City of Eugene Human Rights Commission
Regular MeetingEugene, OR · November 17, 2020
Agenda
Office of Human Rights & Neighborhood Involvement | City of Eugene | 99 W 10th Ave | Eugene OR 97401 | (541) 682-5272
Meeting packet for Tuesday, November 17, 2020, 5:30 – 7:45 PM
99 W 10th Ave., Sloat Room, Eugene-OR
Join online:
https://eugene-or-gov.zoom.us/j/94797676360
Passcode: HRC-2021
Packet Contents
Item Description Page
1 Draft Agenda 2
2 October 2020 minutes 3
3 Summary – Persecution of the unhoused 5
4 Letter on protections for the unhoused 13
5 Homeless and Poverty work group report 15
6 Middle Housing project updates 16
7 Police Commission report 17
8 Use of CARES act funds 19
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Commission Agenda for
Tuesday, October 20, 2020, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Join online:
https://eugene-or-gov.zoom.us/j/94797676360
Passcode: HRC-2021
Human Rights Commissioners: Joel Iboa (Chair), Amanda McCluskey (Vice Chair), Ibrahim Coulibaly, Heather
Sielicki, Ibrahim Hamide, Serena Markstrom, Rick Guerra, Bonnie Souza, Kirstin London, Daniel Borson, Councilor
Emily Semple
Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement Staff: Michael Kinnison, Fabio Andrade
The mission of the Human Rights Commission is to promote implementation of universal human rights values and
principles in all City of Eugene programs and throughout the wider community. To carry out this mission the commission
shall affirm, encourage and initiate programs and services within the City of Eugene and in the wider community designed
to place priority upon protecting, respecting, and fulfilling the full range of universal human rights as enumerated in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To support and promote human rights, the commission will: provide human rights
education, be proactive in human rights efforts, address human rights violations, ensure active public participation, be
transparent and open, be publicly accountable for human rights progress.
Item Description Action Time Duration
1 Agenda/Minutes Review (Chair) Discuss/Vote 5:30 - 5:35 5 min
2 Public Comment (Chair) 5:35 - 5:45 10 min
3 Eugene Police Liaison Updates 5:45 – 5:55 10 min
4 Historical monuments Presentation 5:55 - 6:05 10 min
5 International Human Rights Day Discussion/Vote 6:05 – 6:10 5 min
6 MLK Awards Updates 6:10 – 6:15 5 min
7 Housing status as protected class Discuss/Vote 6:15 – 6:45 30 min
8 Liaisons to other boards and Commissions Updates 6:45 – 6:55 10 min
9 City Councilor report Updates 6:55 – 7:05 10 min
10 HRC Chair and Vice Chair election Updates 7:05 – 7:25 20 min
11 January HRC Meeting Agenda Discuss 7:25 – 7:30 5 min
The next scheduled meeting of the Human Rights Commission is on January 19, 2021
The Eugene Human Rights Commission welcomes your interest in these agenda items. For the hearing impaired, FM-
assistive listening devices are available or an interpreter can be provided with 48 hours’ notice prior to the meeting.
Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours’ notice. To arrange for these services, contact staff at
(541) 682-5177.
La Comisión de Derechos Humanos agradece su interés por participar en los asuntos de esta agenda. Para las personas con
dificultades auditivas ofrecemos sistemas FM para ayudarlo a escuchar, o intérpretes de lenguaje de señas. También
ofrecemos intérpretes de español. Si necesita cualquiera de estos servicios por favor solicítelos con 48 horas de
anticipación, llamando al (541) 682-5177.
The Human Rights Commission meets monthly on the third Tuesday at the Sloat Room, Atrium Building, 99 W 10 th Street
Eugene, OR 97401 - Contact: Fabio Andrade, 541-682-5177 fandrade@eugene-or.gov
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
MINUTES
Eugene Human Rights Commission - HRC
Online meeting
Eugene, Oregon
October 20, 2020 - 5:30 p.m.
PRESENT: Daniel Borson, Amanda McCluskey, Rick Guerra, Serena Markstrom, Ela Kubok,
Councilor Emily Semple, Kirstin London, Joel Iboa, Ib Hamide, Bonnie Souza, Ibrahim
Coulibaly, Mike Kinnison (staff), Fabio Andrade (staff), Kaz Zaidi (staff).
Absent:
Opening
Vice Chair McCluskey called the meeting to order at 5:32 PM
Agenda Review – Motion by Ibrahim Coulibaly, seconded by Daniel Borson. Approved without
changes.
Minutes Review
June minutes – Motion to approve by Ibrahim Coulibaly, seconded by Amanda McCluskey.
approved without changes.
Motion to approve by Ibrahim Coulibaly, seconded by Amanda McCluskey. September minutes
approved without changes.
