Veneta may be a small town, but it too has a homeless population. Data from Lane County’s 2023 Point in Time Count denoted a population of 19 unhoused individuals residing within city limits. You can often see these people standing beside a picnic table at the West Lane Center, loudly conversing with someone only they are aware of, or redeeming cans and bottles outside the doors at Ray’s in order to get some much-needed change. At times, they can even be found sleeping on the porch of the empty building on Broadway across from the Broadway Grill or ambling down the sidewalk with their worldly possessions in tow. They are harmless for the most part and seem grateful when they are acknowledged. They have names, stories, and they are all somebody’s child, brother, sister, or parent. They are all human beings.
In an acknowledgement of their humanity and a desire to help, Fern Ridge Advocates for the Unhoused Group aka FRAUG, has been working to set goals aimed at such things as providing laundry and showers, a warming center, a Sunday community dinner, a clothing ministry, and a transitional housing program for women and women with children. Comprised of individuals representing Mid-Lane Cares, the city of Veneta, Lane County Orchid Health, area churches, and the Fern Ridge School District and many community members, FRAUG meets monthly at city hall to discuss issues surrounding the homeless and to set goals in helping them. At the last meeting on May 16th, an update was given on the implementation of a Mobile Crisis Unit that FRAUG has been following for the past several years. According to Jacob Thode, Management Analyst for the city, this will function in a like manner to Cahoots in Eugene. Lane County has since taken the reins, but before it did so, FRAUG made it a priority to locate a service provider who could be responsible for the management of the program in the Fern Ridge Area. With the county now at the helm, FRAUG attempts to stay informed of the latest developments as well as a partner to the county in all ways possible. Last February, Lane County’s Mobile Crisis Response Senior Project Manager Sarah Macorie informed FRAUG that the plan is to have six van in total with 2 in Eugene and 4 in Junction City, Oakridge, Vida, and Cottage Grove. The Junction City van would also serve as a response van within the Fern Ridge area. Lane County plans to have one van in operation by early June. Also in the works is the execution of a 988 service within Lane County, a 24-hour national suicide and crisis lifeline that is being brought to service state-wide. Often, mental health calls in Veneta are routed to Lane Fire Authority or the sheriff’s office. 988 is run out of Portland, but Lane County is training staff on how to steer clients to resources in Lane County. Having 988 available is important in ensuring that those in need receive a proper and timely response to the issue they are having. Lane County has determined that over 70% of mental health issues can be successfully dealt with by telephone. An increased rollout is expected to take place as the same time as the Mobile Crisis Units. Thode describes those who comprise FRAUG as “a passionate group of people” who possess a strong desire to help the unhoused. Because of last January’s ice storm and its revelation of how limited resources are in responding to severe weather such as this, the group was temporarily steered away from its goals and instead focused on how they could improve their emergency preparedness when the next natural disaster occurs. However, they have been getting back to them and are looking to update what these goals should be. Recently, FRAUG organized a cleanup of abandoned tents at 5th and Broadway and they had around 12 volunteers who spent the morning cleaning up camps along the railroad. The group always welcomes new members and there are always opportunities to help with the community dinners clean-ups, or to find other ways to get involved. Being homeless is certainly nothing a person aspires to and none of is immune from finding ourselves without a roof over our heads. All it takes is a catastrophic illness or injury or the loss of a job as many have sadly found out. For far too many, mental illness and addiction are responsible, and they just can’t get the help they need. Meanwhile, they live among us, tired, hungry, confused, all too often treated as sub-human by those who see them as a blight rather than a fellow human being. That there are some who can look beyond the tatters and the dirt and the odor and see a person in need of knowing somebody cares, somebody sees their humanity, can only serve to help make what is truly just an existence rather than a life, a bit more bearable and it is this compassion that may even help a person find their way off of the streets and into a home at long last. Say hello, offer a smile, realize that it could just as easily be the other way around. For someone who has to struggle just to survive, this acknowledgement could be what makes their day a little more bearable.
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