r/Eugene • u/capitalol • Oct 06 '16
Why are there so many homeless in eugene?
I was downtown a few nights ago and it was crazy how many buskers, methheads and mentally ill people there were. They seemed to outnumber the normal people by a 3:1 margin. What is it about eugene that draws them?
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u/ranomaly Oct 06 '16
Because other cities in California were at one point buying them bus tickets to here just to get rid of them.
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Oct 06 '16
Portland is doing the same thing.
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u/tinfins Oct 06 '16
Portland is having this done to it on an even larger scale. Salt Lake City is apparently one of the worst offenders for finding any reason to buy local homeless a bus ticket to Portland.
I was in east Portland this summer for the first time in a while, and it felt like east LA.
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Oct 06 '16
So they get a free ticket to Portland and then a free ticket out of Portland. How is this fixing anything? Guess we think we can just ignore the problem and it will go away.
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Oct 06 '16
People don't want to fix it, they just want it to be someone else's problem.
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u/Halt_I_Am_Ragnar Oct 08 '16
I'd imagine because fixing it will take a long time so we'll pass the buck until one brave city decides to tackle it.
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u/tinfins Oct 06 '16
Or get them a free ticket back to where they started. Free vacation for them and a rotating crowd of homeless to spice up downtown!
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u/firephly Oct 06 '16
are there many shelters and nonprofits that help? I've never been to Eugene.
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Oct 06 '16
Do you generally frequent city-based subreddits for cities you have never been to? Is this some sort of virtual tourism?
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u/spellitcorrectly Oct 07 '16
I do this if I'm going to go visit a place. I had subbed another city for like 6 months before visiting. It was very interesting (there was a huge issue about public transit).
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Oct 07 '16
That is some extensive research my friend.
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u/spellitcorrectly Oct 07 '16
I was going to be there for awhile and it was outside of the US but it was really interesting to hear about local problems.
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u/firephly Oct 07 '16
Well, my sister and I were thinking about visiting soon. We are also thinking about moving there. I have worked at a nonprofit helping the homeless before and I thought maybe if I do move there I might find that type of work again. Virtual tourism is a good name for it-that's exactly what I've been doing.
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u/scented_floater Oct 08 '16
There is the Eugene mission, but they're really preachy and invasive so most people avoid them. They search your bag, have to check in at 6:30pm and can't leave until morning, etc. There are 4-5 youth/women's shelters I know nothing about. St. Vinnie's has no beds, but all kinds of other great services including a day shelter. Got my blanket at their thrift store. They are very active and have such a wide range of services that I'm almost sure you'd find a job there if experienced.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
So there are 3x as many people living that lifestyle as your own, and you're still the "normal" one somehow? How does that work?
Eugene is known for being a countercultural center of the pnw, and that reputation is growing as California's trendsetters grow rich and fat and lose their credibility. Eugene is amazing because of that, not despite it.
And by the way? You're not qualified to diagnose shit and have no idea who's on what drugs. You come across as a sheltered baby and I would bet my backpack that a. You're in college and b. Your family helps pay for it.
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Oct 06 '16 edited May 10 '20
[deleted]
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
I can if I'm right ;) my greater experience and worldly ways qualify me
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
They also qualify you to not be judgmental and pretentious, but you aren't very good at that either it seems.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
If you can't be a puffed up wiseass online, where can you?
Also you KNOW that boy suckin' teat. Tell me I'm wrong
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
You're wrong until you prove yourself right. Behavior like this is what has been driving young girls and gay boys to suicide. Pretentious and judgemental people thinking it's their right to belittle others simply because of the anonymity of the internet. Get over yourself and go be a better person.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
I first experienced ego death at the tender age of 13 and strive to always be my best self, friend. By "suckin' teat" I meant "still being provided for by his family" and I am like 110% sure about that lol. It's not some kind of slur, the young gays and girls are fine without you.
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u/boomshiz Oct 06 '16
Bragging about ego death like anybody gives a shit. This is quality stuff.
