Occupy protester locks down on the former city hall steps
EUGENE, Ore. -- Gwendolyn Iris scaled the fence surrounding the former Eugene city hall Saturday afternoon. Once inside the chain link fence Iris tethered herself to a gate using a bike lock and a woven cable.
Iris said that her actions were a form of protest, aimed at bringing attention to what she said has been "little or no progress" from local government on agreements made between the city and the Occupy Eugene movement.
"While we are all angry, at the same time we need a solution," Iris said. "We want to help make things ... we are not expecting it all from the city."
She added that the Occupy Movement has been working with the city toward a solution, however the process has been over a year in the works.
Occupy Eugene placed a memorial alongside the fence to honor the homeless who have died on the streets of Eugene.
Iris said she plans to remain at the location until authorities remove her, or until she leaves for work on Monday.
It's too bad KVAl doesn't have the same reporting as KEZI does on this story. These people were removed, leaving behind a ton of garbage. The police will not allow this to become a problem. Take the ' trash " out with the trash...into the rain..
So, here's a basic explanation of the "housing is a human right" idea. In the name of public safety, the government made a lot of laws and codes like housing standards, maximum occupancy in rentals, making it illegal to have a fire indoors except in an approved woodstove or gas appliance...the list goes on and on. Those laws protect public safety, but they also keep poor people from making do with what they have. So, if the government limits people's freedom, they (we) also take on some responsibility for compensating people somehow for the limitations on their freedom. This was the basis for the social safety net we used to have. Now that's come apart at the seams, and some are trying to find ways of pulling it back together, while others would prefer to let it fall apart and try something different. Then there's the people who want to do a little bit of both and see what works best.
@Sabra Marcroft LOL!!!
If you all are an example of what Eugene is turning into...it's worse than what meets the eye. Downtown looks like a ghetto. Â No one will win- and you know what? I don't really care. I don't own property there and am so tired of people wanting a hand out. I am doing more and more business out of the area. There are many just like me. Hope you all have fun ...
 @Fennforests Down town doesn't look like a ghetto because people are helping those in need. Don't blame those trying to make a difference, please.
 @Sabra Marcroft I think it looks like a ghetto- I don't think anyone is being 'helpful' ...looks like a dump.
I hope you make a positive contribution to your community wherever you choose to go with your business.
She's already lost because the cops will just wait her out, here's a hint ...Don't tell the people you protest that you'll leave by force or when i have to leave for work....see the problem? just sit it out till the bitter end you've gone this far
why quit
 @IAMHIGH Silly, her goal was not to get arrested. Her goal was to spread awareness. She has succeeded already at that.
The safety nets that we've contributed to through out our working adult lives...taxes (in my case, over 35 years) has been consumed by;
Illegal occupiers of our country from across the border
Irresponsible single women and their bastard children
Drug addicted / alcohol addicted non productive "victims" of their choices
Almost 40% of my income goes to taxes...I can't possibly be judged as not having helped even BEFORE I offered to take someone in.
Anyone else who works full time and earns a reasonable wage is in the same boat....remember? those of us who actually pay taxes?. When is it enough????
 @flor3nc3 I pay taxes still and I'm okay with spending it on all of those things. Don't forget the huge part that goes towards retired people's food, shelter and medical costs. As a tax payer I spend way more on that right now than the other things, and I'm okay with it.
 @flor3nc3 http://video.pbs.org/video/2300849486
Go visit with Gwendolyn. Talk to her. There is very little that is simple about our modern lifestyles, and much that can go wrong that you may not have experienced.
I get that there are people who are very proud, and rightly so, of the hard work they have put into sustaining their homes, families, and jobs. I get that it's hard for them to put themselves in other peoples shoes because they have not had similar experiences. I get that they have been lucky to not meet anything in their life that would take away their jobs and homes. I get that they have difficulty understanding and accepting that protests and demonstrations of any type are why they can have weekends off, or any day off for that matter, have minimum wages, health care, or social security. I get that they believe that their success has nothing to do with other people, and only their efforts alone. What I don't get is how they can sound so hard-hearted and callous towards people who did not have the good fortune and resources that they have.
 @Penny Moonstone You know what? I have been without a home, was a single mother with a small child to support. I worked my way out of that situation. I don't feel one  bit sorry for any one.  If you can't make it, tough.
