‘Moving the problem’: Campers living off China Hat Road plead with Forest Service to delay or cancel closure
(Update: Adding video, comments from homeless)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ)-- An 81-page document entitled "Request to Reopen, Redo, and Delay or Cancel the Cabin Butte Vegetation Management Project" released Tuesday listed 80 people living along China Hat Road claiming disability discrimination, as the Forest Service prepares to clear and close off the area for at least a year.
The area has been at the center of Bend's homelessness crisis for years, with filth, fires, and frustration from nearby residents. The neighbors who live in nearby Bend have long demanded the Forest Service crack down on the camping.
"You're just moving the problem from one place to the next. You're not helping solve the problem," said Elizabeth Peters, who lives off China Hat Road. "I don't have any clue what to do, honestly, at this point. I work in Sunriver, so I have options, I have a job. There are other people don't that are out here."
Unless something changes, in 40 days, hundreds of people living in camps near China Hat Road south of Bend will have to leave to make way for the major vegetation and fire fuels reduction project, spanning over 30,000 acres.
Eric Garrity with the Bend Equity Project, who was listed on the letter, told KTVZ News the Forest Service has not reached out to nonprofit organizations and service providers in the area for coordination as people staying in the area, many for years, begin to move out.
"It really does seem to be responding to the situation in the harshest possible manner, that is, study after study, shown to be the most expensive way to address homelessness," Garrity said.
In a statement to KTVZ News, a spokesperson from the Deschutes National Forest said they are in communication with those involved with the appeal, but say the May 1st deadline will remain.
KTVZ News also confirmed with Central Oregon Veterans Outreach that they were notified of the project but have not received any information about coordinated efforts since then.
COVO helps hundreds of homeless veterans, many of whom live off China Hat Road. The organization said they recently dropped off a dumpster to help those leaving clean their camps. They say since July of last year, 90,000 pounds of garbage has been taken out of the area to the landfill.
COVO also told KTVZ News they don't know where the hundreds camping in the area would relocate to, as Bend's other major encampment, Juniper Ridge, is being downsized by the City of Bend and Deschutes County before this summer.
The situation is all too familiar to homeless campers in Bend. In July of 2023, the City of Bend was sued by homeless living along Hunnell Road in Bend with similar complaints of disability discrimination, and a legal dispute went all the way to a federal judge before the city cleared the street.
Homeless campers who have spoken to KTVZ say many of the people living off China Hat Road do not get along with the homeless at Juniper Ridge. They said more violence and even killings will happen if more homeless are forced to live closer together.
Many of those 80 people listed in the disability discrimination claims have serious illnesses, with some having cancer, heart disease, and schizophrenia. Most are also diagnosed with PTSD.
Brooke Lamb says many of those disabled cannot handle living in the city: "A lot of people have PTSD out here. A lot of them, yes, are drug users. But because of something that's happened to them and mentally, they can't handle living in regular society."
