Effects and Struggles of Homelessness in Brookings, Oregon

Annika Steendahl, Ellie Hanneman & Tobin Spence

April 4, 2024

Imagine driving into a small coastal town– Tents littered along the side of the highway, trash all over, and people are sleeping in the open.

This homeless issue is a big problem to the ecosystem, people, and animals because they don’t follow the town's protocols regarding the disposal of garbage. The trash ends up accumulating in a manner that is harmful to the environment. “Our system is not set up to help those that are chronically homeless, it is only set up for those that can easily be helped,” said Officer Lucero. 

According to  an article from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “Homelessness originally started by war, it became a new and national issue in the 1870’s briefly after the civil war”

Back then when homelessness first became an issue, house prices started to rise due to inflation. It also raised the prices of clothes, food, and shelter, making people and families lose their homes and become homeless because they were not able to afford it or had money problems. Inflation is the act of all peoples' resources rising their prices leaving less people who can afford them. 

Inflation was not the only problem to homelessness. There was also the recent Corona Virus going around in 2020 that had a lot of people on the streets ill dying.  “COVID affected the homeless a lot because of other people giving them drugs and from them losing their homes, and losing their jobs as well,” School Resource Officer Branion said. 

The article from Stacy Mosel states, “A lot of the homeless people have gotten into drugs, leading to their physical and mental health decreasing.” Drugs can cause an addiction leading to many homeless people suffering which complicates their living situations. 

Getting and being addicted to drugs can make anyone act in a total different way than how they do on a regular day. Once someone is addicted, without the drug they can act up because they need it and crave it so bad to the point where they can become harmful toward themselves or to others and the community.

While all the drugs, inflation, and money was rising, there weren't many places for the homeless to go and have a place to stay. Back then and still to this day some teenagers get kicked out of their homes due to the drugs and choices they were making at a young age and would be left with nothing and no clue what to do. 

Some people would have some things on them when they become homeless but other times people get left with nothing. When this happens to people they have to find out things to do to help them survive. 

Some would find tents or save up for one by collecting money off the streets or stealing cans from houses and returning them. A lot of them also have trailers or cars they live in and park them in parking lots and that’s where they spend most of their time living. 

While getting kicked out of a home and having money problems and no job, it’s recommended to be on the lookout for job opportunities around town. According to officer Brandon, having no car or a home and money makes it really hard to find jobs to apply for and become employed. Sometimes businesses set up paper posters to pin up around grocery stores or poles outside. 

Before now there was a low chance of finding a job when a person is not presentable enough for the interview. It’s important when showing up to a job interview to look presentable because it makes you look clean and nice and it shows you’re serious. It’s also hard having no money to buy the new presentable clothes when they have no job to earn money. 

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While reading the article by Nicole Hayden you’ll see that Oregon has the third highest rate of homelessness in the nation. There are many different reasons as to why people become homeless, but one of the top reasons as to why there are so many in Brookings, Oregon is because there is not much affordable housing. 

Some people see homelessness negatively in Brookings and think it is a problem how many of them there are. Others enjoy helping them out every once in a while and do not mind that they stay here. There are even some people around that do fundraisers specifically for helping the homeless out each and every day. 

In the past in Brookings there has never really been a steady place for the homeless to go to for shelter and to get any help. However, the community is currently working on a place for the homeless to go to in Brookings called the ODOH office along highway 101, stated officer Branion. 

Since there is no shelter for them to go to, they all mainly either end up sleeping in a car that they have or they will often set up a tent. “At Azalea Park, they are allowed to camp but they have to have their tents all packed up by sunrise,” Officer Branion said. 

Currently, homeless people have mainly been going to churches to get meals. There are a few different churches in Brookings that will feed different meals to them one day a week but the main church that is the most popular is St Timothy's Episcopal Church right across the street from Azalea Park.

Although there are many people that do not see homeless people as such a big problem and like to help them out, some people dislike how many of them there are and think they overpopulate the community.

 There have been multiple different problems with homeless people setting up multiple tents in places that are on other people's properties. When this happens, the companies that they are staying at call the police and have them come solve the problem. 

The police came and talked to them and as the days went on all of the tents slowly started to go away. “Although police do help as much as they possibly can, there is not much that they can do and they do not affect the community too much,” Officer Branion said. 

Although there are many homeless people around year long in Brookings, the homeless are the most populated when it comes to summer. Most of the homeless do not mean to cause any harm to anyone. 

Even though most homeless do have good intentions, there are some that do drugs and can appear more harmful. They do not typically hurt people but it is always a good thing to be cautious of those around just in case. 

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In recent years, the government of Oregon has taken steps to help solve the homeless crisis, such as increased funding for affordable housing programs, mental health services, and support for homeless veterans.

For example, as brought up earlier in the article, the city of Brookings is building an ODOH office off of Hwy 101 on the north end of town near Dollar General . ODOH offers resources for homeless people to have short-term housing and they can go there to get resources like food, clothes, etc. 

When reading the article from Oregon Department of Human Services you’ll see there is also a “GA (General Assistance program), which is a program in Oregon that offers short-term financial aid for homeless people or at risk of homelessness with severe disabilities.”

While progress to solve the issue has been made to fully help the homeless, people as a community  have a lot to do to help them.

Anybody could start fundraisers or charities to get necessities donated for the homeless such as clothes, blankets, foods, tents and/or other general hygiene products.  

It is only going to get harder for the homeless as time goes on due to inflation, prices for housing, clothes and other resources keep going up and make it harder for them to get the resources they need.

Homeless are a big cause of pollution, due to the fact that a lot of them don't pick up after themselves and leave a lot of trash. People in Brookings could volunteer and pick up trash around town.

According to the report in Kontrast.At Some countries like Finland have managed to completely solve the homeless issue by giving them housing, then they help them treat any conditions or addiction issues.

Crescent City, California purchased a hotel to house homeless people, so Brookings could purchase one of the hotels around the soon to be ODOH building and do the same.

 Everyone as a community could help the homeless by raising money to get housing for them to stay in while they recover from any illness or addiction issues, Then help them get a job and receive support.

In the article from State Homeless Assistance you’ll see there is also anSHAP (State Housing Assistance Program), they are the most successful housing based solution for the homeless in Oregon. They help meet emergency needs of the homeless in Oregon by offering shelters and support services.

 There has never been a place for the homeless to stay indoors. So the city of Brookings could build a homeless shelter, or people from the community could help raise money to build a homeless shelter. 

According to Endhomelessness.org, “Sometimes people need longer-term rental assistance and services to achieve stability. Permanent supportive housing is a proven solution to homelessness for the most vulnerable.” 

Clubs and organizations could start fundraisers to get necessities like deodorant, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products donated to the homeless.

Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northeast_Portland_homeless_camp_tents.jpg