By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com
YACHATS — With two votes — one unanimous, one not — the Yachats city council Wednesday approved and funded a $70,000 emergency shelter proposal for the city’s homeless.
The proposal came from a church-based committee of volunteers after a deputy state fire marshal last month informed the city that the Pavilion behind the Yachats Commons could no longer be used for an overnight shelter.
The proposal will place five, 8-by-8-foot prefabricated shelters in the west parking lot of the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church. The pallets are priced at $7,495 each, with additional costs for assembly, electricity and related items bringing the estimated total installation to $75,000.
“With winter coming, it makes this issue more urgent,” said councilor Greg Scott. “(We) recognize that this is a continuation of existing service the church is already providing. Let’s move this thing forward.”
The council took less than half an hour to hear about, discuss and approve the proposal on a 5-0 vote.
There was less consensus on funding it.
City Manager Heide Lambert, who has been working with YCPC Pastor Bob Barrett on the issue, said the city had $80,000 remaining of $100,000 in a community service loan fund originally earmarked to help businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to a similar fund spearheaded by the church, more than two dozen businesses received financial help without applying for a loan from the city.
“It makes sense to take that money and put it toward this project,” Lambert said. “The housing crisis is an outcome of Covid. This will help local businesses and the local community. It will make the city a better place for both the housed and the unhoused.”
Lambert said she had floated the idea to the city attorney who “didn’t seem to have any problem with this.”
On a motion by councilor Ann Stott, everyone except Mayor Leslie Vaaler voted to approve $70,000 to fund the church’s emergency cold weather shelter proposal.
While Vaaler stressed that “I feel for the unhoused,” she objected to the funding based partly on the U.S. Constitution’s separation of church and state brought up by “a citizen.” Vaaler also questioned having the proposal “Slipped into the (Council) packet two days before the meeting.”
“We needed to have a chance for people to absorb this and discuss,” she said.
Maybe in mid-December?
“I’m overjoyed,” Barrett told Yachats News after the council vote.
His committee will move forward with ordering the pallets, which the manufacturer has said might be in operation as soon as mid-December, although Barrett said that sounded a “little optimistic.”
Each pallet can house two individuals at a time. Provided by a Washington company called Pallet, the units are heated, insulated and equipped with two bunk beds and electrical outlets. The proposal includes fencing, electricity, portable toilets and hand-washing stations.
While the sum approved was less than the $75,000 sought in the proposal, the Barrett said the Yachats Unhoused Committee feels confident any shortfall could be covered by community donations and private/public funds. Barrett said that a local family has already agreed to fund “the entire operating cost of the project … for at least a year … while we explore other funding avenues.”
The 10-member Yachats Unhoused Committee has been working since the fall of 2021 to provide shelter for the homeless during extreme weather conditions. Last winter it used the Pavilion behind the Commons, sheltering upwards of eight people on cold, stormy nights.
But a deputy state fire marshal told the city in October it could not be used for overnight stays because it lacked a fire suppression system. That sent Barrett’s group looking for other options, meeting several times with Lambert to explore potential solutions. She indicated there might be city funding available for the emergency shelter pallets if the church would find a suitable location.
In early November the church’s governing board approved the pallet proposal and its location in the church’s west parking lot.
“We’ve been discussing this as a congregation for almost a year,” Barrett said. “The congregation has voiced strong support.”
Part of church’s mission
Led by Barrett, the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church has been the driving force in helping the unhoused, the working poor, and others in need. The church offers a free food pantry that costs $2,300 a month to operate and feeds upwards of 175 people every week. The church also provides referrals to area resources to help pay for utilities, gasoline and emergency purchases, plus vouchers to use at the Yachats Lions Club thrift stores, and an assistance fund for other emergency needs.
“Right now, the plan really is just to keep people from dying of exposure,” Barrett told Yachats News. “These winters can be un-survivable.”
Without the Pavilion as an option, the local unhoused population sleeps at a variety of outdoor sites.
