Bruce the Neighbor
It was a Monday morning. I was on the move around the neighborhood. I passed the homeless encampment near the park and noticed three new rigs and a few that had moved from their regular spots and re-positioned themselves.
I turned a corner and beheld young bi racial couple strapping their two young children into safety seats in the back seat of a Mini Cooper. It all had the unmistakable look of parents taking their kids to daycare before they went to work.
The Cooper was parked in the driveway of their cute cottage complete with flowers, a manicured lawn, and the first white picket fence. I've seen in three decades. I didn't even know they still existed, and certainly not a stone's throw from a homeless encampment.
Parked next door several feet outside their fenced side yard, was a 35-foot RV, a Southwind model from the early 90s. It was in pretty decent shape without a scrap of trash around it like every other rig in the encampment.
I said hello to the couple and they said it back. I asked about the encampment and they gave me the lowdown: it had been going on for three or for years. The number of residents fluctuated. The City came around every now and then did virtually nothing else that they could tell. I asked if I should log in onto the City's website for reporting and tracking homeless encampments and report this one. I had checked out the site a few months ago and read information such as:
CITY OF PORTLAND WEEKLY CAMPSITE REPORT August 16 – August 22, 2021
CLICK ON THE MAP BELOW TO SEE ALL LOCATIONS REPORTED IN THE LAST 12 WEEKS CLICK ON THE MAP ABOVE TO SEE ALL LOCATIONS REPORTED LAST WEEK
Last week, the Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program (HUCIRP): • Conducted 8 campsite removals and 17 campsite cleanups. Completed approximately 327 assessments—engaging with people living in camps, collecting garbage and bio-hazardous materials, and coordinating with service providers. This week we received: 1945 new campsite reports identifying 233 active campsites throughout the City. Of these reports: 671 were reports of people living in vehicles.
It all seemed pretty irrelevant to me. It was hard to determine what the City was really doing with cleanups. It all seemed like yet another failed attempt at governing through a web site during a crisis and when there isn't a crisis. All you need to know is that people in Portland died during the summer heat wave because they either didn't have internet access to see where the cooling centers were located, or the web sites were inaccurate or plain didn't work. You could have saved more lives with City employees driving around in pickups blasting news from bullhorns.
“It won't do any good,” said the man. “Everyone around here stopped reporting a long time ago. It's useless.”
They told me they've called the police a few times about noise, but nothing serious.
“We all look out for each other in the neighborhood,” said the woman.
I asked about the Southwind and its close proximity to their house.
“Oh that's Bruce,” said the man. “He's a neighbor of ours. He looks out for us. He wants nothing to do with the rest of the encampment.”
I wanted to ask if they knew more about Bruce and his circumstances, but I refrained. I suspect in time I will meet him and strike up a conversation.
“It's pretty weird to see kids playing soccer in the park,” I said, “right across the street from the encampment.”
“I know,” said man.
I didn't say it aloud but I was asking in my mind: is this our future?
The woman remarked they had to go. I apologized for delaying them, but mentioned that I had recently returned to the area to care for my father after living here 35 years ago and was curious about the encampment.
“Welcome to the neighborhood,” the woman said. “It's changed a lot I'm sure.”
It sure has. For one thing, there wasn't a single homeless person living in this neighborhood and that was early in Reagan's second term and just about the time he was enacting the policies and attitudes that begat much of the New American Diaspora I am writing about here.
We said our goodbyes. The kids waved to me from the back seat. I walked away and it occurred to me:
The couple could douse Bruce with a sprinkler (as I have seen other places do, (including a church) or blast Yoko Ono all night through an outdoor speaker hung in a tree near his RV and most likely get rid of him. They do not. They've done more than accommodate his presence; they've somewhat integrated him into their lives and I see immense educational value in that practice.
Two dumpsters placed near this encampment would make a huge difference in improving public health and safety and encourage/facilitate those living on the street to create a better neighborhood. It's an idea so simple that I can't believe the city hasn't tried it everywhere. Maybe I'll do it and pay for it myself! I can't believe private citizens haven't tried it already. What is the City going to do, fine them?
Many people have formed relationships with the homeless in their neighborhoods and attempted to help them survive. I have, here in Portland. I did the same on the Southern Oregon Coast.
The couple's kids might grow up near the encampment their entire lives. They might get to know Bruce. Maybe they get him a gift at Christmas or knock on his door for Halloween candy. Maybe he'll watch them play ball in the fields across the street and attend their high school graduation.