Scott Swanson
The saying, “Hell is full of good meanings, while heaven is full of good works” may be theologically suspect, but it makes a valid point: that talk is cheap, but action produces consequences.
Which is exactly where Sweet Home is now.
The City Council’s agreement in principle last week to site a temporary homeless shelter in the rather expansive back parking lot behind the “new” City Hall is what we’re talking about.
What’s important here is that our leadership is actually taking genuine steps to deal with a problem most of us have likely complained about, and which is likely not going away. So our city is dealing with it – in a humane but practical manner that likely will benefit all of us a lot more than doing nothing ever would.
There are a couple of things that make this solution stand out.
One, it’s not just a flash-in-the-pan idea, a wild hope of maybe hitting the jackpot. No, this isn’t the solution that was envisioned when community leaders worked out a deal to use three acres of the old Weyerhaeuser Mill property. That’s on the back burner, for now.
What we like about this plan is that it’s the result of long hours of discussion and effort by some of the brightest and most energetic minds in our community, people who care about this problem and who know how to get things done.
It’s also the result of observation, not just imagination. City leaders have actually traveled to another similar-sized community, Walla Walla, Wash., which has turned heads with its success in dealing with its homeless population.
Frankly, for those of us who spend extended time downtown, even the make-shift arrangement behind the old City Hall building, though it has many flaws, has been effective in giving the homeless folks some sense of security. We don’t see them wandering around nearly as much. We don’t see their names as frequently in the police log.
Sure, there are going to be challenges with the City Hall back lot, but there are some real upsides to this plan – the relative isolation of the location, the same relatively easy access to motorized transport options that exist at the current location, and best of all, the zeal we’re seeing from the organization that’s going to be partnering with the city in this endeavor: the Family Resource Center.
They’re helping to develop funding for the project – significant funding, actually, and they’re committed to help the clients get settled in and organize the encampment as planned, with round-the-clock supervision and rules. If you want to be in one of those shelters, you have to play ball.
We recognize that a lot of folks have doubts about this. As we said, there will be problems and we hope they’re ones that can be addressed rationally and effectively.
The reality is, our only other choice is literally to go back to how things have been for the last 10 or 15 years, when the homeless numbers began rising. Courts have ruled (page 12) that our police officers can’t order someone out of a doorway or off the grass at the park unless there’s a viable option for the subject. It’s pretty clear.
So yes, we could sit around with our arms and legs crossed, harrumphing about how things shouldn’t be this way and the fact that we’re showing some kindness and consideration will only draw more . Possibly, but the size of this facility is limited and other communities are already watching. Everyone has this challenge and we suspect similar solutions will begin to crop up around the Willamette Valley and beyond.
And frankly, in the fat-and-happy society we live in – just look at the price of housing if you doubt that most folks are doing pretty well, it is a good thing to show some semblance of compassion.
So, let’s see, we’re doing the right thing, we’re situating this in a location that has a lot of upside, and it looks like it will not cost us major bucks to get this thing up and running.
As City Manager Ray Towery put it, stating the obvious: “I can’t think of a better deal.”