 @Fennforests  @Penny Moonstone That's sad, too say the least. I hope you open your eyes, before your child or someone else you care about has medical bills they can't afford to pay, loses their home and ends up on the street.
 @Fennforests I guess people in New York an New Jersey weren't optimistic enough. Maybe you should tell them.
 @Sabra Marcroft LOL...
 @Fennforests Ah, well, if all that is what keeps you warm at night. I guess you are entitled to your own opinion. I wish you continued good health and well being, regardless of your viewpoints. I also wish that you would find reason to be compassionate.
 @Sabra Marcroft Yes, it does...I am fine, you are not...who is doing the right thing??? I am.
 @Fennforests  @Penny Moonstone So, being optimistic saves you from car accidents? I hope your optimism can protect your family too.
 @Sabra Marcroft  @Penny Moonstone If you expect to be a loser,you will be one. I prefer to be optimistic about my life.Â
 @Penny Moonstone When people are scared that they might be the next one on the chopping block, or that they might get worked to death paying for someone else's mistake, it's easy to begin believing that others deserve their fate. If other people deserve what happens to them because they are irresponsible bad people, then I must be a good hardworking person and so nothing bad will happen to me. I am safe because God loves me. Everybody else is being punished. It's an unfortunately all too human delusion. I've seen quite a few people change their beliefs on this when they lose their job and can't find another, or become disabled suddenly.
Interesting that so many have the opinion that "somebody" should do "something" yet nothing gets done, and no one does anything.
Open up your home to a familiy, or a friend who has lost his/her home. I've done it myself....but I can tell you this much from experience;
Once you make that commitment to help, no matter HOW much help you offer, you're a dick when you take a stand and insist they give up their "freedoms"...you know alcohol, drugs, cigarettes...the things that cost money that they don't seem to have for bills anymore. He couldn't even manage to put his damn cigarette butts in a can on the porch, and was offended he couldn't smoke in my home. After 5 weeks of stress I'd had enough and told him to get out.
He never thanked me for the initial effort, I'll never forgive myself for having put my wife and kids through all of that.
But until all of you commit to that level of offering help yourself, I don't buy into the "somebody should do something" crap anymore  Â
@flor3nc3 Over the 25 years I have lived in this same house, On three different occassions, We have taken in down-on-their-luck friends in their time of need. The first one left was with a HUGE phone bill. The second one got arrested for manufacturing meth with some other guy in Juncxtion City, after which time we found thousands of $$ in stolen goods stashed in one of our shops on our property. The third, after staying drunk for a month and making ZERO effort to find a job was given the boot.
Â
Here 15 years after the last episode -
1st friend owns a home being paid for by his "disability" and social security. He says he has a bad back, but not so bad he can't cut, split and stack cord after cord of wood to sell. He's 49 years old.
Â
2nd friend is still in prison and that's just fine. Where he should be.
Â
3rd friend, the one who got the boot, lives in an RV in the driveway of another friend we all grew up with. Sponging off them for the past two years. Perfectly capable of working but chooses not too. I still talk to this guy on the phone from time to time. A couple times now, I;ve called up the job listing on CL where he lives in California and rattled off a multitude of jobs he was quite qualified to do. The response? An excuse for every single job as to why it wasn't an acceptable job. Too far to drive, bad hours, warehouses get cold in the winter, not enough pay, his knee is acting up. etc etc ad naseum.
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These people will never rise up and help themselves as long as someone is there to "help".
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And these were people we grew up with and had known for 20-30 years.
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I'm done "helping".Â
 @OregonOrator  @flor3nc3 Sorry you've had such a bad time of it. I can see where it would be hard not to be bitter. I hope you are still able to enjoy life with your family.
 @OregonOrator  @Sabra  @flor3nc3 I agree that many sign flyers are only looking for money. However, I know those folks don't represent the majority of people who are homeless.
@Sabra Marcroft @flor3nc3 Not bitter at all, just pointing out the futility in trying to help people who only want a hand out and not a hand up - which accounts for 90 percent of those people standing on corners with a cardboard sign.
 @flor3nc3 I've taken people into my home and been burned too. It's tough not to become bitter. It hurts a lot to care about people. Assuming everyone is like the people who treated me wrong makes it easier not to care about the thousands of homeless seniors who lost their retirement savings to medical bills and lost their homes due to foreclosure. Over a million school age children are homeless in the U.S. right now.
