EUGENE, Oregon – While the University of Oregon “Ducks” can now claim to be the No. 1 in college football, it’s a bittersweet distinction as many who live in this community – both in and around the university and its football stadium – suffer out in the cold without shelter. Oregon also claims the No. 1 spot in the country for homeless, unemployed and those in dire poverty. The Ducks earned the top spot in the AP poll Sunday just in time to brag when President Obama visits on Wednesday. Oregon hopes Obama visit will help bring relief to poor in state
“If President Barack Obama can ask Congress to approve a one-time payment of $250 for seniors than he can surly ask lawmakers to help the poor here in Oregon because we’re number one across the board in all things related to poverty,” says Eugene social worker Fay Houghton.
The White House recently announced that President Obama will be requesting this special payment for seniors at a time when the recession is coming down hard on seniors who expected a raise next year in their Social Security benefits.
Obama is scheduled to stump for Democrat John Kitzhaber bid to return as Oregon’s governor. The Obama and Kitzhaber “Victory Rally” is now set for Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center.
On the agenda for the visit is a discussion of homeless in Oregon and what the president and candidate Kitzhaber intended to do about it.
The president’s visit comes at a time when the number of homeless people in Oregon has risen for a fifth straight year. Oregon also leads the nation with unemployment with most major cities reporting double-digit numbers of those out of work, and some rural areas with upwards of 20 to 20 percent of the population out of work.
The result is more homeless.
Most alarming, say Oregon social services workers, is a new national report out this week that states more than 20,000 people statewide are living on the street or in homeless shelters. The report was compiled for Congress by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“What’s more concerning is these numbers are for known homeless. Those who work in social services know that you can easily double that number because homeless don’t report to the government. They live off the grid. You won’t find homeless on Face book, or at a Ducks football game. They are the invisible people who, unfortunately, are becoming more ‘visible’ each and every day,” adds Houghton.
Elisa Aguilera, co-director Oregon’s Community Alliance of Tenants, said in recent TV interviews that families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, “making up one-third of the total” who are homeless in Oregon.
"These are hard-working families that have one, two, three jobs - and they just can't make ends meet. There isn't enough money to keep providing short-term rent assistance for people to keep waiting until they can get into housing that's more affordable,” said Aguilera.
Another “clue” that more and more people in Oregon and other parts of the country are homeless can be found at local food share organizations. Those who receive free food are often asked “where do you live?” And, according to Aguilera and other experts, “people are living with other families in group homes, or on the street or in shelters.”
"We're seeing a lot more families who are doubling up in a small apartment with other families, because they can't find anything that's affordable within a reasonable driving distance to their work, or that doesn't mean changing school districts for their kids,” adds Aguilera.
At the same time, Aguilera noted that Oregon went from fifth in the nation to first in the “growth of its homeless population."
Duck fans want to “enjoy the moment” and a break from social ills
“Don’t give me this homeless stuff. We’re No. 1,” scolded a University of Oregon football fan when asked about the people sleeping rough outside on the street.
At the same time, there’s an army of other university students and social activities who are in the trenches, day-in and day-out helping “the hundreds of people homeless in this one community, there are thousands of others in encampments outside of Eugene, Portland and other major communities in Oregon,” says Eugene social worker Fay Houghton
Here in Eugene and other areas around the country, Americans continue to be “distracted” by such things as football, “Jackass,” the movie, and other things that don’t weigh too much on their social conscience.
“What’s wrong with while “not wanting to deal with the stress of a country at war with terrorists and a deep recession that’s driving up homeless numbers and unemployment,” asked another student. “Look, can’t we just enjoy our Ducks being number one for a little bit without you bleeding heart liberals reminding us of our fellow man.”
“Some youth and many Americans today can’t be bothered if their neighbor is ill or wanting for food or shelter,” adds Houghton, who serves meals-on-wheels to needy seniors as a “hobby” in her spare time.
“It’s a self-absorbed American society we’re living in where people have become almost immune to the struggles of their fellow man. To be fair, they’re so burned out on the horrors of life these days that they retreat into the world of twitter or Face Book or other distractions from real life,” she says.
Perhaps there’s no better representation of this “gap” between rich and poor than viewing the living conditions of both American and foreign homes.
Here in Eugene, where there’s a clear divide in the city’s neighborhoods between those with lots of money and those living in battered-up dwellings.
“You look at these mansions and all the money the rich are spending in those do-it-yourself stores and you wonder where do they get all that cash,” says Eugene local Sena Morrison who’s been out of work for the past year.
It’s hard grace indeed for many good people here who are torn between enjoying their Ducks – who earned a record $60 million last year in TV royalties, ticket sales and major endorsements – and “dealing with a recession that’s leaving so many homeless and unemployed in its wake.”
“I guess when you’re privileged you can just have fun at a Ducks football game, and justified it as another entitlement,” Morrison added. “I’m proud of our Ducks. I love our Ducks, sure. But, you know, it’s just hard to enjoy such stuff as a football game when I’m seeing so many families living on the street and asking for handouts.”