Public Comments
No public comments were offered in this meeting.
Eugene Police Liaison Updates
Lieutenant Harrison presented on recent hate crimes reported to EPD and year-to-date
statistics in comparison with the same period in the past year. He also presented about EPD’s
preparation for the election period. Captain Shawn Adams is considering changes to EPD’s
training on hate and bias.
Annual Hate and Bias Report Release
Fabio Andrade presented details of the press release scheduled for October 21, 2020 and
invited the community to attend the virtual event. He answered questions regarding the format
of the report and cases involving EPD officers.
EPD’s pepper ball policy
Amanda McCluskey reported on developments at the Police Commission resulting in the
approval of changes to the pepper ball policy. Amanda McCluskey voted against the policy
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
541.682.5177 |HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
changes representing the HRC’s position on the issue, which is in opposition to the use of crowd
control tools. A written report was included in the packet for the HRC October meeting.
Work Group and Liaison updates
Daniel Borson and Bonnie Souza presented on WeCU’s work plan items and upcoming meeting
with EPD liaisons to marginalized communities.
Heather Sielicki presents on the Homelessness and Poverty work group conversations regarding
the City Councils session regarding changes to city code to add protections based on housing
status. Councilor Semple added that she will ask for council to consider changes not just to the
Human Rights Code but also to include changes to the criminal code. Heather also presented
updates regarding a celebration in memory of unhoused people and an upcoming listening
session on the topic.
Police commission updates were added tot eh October meeting packet.
Fabio Andrade presented two new requests for HRC engagement with the Middle Housing
project by sending representatives to a steering committee and to attending a round table on
the topic. Heather Sielicki was selected for the steering committee and Ibrahim Coulibaly to
attend the round table.
Council Liaison updates
Councilor Semple mentioned her absence in past meetings were due to a car accident she
suffered. Councilor Semple reported on upcoming CSI engagement project and on the approval
of five additional rest stops and a tent format that can be built locally to help provide shelter to
local unhoused people. The City is moving forward with using the former LCC building for a
service station in downtown.
HRNI updates
Kaz Zaidi presented updates on the Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policy. Kaz answered questions
regarding the process and expectations for this process. Ibrahim Coulibaly asked for a
recommendation from the HRC to have the process extended. Daniel Borson offered a friendly
amendment to add three months as extension period. The motion was seconded by Bonnie
Souza and approved unanimously. Ibrahim Coulibaly voiced discontentment with absences of
an HRC representative to the ad hoc committee in recent meetings of such group. More
information on this process is available at https://www.eugene-or.gov/4560/Police-Policy-Ad-
Hoc-Council-Committee
Fabio Andrade presented updates on the upcoming CSI community engagement process.
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
541.682.5177 |HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC
City of Eugene
Human Rights Commission
Meeting adjourned at 7:45pm
Recorded by Fabio Andrade
A video recording of this meeting is kept by the Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement Office
99 W. 10th Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401
541.682.5177 |HRNI@ci.eugene.or.us | www.eugene-or.gov/HRC
Summary of
Persecution of the Unhoused:
Fines and Jail Time
for Having Nowhere Else To Go
in
Eugene, Oregon
This report summary is an abbreviated version of the full report, which was released
publicly in February. The full report was endorsed by the Eugene Human Rights
Commission at their February meeting. This summary is meant to give the reader a sense
of the scope of the report without the complete details. Each section of this summary
report includes links to the corresponding sections of the full report.
The report was prepared by Laurie Hauber, Staff Attorney at Lane County Legal
Aid/Oregon Law Center (OLC), and Talitha Randall, former OLC intern and law student at
University of Oregon School of Law.
Purpose of report is to demonstrate
The need to implement alternatives to enforcing laws against people for their
unhoused status.
The insurmountable barriers to housing and employment created by penalizing
unhoused people with punitive measures.
How expensive it is to maintain the current system, and the cost savings for cities
for people to have housing.
Scope of report
➢ Quality of life violations1 that most commonly are the basis for criminal and civil
penalties imposed on the unhoused in Eugene (prohibited camping, criminal
trespass II, violation of park rules and open container). Except for the fortunate few
who are able to access a sanctioned shelter site, unhoused people violate the law
wherever they go:
○ prohibited camping for resting in public places;
○ criminal trespass II for resting on private property;
1
Quality of life offenses, by their nature, disproportionately impact the homeless. People are cited for them because
they are unhoused.
○ violation of parks rules for resting anywhere in the thousands of acres of
park land throughout Eugene; and
○ open container for not having a home in which they can drink.
➢ Impoundment of vehicles that are a household’s only form of shelter
disproportionately impacts individuals and families who are without stable
housing.
➢ Encampment closures and sweeps often involve a citation and in some cases
arrest, causing further disruption in the lives of people who are unhoused because
they do not have a legal location to which they can relocate.