 @flor3nc3 Nobody is asking you to take someone into your home. Please read more about what would be provided for those who are homeless not by choice. Pragmatic and humane measures to house people so they can get off the street and do something with their lives other than avoid being arrested is not crap.
Why are we not providing low or no income housing for the homeless. Give most people a foot up, and they will try to better themselves. YES, some people are going to take advantage, and some are just to crazy to help. But, MOST homeless people would thrive with a roof over their heads and a safe place to go at night. It's extremely hard to find and sustain a job when you have NO home, NO bed, NO bathroom, NO water, NO electricity, NO decent clothes, NO food, NO fridge, NO stove, NO health insurance, NO phone.Sandy was nothing compared to the catastrophic impact of our economic depression. Yet, we do too little, or absolutely nothing.
Once you've become homeless it takes an almost herculean to effort to get off the streets. I know what you're thinking: What about all those government programs our taxes pay for and the charities we give to every Christmas? Nothing is free for the homeless either. The Salvation Army has shelters which are paid for by selling whatever you donate. Sure you can stay a single night in there, as long as you're willing to take the mandatory shower with 10 other homeless men whom you'll then get to sleep shoulder to shoulder with. Sure you can get a single meal at the soup kitchen, except it's only open on Thursdays and it's Monday and the one that's open on Monday is clear across the city and you don't have cash for the bus...(If you did, you'd have food) You'd walk but between the foot fungus you got from that shower and the hemorrhoids you got from sitting on that cold concrete bench, well...you can't travel that far from the only bathroom you know of that you don't have to pay for anyway. So anyway, you spend the first month chasing down leads you hear about for soup kitchens, toilets, showers, shelters, clothing, you know, the necessities. I swear, it's like you're drowning and you're shouting for help and everyone's ignoring you. While it's true that there is a lot of alcohol and drug abuse going on with the homeless It's often not what got them there, not all the time, it certainly wasn't the case for me. Once you find yourself homeless being spit on, laughed at, ignored, beaten and dehumanized in general it's kind of like .. should I just do society a favor and jump in front of that train or get high and numb the pain for a couple hours...Only the strongest among us can come back from the total annihilation of the life you had before you wound up homeless. Prey you never have to find out what you're willing to do to survive.
@Current resident Hurculean, my ass. A third of them would find some sort of work if the government stopped handing my money to them. And if they didn't find it here, give them  a bus ticket. That's what people used to do, you know. They traveled to find work when it wasn't available at their current location. People now just whine and say woe-is-us and stick their hands out.
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Prey I never have to find out what I'm willing to do to survive?  I found  out years ago what I'm willing to do to survive - it's called get and KEEP a job.
Â
 @OregonOrator  @Current Also, who is paying for this bus ticket? Those are not free either, and there are no more programs to pay for people's tickets out of town just to get rid of them.
 @OregonOrator  @Sabra  @Current I was there, and spent many hours on the clean up, as did many others who were not paid a dime. The grass grew back on its own after the landscape cloth that was put down to protect the grass was removed. The fact that the generators that were brought in for the huge stadium lights meant to keep people safe were so loud that no one heard the people that called for help in that situation added to the tragedy. More than 20 people have died on the streets of Eugene in the last 2 years. That's beyond tragic.
@Sabra Marcroft @Current We could have sent every idiot occupier to another state for the cost of the clean up and damage and death they brought with their illegal campsite.
 @OregonOrator  @Current And when people used to travel to find work, they could camp somewhere for cheap or free, or share a room at an inexpensive motel or boarding house. Those option don't exist any more. Many people share housing to get by, and go a little hungry to pay for heat sometimes. In the 1970s one person working 30 hours a week as a grocery store clerk or gas station attendant could make enough to support 3 people. A house that cost $32,000 in 1975 sold for around $200,000 recently, and that's a really cheap 2 bedroom house.. Relatives of mine who bought their house in the 80s had a $450 a month mortgage payment. Times have changed.
 @OregonOrator Good news for people who buy now. Not so good for people who bought a home a few years ago, like my nearby neighbors whose payment for a 2 bedroom was over $1200 a month. Too late for them. They got laid off and foreclosed on already.
Mortage payments are now $450 or lower...have you been readin the news? My uncle just bought a house for $57K and is paying less than $350 a month.
