, say they would accept it in a heartbeat. However, living on the streets makes it that much tougher to acquire housing.
“Housing would be phenomenal…I’m on the list, I think. I fill out all the different forms, but there’s no phone, no phone number. Nobody can reach you. You can’t reach anybody,” Jeremy said.
Until lasting solutions emerge, the tension continues for those living in the camp and those working nearby.
“If they could treat us like we were human beings, that would be great,” Jeremy said.
“I just sleep on the [expletive] concrete. I don’t get much sleep,” Brittany added.
One nearby worker summed it up, “If you had to be here every single day and live with it, you wouldn’t be okay with it.”
The Problem Solvers have done many other reports on homeless encampments in Central Oregon. To watch them, click here.