Activists, officials mourn 57 who died in Lane County while homeless

City officials, activists and raging grannies gathered in blistering cold at the Park Blocks in downtown Eugene Wednesday night to mourn those who died without shelter this year.

"We're here to remember people who were part of this community and contributed to this community," Tim Black, winter strategies coordinator for St. Vincent de Paul, said. "Each one of them not being here is our loss."

At the vigil, hosted by Eugene's Human Rights Commission, Black invited people to volunteer for Egan Warming Shelters. The pop-up warming shelters activate to keep people with nowhere to go alive through freezing nights. He also joined the chorus of other speakers and attendees calling for housing as the clearest way to prevent death on the street.

More:What does it take to volunteer for Egan Warming Centers?

"The cheapest thing for taxpayers to do, the best way we can spend our money, just so happens to be the most compassionate thing we can do, which is just to provide some basic housing," Black said. "(It could) take care of so many of the other issues that become so expensive."

New data on deaths

Homeless Persons' Remembrance Day is acknowledged with vigils around the nation on the longest night of the year. This year marked the first time Oregonians outside of Portland had state data that quantified the lives lost.

In the past, it was up to advocate groups to scrape together information they had collected about local deaths. Senate Bill 850, which went into effect Jan. 1, now requires all Oregon counties to track how many die without shelter.

According to the preliminary state data, 57 people died in Lane County with their place of residence marked as "Domicile Unknown."

Last year, advocates compiled a list of nearly 40, about 30 the year before and 35 the year before that. While there is a bigger list this year, the state data does not provide names. The city's Human Rights Commission Homelessness and Poverty workgroup gathered the names they could find with the help of local media, service providers and street outreach downtown.

The following names were read by Mayor Lucy Vinis before a moment of silence:

• Amber Joann Mark

• Angel Whisper

• Anika Bliss Jameson

• Austin S

• Bret Harris Matsutaro

• Cory

• Gabriel A

• Henry C

• James Young

• Jason H

• Joey G

• Johnny Walker

• Joseph Davis

• Lotty B

• Michael B

• Rachel Ann

• Sam Brown

• Tony Madonna

Across Oregon, 393 people died while unhoused from January to October this year, according to state data.

The manner of death is listed as "natural" for 241 people, "unintended injury" for 94 people and suicide for 24 people. Other, smaller categories include homicide, unknown and "legal intervention." About 80% of the deaths, 316 people, died when they were 64 years old or younger.

'What policies made their deaths likely?'

Heather Marek, staff attorney with Oregon Law Center and member of the city's Human Rights Commission, spoke on behalf of the commission's Homelessness and Poverty Workgroup.

"Rather than ask what these individuals did to get themselves in a situation where they were dying on the streets in Eugene, we should ask what policies made their deaths possible and what policies made their death likely," Marek said.

She said nearly 80% of people experiencing homelessness in the area have nowhere to go. With a camping ban in place, there are thousands in Eugene "whose existence is a crime," Marek said.

While the city has made progress in the establishment of some Safe Sleep Sites, city-sanctioned areas where people can lawfully sleep, there are fewer than 200 spots and hundreds are on waitlists.

As of November, at least 3,635 people in Eugene experienced homelessness, 75% of the county's total.

Marek called for an end to the criminalization of those with nowhere to go. She said citations lead to fees, debt and poor credit that can make it even harder to get housing. She added that forced relocation can put people in physical danger when they are separated from resources and community support.

A few activists for the unhoused attended and held a sign that said "Sweeps Kill." They said they felt the event was "disingenuous" coming from the city when those without a place to go continue to be moved by city staff, their possessions and survival gear often discarded.

"It seems like we're kind of spinning our wheels a lot, going through the same song and dance," activist Ethan Klein said.

At the event, activists and Vinis went back and forth over the issue of funding. Vinis thanked the activists for stating their objections.

"It's important that we keep honest about what we are doing and what we are not," she said.

Activists were specifically critical of the way the city's Community Safety Initiative payroll tax is set to be allocated next year. According to the city's CSI Expenditure Summary, $12,364,637 is going to the Eugene Police Department while $1,422,230 is going to homeless services.

"It just doesn't seem like there's a lot coming from that tax that is really targeting homeless services," Klein said. "Investing more money into services for the unhoused, that's the best way to direct those funds rather than just pumping into reactive services such as the police department."

Contact reporter Tatiana Parafiniuk-Talesnick at Tatiana@registerguard.com or 541-338-2454, and follow her on Twitter @TatianaSophiaPT.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Activists, officials mourn 57 who died in Lane County while homeless