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u/TheGhostofKenKesey Oct 07 '16
I strangled my ego when I was 12, with my bare hands. I'm a fucking god.
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
Great. Now bust out some proof of your beliefs and you'll be better than a fool. And do please regale us with more takes about how you're better than us. After all, with your ego dead you don't think you're better than anyone else, right?
We can keep going like this for hours! You're pretentious and you know it. You're also wrong.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
I never said I was better than anyone? I'm sorry if you feel that way. I'm not going to do detective work to prove that some kids parents pay his way through college though, that would be really weird. Esp. when I already know ;)
And it's not pretentious if you're sincere. I'm a true believer babe! Maybe if you weren't so dismissive of idealism you wouldn't feel inferior. Mayhap mine example dost shatter thy illusions of truly exemplifying the nature of Virtue in thine actions?
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Oct 06 '16 edited Oct 06 '16
and you're still the "normal" one somehow?
Yes, plain and simple. Society has decided that some things are "normal" and some are not. You're gonna have to find a way to contend with this.
Are you really, seriously, trying to say that people who have their ducks in a row are somehow living a less "normal" lifestyle than the addicted, homeless-by-choice transients that we are talking about? Come on.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
Are you really, seriously trying to say behaviours exhibited by 1:4 of a population are normal? Because that is objectively untrue...
And what the hell are you planning to do with that row of ducks anyways?
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u/Horkersaurus Oct 06 '16 edited Oct 06 '16
There aren't 3x as many "counter culture" people in Eugene. They just mass together in one place. And I'd hope their behavior that I've experienced isn't considered normal.
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Oct 06 '16
To hear some people tell it, they're TAKING OVER EUGENE.
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u/nononotnowno Oct 06 '16
Well they've been allowed to take over public space and they don't contribute jack to maintenance.
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Oct 06 '16
Take over public space?
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
He means "exist".
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u/TheGhostofKenKesey Oct 06 '16
No, he means the motherfuckers that take over every corner in downtown and the parks. They get high, bum change, harrass people, and make downtown a shitty fucking place. You may not see yourself as one but you probably spend your time with them.
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Oct 06 '16
Weird, I was just down town and it wasn't anywhere near the apocalyptic wasteland you're making it out to be.
I did see a homeless guy though.
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Oct 06 '16
Yeah, when you're homeless and in a public space you're taking over. When you're a dude who has a place to live and you're in a public space... well, I'm not sure what that makes you to be honest.
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u/nononotnowno Oct 08 '16
Nobody cares about homeless people qua homeless people. People care about the trash, feces, and sharps. Which the bums don't pick up, despite having fuckall else to do. This is a stupid argument.
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
Oh my yes. The homeless here are perfectly normal. In fact why don't you go visit some if the camps next to the tracks along 99 to tell them how normal they are. When they get done throwing rocks and chasing you (happened to me) come see me and I'll engage in their perfectly normal behavior as well.
If we are gonna go with simple numbers to tell us what normal is let's accept that the majority of the world population works to put food on their table and a roof over their head. Generally by earning money or farming. The problem in the US is that since Reagan destroyed the mental healthcare system, and eliminated all federal help for those affected, we have a large population that is incapable of those thing without medication and cannot get it. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. If this was normal or right, we would be living like Oliver Twist.
Feel free to defend the homeless, it's not their fault for the most part. That doesn't make it acceptable, desirable, or sustainable. And it certainly doesn't make it normal.
TL:DR if you accept the current situation as normal and correct, you are part of the problem.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
That is where I spent the night. The people I met there were much more empathetic and relatable than the people on this sub have been. If I was treated this way irl for years, I'd probably throw rocks at the people who referred to me as scum and told me they hoped I died in a fire. Those people have nothing and shared it with me. Literally the only hostility I have encountered in Eugene has been right here online. Think about that while you're warm and well fed.
