by Lucas Hyatt and Maddox Tate 

The Devereux Center is a non-profit organization run by Tara Johnson that helps the homeless population in Coos Bay with struggles like food, shelter, and community resources. The Devereux center gets donations to provide canned food and blankets, and more.

No one is ever prepared

No person is prepared to live without food, shelter, companionship, or much of anything. Homelessness wasn't always this way though. Of course there were people without homes but it has gotten worse. There are more people that are going homeless because of lack of jobs, mental health, drug use and more.

In the past if you needed money you could ask someone for help and there was a good chance that they would help but now there is a lot of suspicion around the homeless with concerns that they are stealing or using the money for drugs. 

Additionally, Oregon doesn't have a very good reputation for its healthcare. Being uninsured trying to pay for medical care can leave families and individuals unable to pay rent; they may end up on the streets. A lack of mental health care in Oregon means many individuals don't get the care they need resulting in homelessness. 

Homelessness was a problem before the pandemic. The pandemic  increased homelessness because people lost their jobs and they have been unable to pay rent.

Homelessness affects the entire community, but it has a bigger impact on the elderly population because if a 60 or 70 year old does not have a home they may not be able to provide for themselves as a younger person may be. 

When asked what she would like to see happen in the next five years, Johnson said, “ My goal is to see mental health care in our state increase. The other thing I want to see happen is to not have people over the age of fifty on the streets.”

Older people have medical problems like back, eye, and other health problems. It could be really hard to live and operate on the streets. This is a problem because you may not have a car to get to the hospital and you may not have the health care you need which could lead to bigger problems. 

Homelessness as an issue in Coos Bay

Homelessness has had a particularly big impact on Coos Bay as a tourist town. Trailers have become popular as a temporary shelter for individuals, but the reality is that if they’re out on the road and break down, they can become an eyesore in a community that relies on tourism. If there is a population of people living in parks, streets and other public places then there will be a decrease in tourists.  

In Coos Bay Devereux Center is trying to help the homeless by giving them shelter over the day, a shower, sleeping bag, tents and more in exchange for chores.

The Center raises money for the homeless. Right now they recently opened a thrift shop in Downtown North Bend to raise money and are planning other big projects for the center.

There isn't one way to solve this problem of homelessness as we have discovered in the past and we are finding out now there are many other groups but it takes everyone to solve this problem.

If you want to volunteer or get help, the Devereux Center is located at 1200 Newmark Ave. in Coos Bay.  The number is 541-888-3202. Business hours Monday through Thursday from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm and Friday 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. You can also support them by shopping at the Dream again Thrift Emporium at 2051 Sherman Ave. North Bend. And if you have a struggling family member, help them out.