HOMELESS CAMPERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Like so many American cities, Portland, Oregon has thousands of homeless persons living outdoors, and solutions are elusive. A recent event highlighted the issue of people camping in "the woods" and raised questions about the pros and cons of these situations. 

Kaia Sand, the executive director of Street Roots in Portland, wrote an interesting opinion piece suggesting that when the city cleared out this camp it might have been a lost opportunity. In Kaia's words: "Rather than continuously throwing public funds at moving our homeless neighbors out of public parks and other natural areas, why not involve them in the ecological care of the land on which they camp?" It's a good question, and one that deserves discussion. (Note: there are a number of issues involved in this story related to homelessness, police sweeps of camps, displacement of people, and others that I cannot cover in this focused post. I suggest reading Ms. Sand's editorial, linked above.) 

I agree in principle with Kaia's thoughts, and the actions of various advocates around this question. In my work as an ecologist and consultant, I have had some experiences in which people living outside near one of my projects have wanted to know what we were doing, and how they could assist. In a couple of instances, we asked these folks to keep an eye on things for us and do some easy maintenance of fencing or signage. Although they didn't ask for anything in return, we always brought them things we thought they could use, including gift cards for the local market. Some of these people were very interested in being good stewards of the environment (and we were careful not to use them as unpaid labor).

On the other hand, I have also had some not very pleasant experiences on project sites. At a recent large project site, campers pulled up newly planted trees and shrubs on the restored riverbank and excavated soil to make flat areas for their tents. We found piles of garbage and broken glass strewn around, and also hypodermic needles. These folks weren't being good stewards of the environment. 

There are larger issues here that need to be part of the conversation. In her editorial, Ms. Sand asks why we need to move people out of our "public parks and other natural areas." Part of the answer is contained in her question; these are parks and natural areas, not campgrounds. As a consulting ecologist, I have spent a career looking at environmental impacts from a science-based view. If we want to allow people to live outdoors, for whatever reasons they have, we need to be thoughtful about where we allow them to camp. No matter how careful people are (in the example of the camp in question, the campers tried to have a light ecological footprint), there are always unintentional ecological impacts. 

I support allowing people to establish camping areas if they have no other options, but only in locations that have been designated for this activity after careful analysis of environmental and social impacts associated with the camping. Allowing camping in a location designated and managed as a natural area is not a good idea, no matter how careful the campers are. In fact, allowing people to camp wherever they want is not a good idea, either. Some examples. On one of my projects, I found about a dozen people camping on the private property. They had dug into the ground to make flat areas for tents and shallow pits for fires. The property, however, was contaminated, and by excavating the soil, these folks were at risk of being exposed to contaminants that could affect their health (there were warning signs posted around the property). On another project years ago (along the Columbia Slough) I saw people using the slough water for cooking; this was a water body that had raw sewage flowing into it. At other locations, campers were using shallow pits as toilets, and the seasonally high water table created a pathway for fecal bacteria to contaminate the adjacent stream. 

I am of the opinion that the city, county and state should designate locations, and develop them as campgrounds, where people can have temporary shelter, including needed facilities. As a society we should not hide people "in the woods" but rather, designate public spaces within our neighborhoods where people can find secure shelter outdoors until they can be helped into permanent housing. These camping areas should have drinking water, toilet and shower facilities, garbage and recycling facilities, and secure lockers for personal belongings. There should also be rules of behavior, and a method to enforce them. Finally, social services should be available for people who want assistance. These locations need not be out "in the woods," but would be better within the urban setting, maybe on vacant properties that could be leased or owned by government entities or NGOs for this temporary use.

There is a lot of talk lately about including the homeless in our concept of "neighbors," and I agree that anyone who lives in the neighborhood is part of the community. I would like to find ways to involve our homeless neighbors in the social fabric; however, our tendency is to not want to really see them, let alone interact with them. If we allowed people to set up temporary housing (tents) in a designated location in the neighborhood (even part of a city park) in a very structured way, there would be more opportunities for two-way social interactions. Importantly, the housed and unhoused neighbors would all have to agree to being socially responsible; in other words, good neighbors.

I have to add that the above might sound very altruistic to those of us, myself included, who have been struggling for years with very serious issues involving what we call "street people behaving badly" in our neighborhood. Whether or not these people have housing, they engage in inappropriate and often unlawful behaviors that have had serious negative impacts on merchants and residents, and have reduced the livability of the neighborhood for everyone. Unlike some of the homeless people we know in the neighborhood, these people have no interest in being good neighbors, and these are not the folks I would want to see in a neighborhood campground. 

Finally, I have to say that designated camping locations is not a solution to the homeless issues in our society. At best it is a bandage that can provide some benefits until we implement permanent measures to house people who are without it. 

Thanks for the thought-provoking opinion piece, Kaia. 

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