Again you just blather like you're saying something intelligent. try again toots.
I've been homeless in other towns throughout the state and all up and down the west coast. I don't get why homeless people keep coming here. The services aren't that great and the shelter is one of the worst I've been in. They shower up to 300 men within 30 minutes in a very small area. It's like a scene out of Schindlers List.
 @Dikweed People get stuck here. They come here from smaller towns hoping to find a job, because there just aren't any jobs in the small towns between here and the coast, or they have a friend or family member they think they can stay with, but that doesn't work out. They come here, their car breaks down and they can't afford to fix it fast enough (it's also illegal to work on your car on the street) and it gets towed by the city or the county. Not only are the impound fees really high, but there are tickets for illegal storage of a vehicle in a public roadway and illegal camping which would have to be paid before they get their (broken) car back. Their car has all their possessions in it, so now they are gone too. Left with nothing, they try roughing it for a while, or go straight to the Mission if they are desperate enough. There's also many more people who are homeless than ever before, and most of those newly homeless have no idea how to get by on the street.
 @Dikweed The Mission is even turning people away these days because they just don't have room. Plus, they can only take a few people with medical conditions or disabilities. People who are homeless and use wheelchairs have a tough time in this town. The Mission also can't take people who have to lie down during the day. Just yesterday, I heard about a woman who was released from the hospital after bowel cancer surgery living in her car and dealing with her colostomy because no place would take her in.
She's actually right. Eugene's one of the toughest citys in the northwest for the homeless. I know, I've been homeless in this town. It's a mystery to me as to why they keep coming.Â
@Sabra Marcroft Nonsense. And I am done posting to you. You offer no facts just a bunch of nebulous liberal crap.
 @OregonOrator Maybe that used to be true, but it hasn't been for a long time.
It's because Lane county gives more handouts and the word gets around.
 @Dikweed Portland and Seattle have even higher numbers. You'd have to be super tough to handle an Idaho winter outside. The people who do, mostly probably don't get counted as homeless, because they are off hunting or fishing and camped next to a hot spring somewhere.
Yeah I did a little research awhile back and was astonished to find out there are more homeless in Eugene than there are in the entire state of Idaho.
I don't know what each of their lives consist of, if they have jobs, or are just street peeps, all I know is what i have gotten from life came from my own two hands. I created the situations that I lived in and live in today. I have had a JOB for 30 years...I am not educated, I don't have a skill/trade degree...I just can't relate to this kind of entitled attitude..yes..housing is a human right...and the last time I checked providing shelter and food and warmth is one persons responsibility..not somebody elses. I understand that sometimes people get down on their luck...depression, delusion,addiction..etc...not an excuse in my book...the old school book..get a job..any job..start from the bottom...work every day..you don't get vacations or time off..in my last 30 years I have had 3 vacations...but I won't complain..I don't expect somebody to pay my way..these people need negative reiforcement..make them feel selfworth, personal accomplishment and respect for others and self.
 @PEANUT Please read the comment by Current Resident. He does a very good job of explaining the impediments people have to overcome to get back into society after loosing every thing.
 @PEANUT I agree...these are just losers with a keyboard...and a lot of old, stale rhetoric.
 @Fennforests  @PEANUT The keyboards are free to use at the local library. Most jobs can only be found and applied for online. I wouldn't begrudge these people the one way they have to bettering themselves and communicating with the world.Â
@Sabra Marcroft Unfortunately the rest of us here on KVAL are paying for it.
 @OregonOrator I'm very grateful a friend loaned me their extra computer.
@Penny Moonstone @Fennforests @PEANUT Those keyboards aren't free, dear.
 @PEANUT So, here's a basic explanation of the "housing is a human right" idea. In the name of public safety, the government made a lot of laws and codes like housing standards, maximum occupancy in rentals, making it illegal to have a fire indoors except in an approved woodstove or gas appliance...the list goes on and on. Those laws protect public safety, but they also keep poor people from making do with what they have. So, if the government limits people's freedom, they (we) also take on some responsibility for compensating people somehow for the limitations on their freedom. This was the basis for the social safety net we used to have. Now that's come apart at the seams, and some are trying to find ways of pulling it back together, while others would prefer to let it fall apart and try something different. Then there's the people who want to do a little bit of both and see what works best.