Bend homeless helping homeless: One couple’s mission to provide hope

'I was a soccer mom. I became homeless, and I lost everything'; and now, a dispute over county move to close several unauthorized access points

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Marion Douglas and his wife, Jessie Jamie, have fallen on hard times. But they aren't alone, in more ways than one.

"I was a soccer mom. I became homeless, and I lost everything," Jamie said Wednesday.

The couple are currently living in a trailer at Juniper Ridge, the city-owned land just off Highway 97 on Bend's north end. But that hasn't stopped them from giving back to the homeless community that they've become a part of.

"I care more about these people out here," Jamie said. "I think me going around and trying to do this stuff gives them hope."

The couple has utilized Facebook to organize donations for those in need at Juniper Ridge.

They've collected items like water, food, blankets and tents to hand out to the nearly 200 campsites spread across the area.

"I've been riding my bike around, and I'll take notes," Jamie said. "Most people don't have internet, so I'll go ask them personally what they need."

Douglas said most people will drive by on the busy highway and just see trees, but there are problems that arise every day.

"We've got other women out here who are by themselves, and they have been taken advantage of," Douglas said. "Nobody knows about it."

So they're not only handing out donations, but they're providing a space space for other campers who might be experiencing domestic violence issues.

We've been blessed with two trailers. Neither one of them run, however, they work," Douglas said. "That's huge, because we can create a safe space for someone who says, 'I'm scared because of my partner.'"

The couple says their efforts make each day a little easier, but the bigger issues at Juniper Ridge have become more than just an uphill battle.

"There are others out here that have hit that roadblock, and that roadblock has become a mountain," Douglas said. "That mountain is so challenging, and so hard to get over."

The political aspects of the homeless issues at Juniper Ridge have had some big twists and turns of late, including the city dropping a controversial proposal for a temporary transitional shelter at the south end of the property, near Cooley Road.

This week, Deschutes County crews quietly put in rock and dirt berms to close three unauthorized access points on county-owned Juniper Ridge property farther north, two on Highway 97 and on on Highway 126 just outside Redmond.

County spokeswoman Whitney Hale said vehicles could still reach the county-owned property at a legal access point.

She said the unauthorized access points "were closed due to significant concerns for public safety" along a stretch of Highway 97 with a 65 mph speed limit, and along Highway 126 on a curve

But Central Oregon Peacekeepers blasted the county on a Facebook post Wednesday, saying they had gone out to remove the dirt and rock berm "that trapped houseless people behind it, and denied others access to their homes." They claimed the only access point the county left was impassable by most vehicles.

Amid all that, the homeless couple we talked to had no easy answers to offer.

"What do we do?" Douglas said. "I don't know."