Evicted Bend homeless campers face new challenge; ODOT sites get ‘No Trespassing’ signs

(Updated: adding video, comments from ODOT, Shepherd's House Ministries)

Deadline for campers to gather their property, leave sites off of the Bend Parkway, tomorrow

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- "I think it'll be a difficult day for people experiencing homelessness, living in those camps," said David Notari, director of development for Shepherd's House Ministries.

Nortari's comment refers to Saturday, the deadline for homeless campers on the south end of Bend to remove their personal items from camps near Murphy Road, with a Monday deadline for camps at the north end of town near the Revere Avenue offramp.

The Oregon Department of Transportation recently gave 10-day notice to the campers, informing them of the cleanup and removal.

The reason, ODOT says, is safety, especially with winter fast approaching, as plows will be pushing snow off the Bend Parkway. They also want to prevent people from setting up permanent camps.

But most of the people are still out there, despite the deadline being hours away.

"But it is going to happen, so I think it'll be a challenging day," Notari told NewsChannel 21 on Friday.

More challenging this time -- because people won't be able to relocate to other camps on ODOT property.

It's been a long-standing issue that the homeless community moves to other areas, once forced to vacate their current site.

However, this time is different.

ODOT informed campers that there will be a 'no camping' policy on these properties, accompanied by No Trespassing signs.

"We will be enforcing no trespassing, but if we have to get law enforcement involved, we would," said Kacey Davey, public information officer for ODOT.

"We're not trying to criminalize these people's presence there," she said. "We just want them to be somewhere safer that's not on the side of the highway."

But there are not many other places they can continue to go.

Notari tells us solutions to homelessness, a high-profile issue of late, go deeper than just cleaning up camps around town, as numerous government efforts and social service agencies can attest.

"Those who we see on the street corner like that, or who are living on those camps on the off-ramps -- most of them have had tremendous childhood trauma," he said. "And that has a cascading effect in their lives, and that has really led to where they are now, which includes addiction and homelessness."

Right now, the Bend City Council is considering proposed development code changes to provide options for various types of shelters to be built in most zoning districts in Bend -- as a way to deal with the houseless.

The city has an interactive online tool that explains the proposed homeless shelter types and is asking for the public's feedback until Nov. 1. You can access that here.