I see this situation as a terrible injustice finally starting to right itself. I have been making my way in the underground economy for over a decade. I have never stolen or begged for anything. The people willing to give in and be branded as "mentally ill" have always been able to get assistance. Some people are living like this because they believe in it. It is the most sincere form of protest and the realest, most effective way to enact change. Fuck your rented home/mortgage, I've got millions of friends I haven't met yet all over the country who care about me in a way you will never understand.
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Oct 06 '16
Fuck your rented home/mortgage
What I love most is that you're espousing how others should be tolerant and understanding of your 'alternative lifestyle', while simultaneously insulting people who live a different lifestyle and telling them how wrong they are for living the way they do. You do not want to be judged and look down upon for your lifestyle, yet you are happy to judge and look down upon others for their lifestyle. It's really amazing.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
"Paying for shelter does not make you better than anyone, or really mean a single damn thing" doesn't flow as well
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u/etherbunnies The mum of /r/eugene...also a dude. Oct 06 '16
What does paying for your shelter make us?
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
It would make you very generous! Is that a option?
What does charging me $3.50 for a ride to the store and back and $5 to shower make you?
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u/TheGhostofKenKesey Oct 06 '16
Considering we, us who are employed and living here full time, pay for the bus system through employer taxes and pay for pools (which offer showers for $0.50) through our property taxes; I'd say your suckin' the public's teat, as you're so fond of saying.
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u/etherbunnies The mum of /r/eugene...also a dude. Oct 06 '16
The shelter makes you pay $5/shower?
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u/etherbunnies The mum of /r/eugene...also a dude. Oct 06 '16
I see this situation as a terrible injustice finally starting to right itself. I have been making my way in the underground economy for over a decade.
You have my total support, Abbie Hoffman. This is a fight you should take back to California.
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Oct 06 '16
I've got millions of friends I haven't met yet all over the country who care about me in a way you will never understand.
sure buddy, sure.
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
You can feel however you like about me working to keep myself fed, clothed, and sheltered. It's not like it's an easy thing to do. I have to bust my ass constantly despite a health condition that puts me in the er multiple times a year. I bite the bullet and accept the assistance I need in order to do so. You probably hung out with Street kids which are there by choice, not like those folks that are there because they cannot function in society and have been fucked by those in control.
If you choose to not work and not have a home, that's fine. There have always been those that cannot operate in the common society and hang around the fringes, for a variety of reasons. They usually are referred to as hermits. Alaska is full of them because they almost never have to see anyone else and they get $1000 a month just for living there. However, by definition they are abnormal since our species is a social one and evolved to function in groups. It remains true that the majority of humans operate in society displaying normal human behaviors
Btw, there is no shame in mental health issues. We all have problems and many cannot fix them on their own. I'm talking vets with PTSD, people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorders, and any other problem that isn't being properly treated. If these folks were given the help they deserve they wouldn't need to live in the street.
Those who choose to do so however, that is a whole different ball of wax. If you choose to live on the street and not to earn money in any way, and get pissed at me for not giving you money, and refuse my offers of food, you get to keep your hunger. I will however feed your animals because they don't deserve to suffer for their humans nonsense.
So you can continue to say you're somehow better than me because you're homeless if you like. On Reddit. On the internet. With your cellphone. That your charging with someone else's electricity that they paid for. With WiFi paid for by someone else. While begging someone to give you some money.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
This is kind of a lot and it's a nice day. A few things though? I was super clear before I've never begged for or stolen anything. People in Alaska do not get $1000 a month, you might have a really strange idea about our oil dividend which is about that much yearly. Much less than the difference in cost of living.
My whole thing here is that not everyone you're calling mentally ill accepts that label, wants help for their "conditions", or sees integration with your sick idea of a society as a good thing. You're missing that point so widely and creating some weird strawman of a homeless dude with a starving animal that won't accept food, I don't know what to do with that.
I mean what do you even want? You seem to have some problem with me owning a phone and getting online in 2016. What assets is a "good" homeless person allowed to have? Are they just supposed to eat your leftovers and lick your boots for the privilege? I'm very unsurprised most of you interactions with the homeless have been negative if you treat them like you're treating me.