Consequences of Enforcement for Unhoused Status
➢ Unhoused people are 14 times more likely to receive citations than housed people.
➢ Citing and charging people for crimes for having no where to go contradicts
Eugene’s own Human Rights Code, which urges removal of barriers to housing.
➢ Debt, jail time, arrest warrants, and move-along orders keep people in a cycle of
homelessness that becomes increasingly difficult to overcome:
○ Unpaid fines are highly detrimental to a person’s credit score, preventing
them from securing housing in competitive markets;
○ Unpaid fines can lead to license suspension and/or vehicle
impoundment, which can make it impossible to maintain a job;
○ Many violations are punishable by jail time and failure to appear at a
scheduled hearing can lead to an arrest warrant;
○ An outstanding arrest warrant causes people to live in fear, becoming less
likely to seek supportive services, increasing their risk of being a victim of
crime, and exacerbating their stress; and
○ Serving time in jail makes it even more difficult for people to change their
situation. A criminal record can be an obstacle to employment and securing
housing.
Cost to the Community
Eugene Police resources are needed to address crime that is a real threat to
public safety. As the Court acknowledged in the seminal Martin v. Boise case, “[i]t
is neither safe nor appropriate to put law enforcement on the front lines . . . when
what people who are experiencing homelessness really need is adequate services.”
Citing and arresting unhoused people for sleeping or resting is costly for the
entire community. There are police and public works costs to enforce these laws,
court costs to adjudicate and/or impose jail time, general administrative costs by
various government agencies, to name a few.
Sweeps also are costly for cities. Encampment closures simply displace people
temporarily and force people to move to another location that city employees will
need to clear.
Having police serve as the first responders to these and other quality of life
violations erodes the trust in police, making people less likely to seek protection
from the police when needed.
Citations, court appearances and/or jail time will not serve as a motivator to
help people change their situation when there are no accessible options for shelter.
The stress, including sleep deprivation created through the enforcement of these
laws and fear of enforcement, contributes to health problems, which is a cost to the
entire community due to increased costs on our health care system.
Studies in cities around the country have shown the high costs of policing quality
of life laws against the unhoused and the significant cost savings by providing
people with housing.
Key Findings: Data Analysis
(based on an analysis of Municipal Court data between Jan. 1, 2018, to May 31, 2019):
Over one quarter of Municipal Court’s docket is devoted to four quality-of-life
offenses: prohibited camping, criminal trespass II, violation of park rules, and open
container.
On average, 83% of all quality- of-life citations and arrests went to unhoused
people:
o 100% of all prohibited camping citations,
o 88% of all violation of park rules,
o 80% of all criminal trespass II,
o 80% of all open container.
An average of 3.4 Criminal Trespass II violations were issued to unhoused people
each day (1,759 total).
Over 60% (133) of the unhoused who appeared on the June 2019 Municipal Court
docket owed more than $1,000; 48 owed more than $5,000.
Key Findings: Costs
Other Cities:
Studies in other cities have shown that the cost of policing laws against the
homeless is staggeringly high. For example:
o $50 million per year in Los Angeles to police quality of life laws and $20
million in San Francisco
o $30 million in Los Angeles in connection with sweeps alone
Studies show annual savings of several thousands of dollars per person, and as
high as $20,000 by providing housing and support services compared to the costs
2
of people living without housing
Local Costs:
Given that approximately one quarter of all violations heard in Municipal Court are
for quality-of-life violations, it is reasonable to conclude that over $1 million of the
$5.1 million Municipal Court budget goes toward the costs to adjudicate these
violations, the vast majority involve the unhoused.
➢ Public Works spent more than $140,000 cleaning up homeless encampments.
➢ The Eugene Police Department responded to almost 500 complaints
regarding prohibited camping alone. While fewer than one-third of these
responses led to citations, each call is money spent policing people for being
homeless.
➢ EPD is called and issues citations in approximately 50% of all camp cleanups,
which adds additional personnel costs for each EPD visit.
➢ It is estimated that Public Works and Municipal Court alone spend more than $2
million to enforce these quality of life laws, which does not include the likely largest
cost of enforcement and adjudication – EPD resources.
Key Findings: Other Cities
More than 20 of the cities examined for this report have made changes to their laws
and policies involving homelessness. For example:
Camping/Impoundments:
o At least 7 cities prohibit resting or camping only during daytime hours.
o At least 5 cities limit places where camping, including vehicle camping, is
prohibited at all times.
o Multiple cities require a warning first before issuing a citation for sleeping
or resting.
o Dozens of cities allow some form of vehicle habitation, often with certain
areas prohibited.
o Some cities have instituted nominal fines (below $100) and/or allow
community service as an alternative to paying a fine for quality of life
violations, such as prohibited camping, and vehicles used for habitation that
are parked in prohibited areas.3
o At least 7 cities require police or other first responder to assist an
individual in finding available, appropriate shelter before a citation can
be issued.
