Deadline arrives: Redmond-area homeless camp evicted

Tuesday was move-out day for people living in a homeless camp east of Redmond. Lots of people have already picked up and left, but some were just leaving Tuesday, but many of them have nowhere to go now.

Most told NewsChannel 21 they understand why they’re being asked to move out. The problem is not all of them can.

Michael McConnell is disabled, unable to feel anything in his left arm. It’s how he lost his car keys last summer — he reached in his pocket and didn’t realize he knocked them on the ground. He doesn’t know where he’ll go next either, but he hopes it’s better than the camp.

“Two years ago, I had to come out here,” he said Tuesday. “I finally got accepted for my disability, and I finally get $735 a month, and I can’t go and rent some place for $735 a month.”

As far as moving out, he said he had to remove the gas tank from his RV because of a sage rat nest. He hopes to get moved out by the deadline, but, since he’s disabled, as he says, he does not expect to be able to.

Even though they were given a few months’ notice about the eviction, it still was not easy to plan for.

“I know that they gave time, but time doesn’t help when all you’ve got is a bike,” camp resident Taylor Brayton said. “And my bike’s got flat tires anyway, so it’s doing me no good. It’s just extra weight right now.”