Homeless in the Dunes (Part 1)
“So you know where the official homeless camps are in town?” said a woman's voice at the counter of an animal welfare thrift store in Gold Beach.
It was a dry and balmy Saturday afternoon on the Southern Oregon Coast and I was browsing the store's selection of VHS tapes.
Gold Beach had official sites for homeless people to camp? Impossible.
I heard the clerk describe three such places.
Three?! Portland doesn't have one. In this extremely conservative beach town in the extremely conservative Curry County? No way.
I eased around a corner to better eavesdrop. I heard, “Near the hospital” and “Fifth Street” and “airport” and that was it. I then noticed the woman asking about the camps and the man standing next to her. They were Gold Beach residents, or used to be. I recognized them from various local dive bars during my multiple stays over the recent years. He was a Grateful Dead fanatic and she worked as a waitress at the most expensive restaurant in town. Both were in their 50s.
They now exuded the unmistakable vibe of being homeless.
I left the store and walked to my vehicle. Parked next to mine was a red sedan I knew belonged to the couple years ago. I inspected it. Sure enough, they were living out of it, and most likely returning to town and looking for a place to crash.
What had happened to them?
I drove away and to the bookstore. A good friend manages it and I knew she would give me the lowdown on these official camp sites in Gold Beach.
She did, somewhat, but there was confusion. Was there three or five or were they even up and running at all? She also told me a rumor flying around town that some homeless advocate from Gold Beach was driving to Portland and transporting homeless people to Gold Beach because there was money in it from the state. Total bullshit of course. I hear this in every rural Oregon town I visit. They just can't admit it's their own people.
I drove around the hospital and didn't seen anything that looked like a sanctioned site for homeless to camp, such as the one I had seen in Sweet Home. There were no tents anywhere. I did see, however, two or three vehicles that were clearly being used as domiciles.
Next, I drove toward Fifth Street and it looked like a dead end from Highway 101. It was near the high school, public works department, and a sewage treatment plant. The airport was around there, too, but I didn't see anything so I turned around in a parking lot of a grocery tore and drove to check into my motel. I was exhausted after a six hours of driving and delivering a eulogy.
I checked in, ate a snack, tried watching some football, but felt restless as dusk approached. There was story about Oregon's homeless nearby and I wanted to find it.
Shoe leather time. I donned my pea coat and headed out to the hospital. On the ground. It's the only way to investigate a story.
So there I was, on foot, seeking a story about homelessness. I was supposed to be here for recreation and relaxation and not thinking about, interacting with, and writing on the crisis.
Fat chance. It's everywhere in Oregon.
I walked around the hospital and down a few side roads that narrowed into housing, the willows and woods. Nothing.
An older man in uniform stood out behind the hospital dumping garbage into a dumpster. I walked up to him and saw his ID badge that read, “Housekeeper.”
I introduced myself as a writer working on a book about homeless in Oregon. Did he know anything about the alleged sanctioned homeless encampments in the area?
Yeah, he knew a lot about homelessness in Gold Beach. It was all around him and part of the hospital's day-to-day operation. We talked for 20 minutes as the light faded. This is what he told me:
Sometimes the church next door lets homeless people camp or park their cars on its property. But they have to leave every morning and can't leave anything behind. Maybe that's one of the official sites? Check the dunes near the south end of the airport. I haven't seen it but that's what I've heard. We have homeless people coming to the emergency room all the time. Usually the same people. They show up or the cops and EMTs bring them. We do what we can and then discharge them after a few days. A couple have died not too long ago right after being discharged. Their bodies were found in the bushes down by the river. Exposure. We don't have anyone on staff like a social worker to find them housing. There is no housing. There's someone doing something in the city, I think, but I don't know anything about that.
I thanked him for the information. It was too dark to walk to the airport so I went back to the motel.
In the morning, I walked to the airport in search of the homeless encampment carrying a cup of coffee.
I found it.