Encampments
2
HNH 2019, pg 72, citing, “Ending Chronic Homelessness Saves Taxpayers Money,” National Alliance to End Homelessness,
February 17, 2017. www.endhomelessness.org.
3
A few examples of cities that have codified nominal fines and/or community service include Charleston, SC,
Wichita, KS, and Seattle.
o Several cities have at least a 72-hour notice period prior to closing an
encampment.
o At least 5 cities have established clearer guidelines for handling personal
property belonging to homeless people and have revised the definition of
personal property.
o At least 5 cities have outreach workers or a team comprised of outreach
workers and specially trained police officers as first responders to
encampments.
12 lawsuits around the country have resulted in injunctions against enforcement
of camping bans and other laws and/or modifications to enforcement protocols
Some cities have redirected enforcement expenses involving quality of life laws
to services and housing for the unhoused.
Recommendations for Ordinance and Policy Changes
Below are proposed changes that provide an alternative and more cost-effective approach
to Eugene’s current enforcement framework in connection with the four quality of life
violations discussed in this report (prohibited camping, criminal trespass II, violation of
park rules, and open container). These recommendations are organized by the agency
responsible for approving such a change: (i) City Council; (ii) Eugene Police Department;
(iii) City Manager; and (iv) Municipal Court. Within each category the highest priority,
most pressing recommendations are listed first followed by additional recommendations
that warrant serious consideration. For each recommendation it is noted whether it
involves a policy change pursuant to a resolution or requires an amendment to an existing
ordinance.
City Council Resolutions and Ordinance Changes
Top Priority Action Items:
General (Ordinance): The quality of life violations listed below are misdemeanors,
currently subject to both a fine and possible jail time. Limit penalties for these
violations to a civil infraction (fine only, no jail time), reduce the maximum fine
amounts to nominal amounts and allow alternatives to payment for the violations
listed below. This would require additions or changes to “Penalties--Specific”
(4.990) of EC Chapter 4:
o Car Camping: Amend 4.990(8), willful violation of 4.815 for camping in a
vehicle parked overnight on a public street to remove the 10 days in jail and
reduce the $500 fine.
o Criminal Trespass II (4.807): Amend 4.990 to remove the 30 days in jail and
reduce the $500 fine.
o Pedestrians (4.707): Amend 4.990(1) regarding interfering with pedestrian
traffic on sidewalks or blocking entrances to public or private property to
remove the 100 days in jail and reduce the $1,000 fine.
o Disorderly Conduct (4.725(d)): Amend 4.990 regarding Section (d) of
Disorderly Conduct, which pertains to obstruction of vehicular or pedestrian
traffic on a public way, to remove the 100 days in jail and reduce the $1,000
fine. Note that E.C. 5130 already prohibits the obstruction of vehicular or
pedestrian movement on the streets and obstructing a person’s movement
on a sidewalk is covered by EC 4.707. Therefore, 4.725(d) is redundant.
o Open Container (4.190(1)): Add language to 4.990 to limit the penalty to a
nominal fine. Currently a violation of this provision falls under
“Penalties—General” (4.995), allowing for a fine of up to $500 and/or up to
100 days in jail.
General (Resolution) Expand scope and increase funding for Community Court
to divert all unhoused people who are cited for quality of life violations and meet the
criteria for diversion from Municipal Court to Community Court.
Prohibited Camping, 4.815 (Resolution): Define where camping, including
vehicle camping, is prohibited at all times, such as residential areas, within 15 feet of
building entrances and the Downtown Activity Zone.
General (Resolution): Require non-EPD sworn officers as the first responders
when a complaint only involves a quality of life violation and there is no threat to
public safety:
o The responder must assist the individual in finding available, appropriate
shelter; and
o EPD should only be called and a citation should only be issued if the person
declines shelter.
Additional Action Items to Consider
4
Encampment Policies, ORS 203.077 (Resolution): Re-evaluate City’s
encampment policies and procedures to consider the changes listed below and to
ensure compliance with ORS 203.079 (“Required elements of local government
policies on camping by homeless”):
o Provide at least 72-hour notice prior to a camp closure;
o Establish clearer guidelines for handling property and revise the definition of
what constitutes property to reduce the incidence of valuable items getting
disposed of;
o An encampment resident can remain on site until shelter or another solution
is made available; and
4
“Local Governments to develop humane policy for removal of homeless camps from public property”
o Institute encampment best practices pursuant to the U.S. Interagency Council
on Homelessness 2015 guidance document, “Ending Homelessness for
5
People Living in Encampments: Advancing the Dialogue;” and the National
Law Center on Homeless & Poverty Encampment Principles and Best
6
Practices.
