Unwelcome message spray-painted on Bend RV
Imagine all you have is an RV that holds your entire life, parked on a Bend street. Now, imagine that RV being tagged with a hateful message telling you to leave town.
That’s what two people in Bend woke up to Wednesday morning.
Wendy Erickson and her son, Ben, live out of a van that was at the time parked on Watt Way behind Costco. A nearby resident knocked on their door to tell them there was a message waiting.
The two were shocked when they exited their vehicle to find the words ” Leave” and “B end streets are not your home” sprayed on the exterior of their RV .
When the Erickson s went to bed Tuesday night, their van had no such message on it. That ‘ s why Wendy couldn ‘ t believe what she saw Wednesday.
“We’re not hurting anybody,” Wendy said. “We’re not bothering anybody. We’re just trying to get along and make it to the next change. Life’s got to get better than this.”
Ben told us he was speechless, and he felt like his blood was boiling.
The Bend Police Department said it commonly gets calls from concerned citizens about vehicles showing up in their neighborhood, especially if they believe someone is living inside. However, Lt. Clint Burleigh said there hasn ‘ t yet been anything to this degree.
“This one was not just someone going through and randomly spray-painting cars. This one, somebody was specifically attacking and knew that somebody was living in that van on the street,” Burleigh said. “That’s where I think it raises it to a different level.”
Oregon law allows 48 hours for a vehicle to be parked on a public roadway. Burleigh said Bend is less strict with that policy, and it can take up to 12 days for police to tow a vehicle that hasn’t moved over that period of time.
Wendy and Ben said they had been in that spot for just one day.
Sharon Sickles, who is homeless herself, first reported the incident. She said she couldn’t imagine if it had happened to her, so she wanted to help.
After filing a police report, she went out with her husband and bought paint to cover up the graffiti.
” I read what it said on there, and it literally broke my heart so bad it made me cry,” Sickles said. “It’s really sad that people are doing that to homeless people.”
T he sad situation had something of a silver lining. Wendy said she was comforted by the fact people wanted to come give a helping hand.
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The Ericksons said they both hope the incident will change how some homeless people are treated in the future.
