Bend homeless advocates seek solutions after 2 people die at Hunnell Road camp

(Update: Adding video, comments from homeless service providers, City of Bend)

Medical examiner to determine cause of deaths; homeless advocate says one had moved from closed Emerson Ave. camp

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Service organizations and volunteers at the homeless camp along Hunnell Road in northern Bend are doing their best to keep people safe from the heat.

But two days into this heat wave, Bend police confirmed Monday that two people on the location died on Sunday.

The causes of death have not yet been determined, but Bend police say there were no “suspicious circumstances or evidence of any criminal actions.”

Bend police Lt. Juli McConkey said officers responded to "two separate unattended deaths" at the location. McConkey said the first call came shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday and the second at 2:17 p.m.

Colleen Thomas, chair of the Homeless Leadership Coalition, said it is an everyday struggle for those experiencing houselessness, and the heat wave doesn’t help.  

"Whatever circumstances they are able to meet, they're just trying to survive,” Thomas said 

She was one of many out on Hunnell Road, handing out water, Gatorade, towels and other tools to beat the heat.

Dozens of RVs, tents and makeshift structures have housed homeless people along a stretch of Hunnell Road for several months.

Numerous organizations have been assisting those on Hunnell Road in various ways, and added more assistance to cope with the heat wave over the weekend. 

Thomas confirmed one of the two people who died had moved from Emerson Avenue, an on-street homeless camp cleared by the city last Wednesday due to public health and safety concerns

"Those are lives that are part of our community here,” Thomas said. “So all of us have been impacted by that, and it's really important to remember that those circumstances shouldn't happen, and we need more options for folks."

Jon Riggs, executive director of the Helpers non-profit, agrees.

"It's bare minimum -- we're doing bare minimum stuff out here. We just want to make sure people are okay,” Riggs said. 

He said one of the men who died was a friend.

"Society needs to look at these folks like they're human beings,” Riggs said. “And I think it's that simple: How do we help human beings that are in this situation better their situation?"

Riggs, and the other groups and volunteers, have been providing cooling-related resources since Saturday, and the tents and sprinklers were set up by the city of Bend on Monday morning.

Assistant City Manager Jon Skidmore said until there's more information confirming the causes of death, the city cannot make an informed comment.

Riggs feels the heat is the latest obstacle to deal with, but the overall problem of homelessness still is not being addressed.

"If we just keep pushing it off and allow society to hate people that are in this situation, then it's not going to be better for anybody," Riggs said. 

If the cause of death is confirmed as heat-related, it won't be the first time in the past year that a homeless person died on the streets of Bend amid extreme weather. Last November, David Savory, 57, was found deceased near Rite Aid on South Third Street after a cold night outdoors when temperatures dropped to 19 degrees.