Open Container, 4.190 (Ordinance): Amend 4.190 to read that possession of
“empty” cans or bottles is not evidence of consumption or possession of alcohol.
Prohibited Camping, 4.815 (Resolution): Limit hours of enforcement to daytime,
such as between 7 AM and 10 PM.
General (Resolution): Develop and implement a shelter-in-place permit program to
allow for temporary use of public land for the purpose of sleep and rest until there is
enough housing and shelter to meet the needs of the population experiencing
homelessness in Eugene.
Impoundments (Ordinance): Extend the five-day window within which a person
must request a hearing in person at Municipal Court, and provide notice of the
procedures to request a hearing before the vehicle is impounded for prohibited
camping.
o Both the time extension and the change in notice procedures can be
accomplished by amendments to
▪ 5.698 “Hearing to Contest Validity of Impoundment” and
▪ Administrative Order No. 56-01-01-F “Amendment of Vehicle
Impoundment Notice and Hearing Procedures.”
Impoundments (Ordinance): Vehicles should not be subject to impoundment for
$30 in overdue fines. At a minimum, amend 5.231, “Prohibited Parking --
Immobilization of Prohibited Vehicles Involved,” to increase the threshold amount
that triggers an impoundment.
Eugene Police Department Policy Changes
(pursuant to direction from City Manager and/or City Council)
Top Priority Action Items:
General: Establish an alternative complaint and dispatch system for quality of life
complaints.
General: Investigating quality of life violations must be complaint driven, not
5
Supra, FN 16; USICH, “Caution is Needed When Considering Sanctioned Encampments or Safe Zones,” 2018.
6
Nat’l Ctr on Homelessness & Poverty, Tent City, USA: The Growth of America’s Homeless Encampments And How
Communities are Responding 42-43 (2017). https://nlchp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Tent_City_USA_2017.pdf
initiated by officer observation.
o An outreach worker should be contacted to respond unless circumstances
necessitate EPD intervention.
General: Written warning must be given before a quality of life citation is issued to
someone for sleeping or sitting when there is no threat to public safety.
o Criminal Trespass II: If no trespass letter is on file, property owner or renter
must first request EPD intervention.
General: Until an alternative complaint and dispatch system is established, provide
EPD dispatchers who handle complaints about homeless people with information
and techniques to help ameliorate callers’ concerns and stress-levels.
Additional Action Items to Consider
Impoundments (Resolution): Amend Policy 410 to require at least 72 hours
warning rather than the current 24 hour notice to give people adequate time to
work with a service provider and identify an alternative solution.
City Manager Action: Park Rules Amendments
The action items listed below involve amendments to Administrative Order 57-17-07-F
(Park Rules), which the Executive Director of the Public Works Department has the
authority to amend pursuant to the authority delegated by Administrative Order No.
21-03-12. In addition, pursuant to 1.072 of the Park Rules, “Waiver”, the Executive
Director of Public Works may temporarily waive any provisions of the Park Rules.
Top Priority Action Items:
Require an outreach worker to be the first responder rather than EPD, Public Works
or Parks and Open Space when a complaint only involves camping or having an
open container in park land and there is no threat to public safety.
o The outreach worker must assist the individual in finding available,
appropriate shelter and a citation should only be issued if the person
declines shelter.
Limit penalties for camping and open container to a civil infraction, reduce
maximum fine amount and allow alternatives to payment.
Additional Action Items to Consider
Discontinue issuance of Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree for parks rules
violations where the prohibited activity involves resting or sleeping in a park, and
violations of restrictions of use (Park Rules Amendment).
Restrictions of Use7: (i) Limit imposition of a restriction of use until after a third or
subsequent parks rules violation has been issued; (ii) shorten the period of
exclusion from park land (currently can be up to a year of exclusion from all parks
and open spaces); (iii) limit exclusion to the park in which current violation
occurred, and (iv) consecutive violations must occur within a 60 day time period to
be the basis of a restriction of use.
Hearing Procedures: For people given a notice that restricts their future use of
parks, allow a request for a hearing to be made in person. Written request should
not be the only avenue to contest a Restriction of Use.
o Allow a person attending a hearing to challenge a restriction of use of parks
to be accompanied by another person, such as a lawyer, advocate,
friend/family or other companion. (Park Rules Amendment)
o The exclusion should not go into effect until the appeal process has been
exhausted, otherwise the person has been deprived of their right to use any
park space throughout Eugene while the outcome of their hearing is pending,
which can be as long as eight days from the date of violation to the date the
Parks & Open Space Division Director issues a written decision.
Municipal Court Policy Changes:
General: Divert all unhoused people who are cited for quality of life violations and
meet the criteria for diversion from Municipal Court to Community Court.
