SALEM, Ore. — Outside the steps of the Oregon State Library in Salem, a homeless man slept Thursday morning under a newly blossomed cherry tree. A red shopping cart overflowing with blankets rested nearby. Inside the lobby, two homeless men charged their phones and spread out on wooden benches.
The scene bore the unmistakable signs of a pain that's being felt across the state. One Salem homeless woman named Sarah described it as "pure hell."
“There’s just no help," she said. "I wish the community and the homeless could come together and collaborate instead of it being us against them."
On the second floor of the library, Governor Tina Kotek aimed to instill confidence in what’s being done to address the crisis as she gave members of the press an update on some of the top bills passed during this year’s legislative session, which ended early last week.
“At the top of my list for the session was housing production,” Kotek said.
Several bills passed with goals of increasing housing supply and supporting shelter capacity, including $65 million to maintain emergency shelter and $41 million to prevent evictions.
“Here’s the bottom line — we just have to make it easier for communities to build housing,” Kotek said. “More housing is the long-term solution for our homelessness crisis, but we also have to continue to forge ahead to meeting the needs of people who are living outside right now.”
“As long as the money can get to where it’s supposed to go then that’s good — but I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Dean, who has been homeless in Salem for five years.
Perhaps the most anticipated and controversial bill of the session was House Bill 4002. It essentially revoked portions of Measure 110 and recriminalized possession of hard drugs. Kotek has yet to sign the bill, but said she plans to.
“The legislature's work this session is but one step to make sure we help Oregonians suffering addiction while also ensuring community safety,” Kotek said.
“I also have been in prison, and I know the prisons are full of people with drug crimes. Stop putting the drug addicts in prison — get ‘em help,” said Sarah.
“My expectation is that there will be appropriate guidelines and training for law enforcement to understand what is now different, what that means for deflection. I would hope that district attorneys are making appropriate choices,” Kotek said.
Kotek said she’s putting together a list of expectations for how she wants communities to enforce that deflection program — one she says will be an adjustment, especially for rural counties. They have until September before that piece of the bill would go into effect.
“You’re not going to change anybody unless they want to and usually it’s the hard times that make you want to,” said Dean.