Jesus. I remember why I quit reddit, it's so toxic and self-reinforcing. There's... All that you just wrote, and a bunch of people talking about open carry making the scum scurry like cockroaches and all this other really nasty shit. Eugene is full of love and life and art. It has been concentrated there by the people you hatefully dismiss as lazy or mentally ill. I hope that someday you can get over yourself enough to experience that.
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
You know what? You be a proud homeless dude. Do whatever makes you happy. If you want to live in a tent then go for it. Have whatever you live. As long as you're contributing to the nation you are a part of, great. If you're not contributing and not taking from society, that's great too. If you are getting something from society, and still aren't contributing, then that's not great. That's what leeches do. You say you aren't a leech so that's great. You say your friends aren't leeches, so that's great too.
Regarding mental health: I don't care if someone doesn't like labels, or doesn't like Western medicine, or whatever. Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, these are all real problems that have treatments. You can say all you like that "fitting in" doesn't make you healthy, of that one's perception of mental health is different than another's. You know what? When you see someone gouging strips from their own flesh because they are trying to dig out the demons, you get a pretty clear idea of what mental illness is. Without treatment she would be dead. No one in their right mind would do things like that to themselves, and if you believe otherwise you are sick. I get that the term mental illness was used to get rid of unwanted people. Just 40 years ago I could have been locked away for being gay. That does not change the truth. People that need care aren't getting it because of two things. First, the conservative effort to defund mental health programs since the 80s. Second, this foolish idea you and your friends seem to have that mental illness equals weakness. You wouldn't tell someone with a broken leg to walk it off. Same thing.
As far as the open carry idiots, duh. This is Oregon. They've been here for a long time and aren't going anywhere soon.
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Oct 07 '16
I was super clear before I've never begged for or stolen anything.
So how do you support yourself? You've never sat on a street corner asking for change? You don't utilize our social services that the rest of us 'unenlightened' people pay for? You don't utilize government benefits such as medicaid? You've never gone to the ER for medical care you couldn't pay for?
If so, congrats! You are truly self sufficient and living outside the system.
It not, well, you are part of the system too, you're just the part that takes without giving back.
You may be the former, I'm sure there are some independently wealthy travelers or those who are Woofing or legitimately earning their way around. But the kind we see hanging around downtown are usually not in this category, they're the leeches, and they're the ones we're sick of. Especially when they feel that somehow they are better than the system and that we are 'sick' for working and paying our taxes, which supports their lifestyle.
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Oct 06 '16
Are you really, seriously trying to say that 75% of people in our fair town are travelers hanging out down on broadway bumming for money?
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
No, OP says that ;)
It's obviously delusional and poorly informed. Good catch bud
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Oct 06 '16
Yeah, no they didn't, they said that on the streets downtown the bums outweigh everyone else 3:1. Which you've somehow extrapolated to mean that the bums are the majority. I guess that's technically true if you are only considering an area of around 10 square feet at the corner of broadway and olive.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
I've been here less than 24 hours, don't know where that intersection is, and am not extrapolating anything. That is what he said and I replied to it at face value. If I was going to guess at a homelessness rate based off what I've seen so far, I'd say it's about 12-15% nontraditional housing (including van folk and bummy students) and 1% actually on the street. You're being outright petulant and I'm not going to engage further.
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Oct 06 '16
You're being outright petulant
Now that is some irony!
I'm not going to engage further
Well now you hurt my feelings.
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u/etherbunnies The mum of /r/eugene...also a dude. Oct 06 '16
Chronic homeless rates in Eugene are roughly 25% of all homeless. The United States average is 10% of all homeless. Our total homeless numbers have been steadily declining. Chronic homeless, however, seem to climb higher and higher with every tweaker looking here for Big Rock Candy Mountain. That disgust you see on reddit? That's the locals upset that everything they've done over the years to reduce homelessness in the area has been thrown in their face by self-entitled bums leaching onto the system in higher and higher numbers every year.
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u/Ruckus2118 Oct 06 '16
Another issue is that if it weren't for the social norms that the majority follows, the outliers couldn't live the way they do. If homelessness was considered normal then they would have no one to get any food/shelter/money from.
