Kicking People Down the Road: Victimizing and Terrorizing the Homeless
China Hat Road is just a few miles from Bend, Oregon, where a large area of homeless encampments has existed for years. The vast Deschutes National Forest area has served as a refuge for people living out of their vehicles. As many as 200 people have lived there in dozens of encampments across hundreds of acres.
As the cost of living has exploded in central Oregon, the number of people living in national forests has increased dramatically. Some camps, including China Hat, have become established homes for people partly because that’s where police and deputies take people to get them off city streets.
The Forest Service notified China Hat Road campers three months ago that the area would be shut down. Weeks later, they began leafleting the area, warning of steep fines and possible imprisonment for those who don’t leave. Forestry officials say the area needs to be thinned to reduce the risk of wildfires. Fire mitigation is a serious issue, but no organized effort was made to relocate the homeless camping there in an orderly and safe manner.
Advocates for the homeless sued the federal government, filing a temporary restraining order to pause the May 1 closure. A federal judge denied that plea just days before the deadline.
Sweeps like this have become more frequent since the Supreme Court ruled last year that cities can impose fines and jail time on people sleeping in cars, public streets, and public land, even if no shelter beds are available.
With shelters at capacity and the average price of a home in Bend approaching $800,000, the forest eviction amounts to a shuffling of people from one location to another without ever addressing the root cause of the problem. This isn’t just kicking the can down the road — it’s kicking human beings down the road. It’s not a solution to this crisis; these sweeps perpetuate it.
The National Homeless Law Center (NHLC) said in a statement on April 30th that this forced eviction by the Trump Administration will be one of the largest federal evictions of a homeless community in recent history, noting this “comes amid a nationwide increase in homelessness caused primarily by the worsening housing crisis.”
Jesse Rabinowitz of the NHLC: “Every step of the way, it seems like some people in Oregon, whether it’s the town of Grants Pass or the federal government through the Forest Service, are pushing a harmful false myth that people experiencing homelessness should be rounded up and thrown into jail. The Trump administration has made it very clear that they have a desire to round up homeless people and force them into government detention camps and make it illegal to be homeless in the United States.”
Those being affected in their own words:
Mandy Bryant: “Everybody needs a safe place to live, and those of us living in the forest are trying our best to survive. People I care about are facing the unimaginable: losing everything they own or risking one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. I’ve seen the fear in their eyes, the sleepless nights, the sheer desperation. The constant patrols and threats have created an atmosphere of terror. People are afraid to even step outside their camps, paralyzed by the stress of potential tickets and further harassment. This eviction won’t just displace people; it will destroy lives. Since shelters are full and housing is too expensive, we will still have no choice but to sleep outside.”
Jennifer Noske: “I have fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal stenosis, and myopathy. I have had no help. I don’t even know if I have much hope. The only thing you can control in your life is what’s around you, to a certain extent. When you lose that, it’s just unbearable and heartbreaking.
Chris Daggett: “My very first job was framing houses — you could say my family and I literally helped build this town. But now? There’s no way I could afford to buy a place here. Anyone could be just one missed paycheck, one slip on the ladder, or one sick day away from losing everything. Bend used to feel like a more accepting place. Just because we’re living out here doesn’t make us bad people, but the way we’re being treated makes everything that much harder.”
Brooke-Lyn Lamb: “Most of the people out here don’t have the means to move their things. They’re straight-up bullying us. They want us to move right now — but where will we go? We have nowhere to go. It’s like they just expect us to vanish.”
Weston Harrel: “The city police tell me to go to China Hat. Now that I’m at China Hat, the rangers are telling me to go to Dirt World in Bend. What I want to know is: Where am I supposed to go? No matter where we go, it’s illegal to camp.”
Penny Gartner is 60 and battling cancer: “I can’t afford to rent any apartment that isn’t subsidized. So, I live out here. These people are just barely surviving. They don’t have money for food. It’s devastating to think of all the people who are losing their homes. They’re losing everything. It’s just devastating. We have hearts and souls too, and mine are worn out.”
Abrian Reiten, a janitor for a local cleaning company, who has lived in China Hat for two years: “I couldn’t afford rent. So, I moved out here. It’s hard enough to survive out here, now we’ve got to think of this. To tell the truth, I feel let down, forgotten. I didn’t plan on being homeless. I work, but don’t make enough to rent even a small apartment. I’ve got no option but to look for another camping spot. I just don’t know what to do.”
An excerpt from a statement on Facebook from Executive Director of the National Vehicle Residency Collective, Graham Pruss, on China Hat Road:
I met the folks on China Hat Road. Most were severely disabled, could not work, and desperately wanted something better. Bend’s lack of affordable housing, closure of accessible space and insufficient social services had driven this community into the woods. I met multiple inter-generational families, where grandparents, their adult children, and young (grand)children lived in clusters of vehicles. I spoke with people hiding from domestic abusers, people with significant mental illness, and veterans with severe PTSD.
Many had lifelong debilitating conditions that limited their abilities to earn income for sky-rocketing local rents. Local advocates estimated 80% of the people on China Hat Road reported at least one disability. They lived a daily struggle to secure food and water, clean themselves, dispose of their household waste, and try to earn income or receive subsidies from a town located around 5 miles away. They could not afford a place to exist in Central Oregon, they were criminalized in the city of Bend and had fled to the closest area possible to stay connected with their familiar employment, services, and systems of care.
These individuals, families and communities were pushed out of unaffordable housing to living in vehicles. They were pushed out of the city and into the forest.
I would also add that the Trump administration recently announced that the Deschutes Forest would be opened to logging. Profits over people and the environment. Your government at work. In other words, business as usual.
Sources:
National Vehicle Residency Collective Facebook Group
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I have lived in my car since August 2023. You can follow my adventures on Facebook and Instagram
Tom, if you are ever near San Antonio, Texas, (on your way out to see the Earthship homes near Taos NM, perhaps) you would be welcome to rest up on our place for a bit. Guesthouse apt with full bath and kitchenette at no cost to you, as honored guest. My husband and I are retired and we would love to meet you! Those Earthships are on my bucket list, too.
I'm not on Facebook anymore so I can't FB message you my contact or location info. My husband is, though. If interested, maybe I can message you through his account.
PS - We aren't weird ax murderers or old fogeys looking for free help or anything like that... and we aren't church people looking for converts. LOL
just interested in your journey.