‘There’s no compassion left,’ cries RV driver facing homelessness under new law – city can tow cars with people inside

LAWMAKERS have proposed to change a law to make it easier for law enforcement to get rid of campers and drivers are devastated.

The commissioners in Clackamas County, Oregon made the proposal last week.

KGW 8

KGW 8

The officials call the drivers , some who are facing homelessness , “nuisance” RVs and campers as they are parked on county rights-of-way, NBC affiliate KGW 8 reported.

Jaime Smith and her boyfriend live out of her camper.

She has it set up on a dead-end street in unincorporated Clackamas County, right between a recycling center and a manufacturing plant.

“This camp has been here for years, and everybody knows to bring their RVs here,” Smith said. “It’s not too much, but it’s a big step up from a tent,” she said of her camper.

Smith has been living in the makeshift homeless neighborhood for about eight months.

Though she has learned to love the community and now calls it home, that all may change.

The county’s proposal comes as community members have been raising concerns about the impact of these homeless camps for years.

“It’s my house. It’s where I live,” Bernie Fleeman, who lives in the RV next to Smith’s camper, stressed.

“It’s home.”

Under the current law, the county has the authority to tow abandoned vehicles but legal issues arise if someone stays in the automobile.

The proposed changes would allow the sheriff’s office to get a warrant and use reasonable force if necessary to remove anyone who lives in a camper or RV and have the vehicle towed.

This is only if an RV or camper that is being lived in impacts health and safety – and the residents have refused to leave despite prior notice and outreach efforts.

“It’s like I’m not human, like, there’s no compassion left in this world,” Smith said.

What to do if your car is towed

Wrongfully or not, retrieving a towed vehicle can be a hassle.

If your vehicle is towed after parking in a “No Parking” zone or other legitimate reason, there are a few steps to take to get it back.

Steps to take when your car is towed:

• Try to figure out why your car was towed. Did you not see a posted “No Parking” sign? Did you miss a car payment? Did you return to a lot where you have unpaid citations? Finding the reason can narrow down the phone numbers to dial.
• Locate the vehicle. Most states, cities, or counties require towing companies to leave some form of contact information via a posted sign or sent by mail.
• Recovery dates and times depend on the company that towed the vehicle, but those times will be posted to the website or can be recited by a representative.
• Pay the fees. Be careful to be as prompt as possible, as some tow yards may charge storage fees by the day.

If you feel your vehicle was wrongfully towed, contesting the action can be done with the following steps:

• Be prompt – many states have a small window of time where it’s acceptable to file a complaint against a company that wrongfully towed the vehicle.
• Gather supporting documents: photos, emails, receipts, police reports, and witness statements if applicable. The more evidence, the better.
• Get familiar with your local laws, as laws for towing companies vary per state.
• Try speaking with the towing company. Sometimes it may have been a simple oversight, and the matter can be resolved quickly.
• Contact the Justice of the Peace in your area, as they may have more insight or resources to help. They are often utilized for towing cases.
• Talk to a lawyer. Many lawyers have free case consultations, and depending on the case, it may be worth it to utilize a lawyer.

Source: Oregon Department of Justice , National General , Rak Law Firm

“There’s no empathy left in this world.”

Though some in the county do complain about the makeshift site, the campers insist that they’re doing no harm by living in the area.

“We’re not hurting nobody,” Fleeman stated.

The county is working with local nonprofits to provide outreach services to help those who stay in the neighborhood, like Fleeman, making sure they aren’t displaced if their vehicle is towed.

“The smell, the garbage, the syringe needles, the drugs and all the defecating,” an employee at Conveyco Manufacturing Corporation Suzanne, stressed.

She said that she picks up syringe needles each morning after they’ve been thrown onto their property near the camp.

“I agree that they have no other place to go and where are they going to go, but at the same time, you got to get rid of them,” a Conveyco Manufacturing Corporation employee named Nate said.