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u/Watercolour Oct 06 '16
You're just some hot shot who think his shit don't smell, well I got news for you, your shit does smell... smells like shit.
In all seriousness, the counterculture in Eugene is legit and was a big part of what made Eugene special. But nowadays, it's 90% bullshit. I've lived in Eugene for quite some time and have seen the de-evolution from productive, job-having counter-culture hippie peacefull bros and gals, to an abundance of frog people. What are frog people? That's what we used to call people who took too much acid and never came back to reality. Now it seems like half the people downtown are fucking nuts and will steel your shit if you don't give them the cigarette or dollar that they demand. I used to enjoy sharing a ciggy or nug with street folk I'd meet, and sometimes I still do, but there is no denying that there is a new abundance of shitty, leechy people. Going out downtown can be a fucking chore these days.
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u/Glassblowinghandyman Oct 13 '16
That's why when I go downtown, I make sure to look respectable and clean as fuck. And keep my glass case in a death grip.
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Oct 06 '16
Eugene is known for being a countercultural center of the pnw
I'm not sure if that's true anymore. I think Portland is going after that title as hard as they can. Eugene seems more about football, and that's the opposite of counter-culture. The Grateful Dead stickers used to outnumber the Ducks stickers on cars by a HUGE margin when I moved here. Although if the current Ducks football trends continue I expect that might roll back a bit.
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u/Seen_The_Elephant Oct 06 '16
I've lived here for 30 years now and IMO, at least since then, Eugene hasn't really ever been the counter-culture mecca it's been made out to be. It's soft hoax, but it's still a hoax. This town is a skinny white vegan dude with dreadlocks who has a Scarface poster and pictures of Lamborghinis on his bedroom wall at home. Most of the actual hippies I've met in town can't afford the uniform.
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 06 '16
I've lived here for two years now and I cannot believe how true this is. I was told this town was forward thinking and progressive. Turns out the college kids are progressive with their drinking and businesses are forward thinking with how they can suck money out of the college kids. The rest of it is as redneck and hillbilly as the entire rest of the state. Now I can't get a good enough job to save enough to move to Portland because the voters here believe that minimum wage is all that's keeping businesses afloat and the cost of housing is absurd.
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Oct 13 '16
Most working class people dont have the time or money to be actively "Foward thinking" we have long hours and many things to do . Will leave the crusading to the Rich trust fund kids collage profs and the unemployed. If your looking for a heavy political activism move to a large city where people are not working class. I have a house payment and 10 hour work days doesnt leave much time for make believe time.
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 13 '16
Not referring to activism, just liberals in general. People think Eugene is so very liberal. It's just a veneer.
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Oct 14 '16
If Eugene is not "liberal" enough for you maby you need to move to Scandinavia
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 14 '16
Says the person who's never spent significant time in a big city. If Eugene was truly liberal there wouldn't be a big fight over mass transit.
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Oct 14 '16
Ha! I have lived in NYC queens, San Francisco tenderloin , New Orleans , Oakland CA on east 14th, Tucson Az , Austin tx and Springfield Or
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Oct 14 '16
Eugene is a small town you dumb fuck no unlimited tax funds for mass transit. We don't live in a million plus metropolitan area with hundreds of thousands of people who need a bus . Contrary to what city council says
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u/Internet_Wanderer Oct 14 '16
Interestingly enough, Eugene used to have much bigger mass transit system.
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Oct 06 '16
I've lived in a number of places across the country and when I moved here, the massive number of OSU and Ducks stickers on vehicles was pretty shocking to me.
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u/etherbunnies The mum of /r/eugene...also a dude. Oct 06 '16
Nothing wrong with local pride. Common experiences are what make a community. Think of it in terms of stickers of reddit mascots.
