PORTLAND, Ore. — 33-year-old Brooke Lee walked through Southeast Portland’s Lone Fir Cemetery Tuesday. A pretty private person, she’d invited cameras to an incredibly personal place: her baby daughter’s final resting place. She wanted the public to see what her family sees every time they visit.
“Sometimes we feel like we made a mistake by choosing this cemetery,” Lee said, pointing to the large homeless camp near 26th and Stark along the cemetery’s east end entrance. “And we don't want to feel like that because she's here. We chose it for a reason.”
Arowyn Lisa Lee died in 2017. Born at 24 and a half weeks and weighing less than a pound, doctors immediately diagnosed Arowyn with a lung infection.
“She was in the NICU,” Brooke Lee said. “She came down with the infection, and we lost her on Mother’s Day.”
Burying their daughter at Lone Fir was an easy choice for the Portland native and her husband. Lee has other relatives buried at the cemetery. She felt Arowyn would never be alone. For years, her family visited regularly and grieved in peace.
About a year ago, Lee said, something changed. Homeless campers appeared outside Lone Fir's gates. The camp started small and steadily grew.
Within the last couple months, she said, things have escalated. Lee said she's seen people urinating and defecating inside the cemetery. On Nextdoor, others have reported campers brandishing knives.
“Families come here to grieve, and we need this to remain a safe haven,” Lee said.
Lee’s hoping the city can step in, and she’s not the only one.
Monday, The Oregonian/OregonLive published a Letter to the Editor, in which another woman wrote about Lone Fir: “Is there no consideration for families attending a funeral? There is nowhere to park now? ... Something definitely needs to be done about this.”
A cemetery with gravesites dating back to the 1800s, Lone Fir is owned and operated by the governing agency Metro, but Metro’s jurisdiction ends at the cemetery’s gates. The city of Portland controls the sidewalks and streets bordering the property. A spokesman for Metro declined to comment to KGW, only saying the camp is on city property. Tuesday, a KGW crew saw the city had posted notices, promising to clear the camp. Campers told KGW it was supposed to happen last week, but never did.
In an email Tuesday, Heather Hafer, a spokesperson for the city’s Office of Management and Finance, wrote: “The Impact Reduction Program planned to clean and remove the encampment last week, however they were unable to proceed due the Excessive Heat Warning and State of Emergency. This location was re-posted last Thursday, August 12, and staff intend on completing this project by the end of the week or beginning of next week.”
A man who identified himself as William told KGW he’s camped alongside the cemetery for about a month. He said he’d seen a man walking around brandishing a knife and agreed, that was scary. He added he feels bad that anyone is anxious about visiting the gravesites of loved ones.
“We look a lot scarier, homeless people look a lot scarier, than we actually are. But I mean it's good to be safe too,” he said. “I grew up in this neighborhood, and I love the cemetery.”
Lee told us she's not trying to villainize anyone. She's a Portland native and knows her city has a housing crisis. She also knows she, her husband and two young sons used to visit Arowyn's grave together. Now, they're afraid to bring the kids. So Lee and her husband come in shifts.
“This place that we chose to bury her is no longer a safe haven for her,” Lee said.