“We have about 20 people living outside regularly, unhoused,” Barrett said, in addition to those sleeping in cars. On Tuesday, two people set up camp on the south side of the church to escape a cold east wind. Others take refuge on the grounds around the Commons, at the Little Log Church, on the 804 Trail, and at various places along Yachats River Road.
Not everyone thinks that providing formal shelter for the unhoused is a positive move.
“One of the questions I hear repeatedly is, ‘Won’t helping the unhoused attract more unhoused individuals to Yachats?’ ” Barrett told Yachats News. “I hear those concerns and certainly share them to some extent.”
As a result, the Yachats Unhoused Committee will be creating “very clear, unambiguous and firm guidelines” for people using the new shelters, he said. The parking lot pallets will be an “extreme weather shelter with limited hours of operation and limited capacity.”
The church shelter will have a zero-tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol and violence, he said. He also noted that the 20 unhoused people who have made Yachats their home are not “simply passing through.” Many of them are “committed to giving their time, energy and effort to ensure the success of this program.”
Pallet shelters in Florence
The shelters approved for Yachats are the same as 21 now being used in Florence by a three-year-old group called the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter. The cluster of shelters is located in a fenced area off U.S. Highway 101 on the far north edge of Florence on property where another nonprofit eventually hopes to build transitional housing.
Lane County gave the 8-by-8-foot shelters to the city of Florence, which in turn gave them to the volunteer group to use. They come with two twin beds, have electric heat and outlets, smoke alarms and a fire extinguisher.
The all-volunteer group opens the shelter when there are heavy rains or temperatures drop below 34 degrees. Once it opens, said shelter coordinator Pat Burke, they try to keep it open for three straight days to allow the homeless to dry out. According to Barrett, the electric bill for Florence’s 21 units is approximately $400 per month.
The largest number of people who have used the Florence shelter at one time was 28, Burke said.
Because the shelter is located so far out of town, when it is open the group places special flags at four-to-five areas around Florence. Then at 5 p.m., volunteer drivers pick up anyone waiting at the flag sites. The volunteers also offer meals at the site.
Once the shelter closes, other volunteers clean the units and still others wash sheets, pillowcases and blankets. “The people who use the facility, by and large, are enormously careful and kind,” Burke told Yachats News.
The Yachats committee’s proposal said there had been an outpouring of support towards helping the houseless since the death of Don Dougherty, 64, in late October. He lived in and around Yachats for 30 years, most recently outside the Post Office in a car given to him.
To honor him, the Yachats project’s working title is “The Don Dougherty Emergency Cold Weather Shelter,” or “Don’s Place.”
- Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance reporter who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. She can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com
Kudos to Mayor Vaaler for voting against this proposal.
Not only do I not approve of public funds being used to provide this kind of service to persons who likely do not pay taxes or work in the area, but I ask a simple question:
When will this stop?
If Yachats gives out free housing to homeless individuals, would this not encourage more homeless to come to Yachats? And what happens when the housing is full? Are we creating a treadmill of public financing for the unhoused?
I’m sure that a number of Yachats citizens would prefer that the council and the city manager concentrate on things that improve the quality of life for all of its citizens and not a select segment, who, in my opinion, should not be encouraged to live in our town. Free housing will do just that – encourage the growth of a problem that has no solution but plenty of issues.
I am in complete agreement. I had to sell my small ranch in Elmira near the Fern Ridge Wildlife area because a local church enabled a group of squatters with substance abuse issues by giving them tents, tarps, clothing, and a portapotty and within a year there were many break ins and thefts within a radius of that area. Had to keep my horse tack, blankets, and tools in the house, not the barn, keep my front gates locked 24/7, and even like that, I had to fire off rounds several times to stop men from trying to break in at my gates late at night. Better to let that element keep on drifting on and away from here. We don’t have the services to deal with addiction and mental illness.
Shame on locals opposed to this decision. I am super disappointed in the mayor’s vote.
First, their assumptions show little research. Do you realize how many locals work at many of the locations I’m sure you frequent, have been made houseless at no fault of their own? Second, these shelters are not providing homes for anyone they see to be used during times where we all know the outside elements are horrific.