General: Limit the circumstances under which the City Prosecutor charges
homeless people for committing quality of life laws, and dismiss existing cases,
including outstanding warrants, where only a quality of life law is involved.
General: Expand the forms of allowable notice in addition to mail to include text,
email and phone calls so more people will have an opportunity to challenge an
alleged violation by being informed of their court hearing.
7
Whenever a Notice of Violation of Park and Open Space Rules is issued, City personnel have the authority
and discretion to also issue a Notice of Restriction of Use, which prohibits use of all parks for a specified
period of time. If a person enters park space after having been issued a restriction of use it becomes criminal
trespass.
Dear Councilors and Mayor,
The mission of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) is to promote the implementation of
universal human rights values and principles in all City of Eugene programs and throughout the
community. To carry out this mission, the HRC created workgroups to recommend solutions that
place priority upon protecting, respecting, and fulfilling these rights. The primary focus area of
the HRC Poverty and Homelessness Work Group is the right to an adequate standard of living,
including the right to adequate housing.
The right to adequate housing does not oblige the Government to construct a city’s entire
housing stock or allow hardship camping in all areas of the community. The right to adequate
housing requires the implementation measures needed to prevent homelessness, prohibit
forced evictions, address discrimination and policies that exasperate poverty and
homelessness, focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, ensure the security of
tenure to all, and guarantee that everyone’s housing is adequate.
People experiencing homelessness in Eugene experience several barriers to the enjoyment of
their right to adequate housing, including lack of attainable housing or shelter; ongoing
discrimination and stigmatization; institutional hurdles; fine accruals that impact credit and
deepen debt; trespassing records that impact job opportunities; and poverty. The HRC Poverty
and Homelessness Work Group recognizes the need for more trauma-informed public policy
approaches that prevent further harm. Not having a secure place to live, nor any privacy,
directly impacts one's physical and psychological integrity.
Poverty and homelessness are on the rise in Eugene. With inadequate housing, social supports,
or emergency options, a growing number of Eugenians have been forced to survive in places
not meant for human habitation. As a result, the city finds itself balancing a variety of needs and
interests, among them: (1) the grave and pressing health and safety concerns of those
experiencing homelessness; (2) the competing pressures and demands on public and private
spaces throughout the city; (3) scarce resources for addressing significant structural problems;
and (4) legal constraints, especially in the state and federal constitutions.
Relying on police and the penal system to manage poverty and homelessness has proven to be
costly, ineffective, harmful, and even dangerous. That approach has been widely recognized
among experts as inappropriate. Accordingly, our local governments are taking important steps
towards evidence-based approaches, like housing first.
In the meantime, City Council has expressed a desire to explore constructive alternatives for
addressing and mitigating the causes and impacts of poverty and homelessness on the streets
and around the city. The Human Rights Commission accepts that invitation to collaborate. We
believe working towards a human rights framework in Eugene means treating all people with
compassion and respect. You requested we resend our recommendations on how to
accomplish this and we are happy to provide the attached summary of the practical policy
recommendations for how to better engage with and support individuals experiencing extreme
poverty, homelessness, and trauma, while also ensuring accountability and fairness when
unlawful activity occurs.
Over the weeks ahead, our workgroup members, together with the HRC will work on a written
recommendation for Council consideration on the matter of protected class status for people
who, because they are homeless, encounter hate, bias, and significant obstacles to
employment, housing, and full participation in the community. We look forward to working
together to improve our implementation of universal human rights values and principles.
Sincerely,
HRC Poverty and Homelessness Work Group
HRC Poverty & Homelessness Work Group Meeting Minutes 11/11/20
Member Reports:
Anne Millhollen reported on the Northeast Neighbors (NeN) meeting last night which included a
presentation from Marissa Cade at Home Share Oregon and an update on shelter and service shortages
we are facing this winter locally. It was acknowledged that the situation looks bleak. Elected Officials in
attendance included Nancy Nathanson – State Representative, James Manning – State Senator, John
Brown – EWEB, Mike Clark – Eugene City Council, and Jennifer Yeh – Eugene City Council. Anne is a
board member of NeN, the City-chartered neighborhood for the area that includes all lands within the
urban growth boundary north of Randy Pape Beltline between the Willamette River and North Game
Farm Road.
Housing Status as a Protected Class:
In response to the city council request for a written recommendation on amending the Human Rights
Code while preserving the ban on illegal camping, the HRC Poverty and Homelessness Work Group
voted to have Heather Marek draft a response. The document will be reviewed at the next meeting on
December 9.
Response Letter to City Council Request for Specificity:
In response to the city council work sessions on the work plan and being more specific around what we
recommend, the HRC Poverty and Homelessness Work Group voted to ask the HRC to submit this letter.