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u/scented_floater Oct 06 '16
Whether it's true or not, that's a pretty widespread conception. I was just in Portland and it felt overdeveloped and commodified. Like... Easy to show how virtuous you are by buying really expensive locally sourced vegan stuff I've never heard of, but pretty much impossible to live in without embracing capitalism. I got a strange amount of hostility when I posted here asking where to sleep etc, but I haven't seen so welcoming a reaction from the irl residents since Slab City. Some guys saw me walking past with my bag and asked if I wanted to smoke. We shared a few joints and a big sub sandwich, wandered from open business to open business staying warm for a while, talking and making music, and they showed me a great place to sleep after the 2am sprinkler cycle ended. Even the wealthy here are much more likely to return a smile than sneer and ignore you. That doesn't happen in Portland (and definitely not in Seattle!)
It's really sad to me that so many of the people on this site view the city's attitude towards alternative lifestyles as a curse rather than a blessing. I absolutely love it here and will be staying until I either get cold or a good ride comes up. Planning on spending a while on my way north next spring too.
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u/TheGhostofKenKesey Oct 07 '16
No, go away, no one wants you here. You may have found others here that like you but the other tax paying 160,000 of us hate you and hate them too. If someone smiles when they see you it's just because we're thinking of how short your life expectency is. We know that you're here to leech services from our people in need and despise you for it. Our only solace is that your horrible life choices will leave you more miserable than you can ever imagine when you get older.
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u/scented_floater Oct 08 '16
You're right. The sweet old lady walking her dog that looked at me, smiled and said "way to eat healthy!" as I enjoyed a banana, a sweet bun with peanut butter, and some water in the sunshine near the rose gardens was probably thinking about my rapidly approaching death and what a leech I was. It would be ridiculous to assume she was just enjoying herself and glad to see someone doing the same... or at least it would seem that way with a total lack of empathy. I'm just glad she could find solace in your fortune telling.
It seems like you're more miserable than I can imagine right now, and I hope that changes soon man. Good luck out there.
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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '16 edited Oct 06 '16
History and culture -- not every city names its plazas after wacky/druggy/artsy nonconformists like Ken Kesey (yes I know it's officially "Broadway Plaza," not Kesey Square, but I'm talking about the city as a body of people, not city gov't)
Services -- Eugene is a very liberal city with lots of people who believe in supporting and helping those who cannot support and help themselves. A good number of established Eugene residents have had to rely on social services themselves in the past and still advocate for the downtrodden and/or work in the field ofsocial services
Tolerance -- see above. Lots of advocacy against the criminalization of homelessness, panhandling, etc. Acceptance of social nonconformity and alternative lifestyles, etc. Lots of hippies who value health, happiness, life, and community over everything else. This tends to be true of many college towns; even more so when combined with Eugene's history
Size and location -- second-biggest city in the state and the biggest city between Portland and California. It's a destination, and most of the rest of Oregon (and Washington, and northern California) is pretty much empty
Climate -- if you're sleeping outside, Eugene's a lot better than Missoula or Minneapolis or Chicago in the winter
Housing prices -- going up quickly. Eugene used to be cheap; not so much anymore. People are priced out of their apartments, or a medical emergency, job loss, etc causes them to lose their housing. Once that happens it's very hard to get back on your feet, especially with the ridiculous rental market and property management companies around here. "To be considered for this shitty 1-bedroom apartment we just need 3 solid years of verifiable home ownership or rentership (dorms, friends, family members, and homelessness don't count) and a $45 background check fee per person -- also we'll need a $1500 deposit plus first ($1000) and last month's ($1000) rent, verification of income at least 3x the rental amount, 3 personal and 2 professional references, and oh, there are 8 other applicants already. Did we mention that we don't allow pets?" Also, people move here hearing it's a cool, tolerant, artsy city with legal weed, which drives up housing prices for people who have already made Eugene home
National trends, employment challenges for low-skilled workers, and general social breakdown -- homelessness is increasing in many cities, especially on the west coast, not just in Eugene. See the tents on the sidewalks and in the parks of Seattle, Portland, and cities in California, for example. It's also challenging for lower-skilled workers to compete with the seemingly endless supply of college student labor in college towns like Eugene