I am embarrassed and disgusted at some community members’ lack of compassion.
Wonderful to see action taken to address a crisis situation before it can get even worse.
Well I dislike this comment. I know many of the homeless in Portland and Eugene are looking to escape the violence and high densities of those cities. Why shouldn’t Yachats help these people out? There but for the grace of God go all of us.
Is it the intention that these homes become year round residences or only in cases of extreme weather? I, too, have personally seen the downsides to only offering free housing with no requirements or expectations of the recipients. Parts of cities literally become unusable and the homeless problem only gets worse. Would the city consider adding work or other requirements in exchange for shelter? I believe that handing out free “stuff” does nothing long term to help the homeless, it only enables them. Why not use this as an opportunity to show other cities how requiring responsibilities for the recipients in exchange for housing can not only improve their own lives but help the community as well?
While it seems like a good thing to do, this can be just enabling continued substance abuse and addiction. We have a nationwide crisis of addiction that is not being effectively dealt with, so we try and put a band aid on it by providing shelter. We never had this level of unhoused people before. Meth and heroin addiction is the root cause. Unfortunately, the majority of the addicted do not want to seek recovery and are content living that life Until that is dealt with, the homeless population will only grow larger
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s office announced back in July that they would no longer be responding to non-emergency calls. With no city police presence, this leaves Yachats in a very vulnerable position. Without consistent law enforcement presence, the decision to allocate these funds is an especially unwise prospect. This $70,000 would be better spent on a City-run police department to invest in the safety of its citizens. Instead, the Portlandization of Yachats has now sadly begun.
https://www.klcc.org/crime-law-justice/2022-07-28/lincoln-county-sheriff-says-deputies-will-no-longer-respond-to-most-non-emergency-calls
Words cannot express how far a safe and warm space goes for someone on the street, even if solely for emergency weather situations. Having compassion, empathy, understanding and discernment too for those without necessary resources to live conventionally is a beautifully healing heart based way to be. Thank you to the angels at the church who have provided my own self with many meals, so generously and without hesitation.
I am saddened to hear of one more step downhill for the sweet city of Yachats. We have no gasoline station, no banking facilities, minimal choice of restaurants, one very small [and expensive] grocery store and no police department. Now our city council opts to use community funds to build homeless shelters on a church parking lot. We do not need to encourage more homeless to arrive in this small town. I have been disheartened to see human refuse on our streets beside buildings, trash discarded in public places, and I have personally witnessed drug use in one of our parking lots in the heart of the downtown area in the middle of the summer rush of tourism. Who to call? We need services for those who actually pay taxes in this community that protect and provide a safe and clean atmosphere for all of us to enjoy. If the city of Portland cannot control their homeless population what makes anyone believe a small town of less than a 1,000 permanent residents can manage this problem? And as a side comment — does the lack of Christmas lighting downtown and throughout our community represent the depressing lack of enthusiasm local citizens feel about our community and where it is heading? Are our “dark skies” policy reflective of the elected officials lack of concern for our safety and contentment? Our city council should focus on providing and encouraging city services, i.e, police, financial service, and clean safe streets for those who live here permanently and for the safety of tourists. The ocean and surroundings are lovely. But consider how long tourists will continue to come when the town continues to not provide a safe environment.
While I understand the sentiment on both sides (ie: something needs to be done) but also a town of 650 people lacks the services to do so. Moreover, with no police department or outside help for the increasing number of burglaries and thefts, I’ve become hesitant to the idea of providing these shelters. Numerous times during the summer, I’ve witnessed some of the houseless individuals scream at people walking by, attempt to steal an RV when the driver was outside the vehicle and harass walkers on the 804 Trail and Yachats State Park. Moreover, some of the houseless individuals who camp along Yachats River Road and Keller Creek have destroyed their sites, leaving trash all over the place while also contributing to the break-ins and thefts along Yachats River Road. We are left to defend ourselves. Larger towns like Florence and Newport have space, population and police presence (shall they be needed) to handle housing for the houseless.