With it, we will include an updated version of the Summary document, which Heather Marek will share
for review with the group before Friday. We are going to approve it by email in order to get it into the
HRC agenda packet in time.
Reporting of hate and bias incidents to the HRNI:
We requested that HRNI update the toolkit and training program on prevention and response to hate
and bias activity to include information about reporting hate/bias towards the unhoused and on the
web site where appropriate. We also discussed the merits of an awareness campaign to let people know
that the Office of Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement (HRNI) is responsible for collecting
statistical information on both criminal and non-criminal hate and bias activity and providing victim
support and community response to hate and bias activity directed towards the unhoused in Eugene.
Michael Gannon shared a recent experience of being discriminated against by an LTD driver and its
negative impacts. We voted to ask the HRC for money to print 50 color flyers and 100 handbills (final
edits due Friday) of this flyer and distribute it to organizations that serve the houseless. We are going to
approve the final by email in order to get it into the HRC agenda packet in time. There was also interest
around taking out an ad on the bus which we will consider after this initial effort. Fabio Andrade told the
group that HRNI has business cards with the number to report listed which we can pick up anytime.
National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day (Scheduled for 12-21-2020):
The coalition that organized the vigil last year plans to do another one but would not like to partner with
the workgroup at this time because of our tie to the City of Eugene and it's sweeps policies, though they
said they definitely appreciate our work. We discussed alternative, virtual ways for our workgroup to
participate from taking out an ad in the Weekly to a stationary community art project, a Burma Shave
event spread out along 7th, a virtual event of people reading their own or others stories, or even poetry.
The HRC Poverty and Homelessness Work Group voted to have Jen Frenzer convene a group to plan this
and present a recommendation and budget request at the next meeting on December 9.
Middle Housing Project - Steering Committee meeting #4
The first half of the meeting were expressing disappointments around inadequate information in
advance of the meeting today. The last half was looking at this list and trying to categorize things. It felt
like the consultants had no idea what they were doing. They ended up apologizing and are going to send
us the list by email in a survey format. Nothing else happened. Lots of frustrated faces. There were two
panelists in attendance with the steering committee today.
Police Commission Report 10/29/2020: Special Meeting in Preparation of the Election
Introductions: Introduced Sargent Ryan Nelson who will replace Sargent Kyle Williams
CRB Liaison: CRB covering one case this month instead of two.
Ad Hoc: Mostly focused on procedural processes
Chief’s Report: Takes voter suppression or interference seriously, monitoring ballot boxes, election
week reduced time off for officers, working with protestors, looking to define peaceful protest through
Policy 316. Paying attention to rallies around Eugene but nothing specific to the election. Car rally in
Springfield that he hopes will not bleed into Eugene. Suggestion from the Commission to work with
neighborhood associations to create a list of neighborhood contacts for police to reach out to if protests
happen in neighborhoods. Commissioner explained fear and experience of the Black Community and
BIPOC communities during this time. Chief reviewed that usually with protests, a core group peacefully
rallies and protests and then leaves the area. A small splinter group sometimes stays behind and
engages in illegal behavior.
Public Assembly and Demonstrations Policy Review Policy 316
Will review policy 317 at a later date. EPD Considerations: Policy is clean and simple and allows for
flexibility. EPD is looking for feedback for what the community would like to see with this policy. Learned
lessons over the past few months about what is considered riotous behavior and how to address that.
EPD feels like they have a good handle on managing protests. Approach on managing riotous behavior is
not called out in this policy. Policy requires weighing the pros and cons of intervening on escalating
behaviors. EPD has given up feeder streets and surface streets when traffic is blocked, but won’t allow
for the blocking of major streets. Tries to take on a case by case basis. EPD weighs risks to officers and
risks to community when deciding to intervene or not. Also has to make sure that what they are doing is
legal. Also balancing right to open carry vs fear that can create. Decides when to intervene on a case by
case basis. Clarified neutral posture: being neutral is very important to EPD, down to being careful about
which group officers face vs. turn their back to, can be seen as an indication of bias. Brought to EPD by
Fabio. Other city policies prohibit employees from indicating bias also. Would be violation of policy for a
city employee to wear a Trump or Biden mask while on duty. Learned early on, catalyst for escalation of
criminal behavior started with the setting of fire. If could have stopped that behavior early on, thinks
would have seen a de-escalation. Arrests made after the fact are rooted in felony crimes and had some
level of video evidence. Doesn’t have a lot of training on crowd control. No group of officers or specific
training. EPD talking about adjusting training to respond. BLM face masks would not be considered
neutral, Blue Lives Matter not allowed either. This also includes work environment, offices, cubes etc.
EPD is preparing for after election day.
