Item B: Homeless Camping-and attA-D

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homeless population four years ago, to over 50 percent today. Homeless residents of Eugene who camp in vehicles on the street are typically under-employed, unemployed, and in many cases disabled. There are not enough subsidized housing, social service and treatment programs available to meet the demand. Both police and staff from SVDP anecdotally report increases in the number of homeless people camping. However, the number of citizen complaints/calls for service has remained static for the last four years, averaging 859 per year. St. Vincent dePaul is the first responder and in the vast majority of cases the situation is resolved without a second complaint. A small team of police officers provide follow-up when needed. They rarely need to issue a citation or tow a vehicle; most campers recognize how to behave in order to avoid complaints and they move frequently. A few campers exhibit offensive behaviors that are a lightning rod for complaints and eventual police response. Legal spaces to camp Currently there are 20 legal spaces managed by SVDP, including ten on City properties. The faith community offers some additional spaces for families, and some additional spaces are not managed by SVDP. Typically the spaces are for a 90-day period with the hope that the campers, age 18 or over, can use the time to transition to housing or another situation. Currently there is a waiting list of about 50-60 homeless people seeking a camping space. St. Vincent dePaul estimates that another 50-60 are on the streets that will not be considered for a space because of their inappropriate behaviors, dogs, or because they aren’t interested in the program. Campers must check in through the Eugene Service Station each week to remain on the list. Hot spots There are “hot spots” in town where camping complaints are common. Neighbors often won’t object to an individual camper, but when a larger camp begins to congregate there are usually problems. In some cases, erecting signs that prohibit parking during overnight hours has resolved problems at a specific location. However, as one location is resolved, campers move on to populate another area. Evaluation Police report that the program generally works smoothly and is an excellent example of a partnership with a non-profit organization that saves the City’s resources of time and money while providing a consistent service for homeless people. St. Vincent dePaul’s camping facilitator also works at the Eugene Service Station. Homeless adults frequent the Service Station and know him and trust him. In general, considering the size of the homelessness problem, the program keeps peace on the streets. The program in its current form could be improved if more legal spaces were made available. These spaces serve as a pressure release and they build good will with the homeless community. One idea is to secure an intern to advocate for more spaces with businesses and organizations who own a building with appropriate parking spots. At times the program could be improved if a police response was quicker to “willful violators” who generate multiple complaints at the same location. However, camping complaints are not a high priority of police response and usually occur between other higher priority calls for service. Police have determined that there is too much risk involved in this type of complaint to assign civilian employees such as Community Service Officers to respond to calls regarding willful violators. Z:\CMO\2010 Council Agendas\M100224\S100224B-and attA-D.doc