Police Commission 11/12/20
Link to packet with policy: https://www.eugene-or.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/6008
Chief’s Report
Deputy Chief Stacy Jepson spoke regarding domestic violence situations and police response. Additional
supports are needed to support victims of domestic violence. She outlined the priorities she has for the
additional public safety funding including training for officers to investigate DV, embed DV advocate,
and the addition of a dedicated DV attorney in the DA’s office.
Policy 808 Handcuffing (808.1) Control Holds (808.2) Impact Weapons Policy (808.3)
-Removing the tear gas piece and creating its own policy
-Changing language regarding gender identity and pregnant persons
-Definition clarified re static and passive resistance: not fighting back but still resisting, static=holding on
to something, passive=moving away but not fighting, will add court definition to the policy
-Policy does not apply to peaceful protest, applies to people who have been taken into custody related
to lawful cause to conduct and arrest
-Commission members expressed discomfort with the use of pain control
-Suggested to add a definitions section
-Commission member inquired about training for officers regarding bias, staff clarified that officers
receive frequent bias, equity and diversity trainings
-Commission members asked for clarity of approved control holds and pain holds
-DPST is the state police academy. Department of Public Safety and training
-Choke holds will not be allowed at EPD, Carotid hold is only allowed in deadly force situations
-Commissioners discussed banning all holds
-EPD will rewrite policy with feedback from commission and bring it back
-Commission voted in favor of EPD banning choke and control holds
CARES Funding - Coronavirus Relief for The City of Eugene
The City of Eugene has received state and federal funding through several different mechanisms. In
addition to these funds, Lane County has also received federal and state funding that is being allocated
separately, some of which has been allocated to Eugene residents.
To date the City of Eugene received about $7.9 million in Federal CARES funding passed through from
the State of Oregon. This doesn’t include separate coronavirus relief funding received from other
sources like the Federal Aviation Administration to the Eugene Airport or Community Development
Block Grant-COVID (CDBG-CV) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. The City originally received $2.83 million which covered COVID-19 response through May
2020. We then received an additional $5.03 million based on our population. This CARES funding must
be spent by December 30, 2020.
CARES funds to reimburse city operations:
The largest portion of funding was allocated to reimburse the City’s dedicated response to COVID-19 –
just under $3.5 million which includes operation of the Emergency Operations Center The City's
response played a key role in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in Eugene, protecting our community and
economy as well as supporting collaboration with partner agencies. The next largest expense categories
have been medical and protective supplies (PPE) and care for our unhoused community members at
about $365,000 and $302,000 respectively. Other funding has been spent on disinfecting public areas
and facilities, public safety measures, quarantining employees, telework capabilities, small business
interruption grants and other initiatives.
CARES funds for new programs and partnerships:
The City also dedicated CARES funding towards our Eugene Community Recovery by funding new
programs and partnerships to respond to increased and new needs in the community. A set of focal
areas were developed to help prioritize the CARES funds going towards Recovery work.
o $250,000 to EWEB to provide utility assistance for low-income residents as well as essential service
nonprofits and childcare providers.
o $350,000 to United Way to support three initiatives prioritizing vulnerable and marginalized
communities: food boxes to families in need, providing childcare, and increasing access to basic
needs like food, shelter, health services for unhoused/unaccompanied youth, winter shelter
services (through the end of December)and services for immigrant populations.
o $100,000 to support the Small Business Emergency Loan fund in partnership with Community
Lending Works, City of Springfield and Lane County.
o $15,000 to a COVID-19 Community Impact Survey to gauge better understanding of community
needs.
o Outside of the CARES funds the City received, the Eugene City Council took action in July to direct
$500,000 of Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars to immediate direct assistance for renters and
homeowners.
Additionally, and outside the money mentioned above, the City was awarded $839,940 in CDBG-CV
funds, those funds have been used increase housing stability, nonprofit capacity, and equity in business.
Updated: 11.13.20
Another $1.02 million was awarded recently and will go through an allocation process involving the
CDBG Advisory Committee and then be brought to City Council for action sometime in Winter 2021.
o $420,000 was dedicated to increasing local social service capacity through a partnership with Lane
County
o $100,000 to fund operating costs for staffing homeless navigation services in partnership with Lane
County and a selected a service provider
o $200,000 in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul for Day Access Service Center and Dusk to Dawn
programming.
o $10,000 for outreach, coordination, and additional fair housing trainings specific to coronavirus
impacts for service providers, community members, and members of protected classes that have
experienced disproportionate impacts related to COVID-19, in partnership with the Fair Housing
Council of Oregon.
o $30,000 to administer a tenant hotline, to help answer questions from rental tenants regarding their
rights and responsibilities, in partnership with Springfield Eugene Tenant Association (SETA).
o $30,000 to support microenterprise training (start-ups, business operating on a very small scale or
sole proprietor operations) for marginalized communities who have been impacted by COVID-19, in
partnership with Huerto de la Familia.
Updated: 11.13.20
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