One month later: impacts of the closure of Willow Creek homeless camp

It’s been one month since the city of Madras officially closed the Willow Creek homeless camp in Madras. It was closed for remediation efforts, concerns about contamination in the creek, and enforcement of a city ordinance designating the time, place, and manner that camping was allowed within city limits.

That ordinance designated a small area behind the homeless shelter on Fourth and Oak streets for overnight camping. The regulations also state that people using the site must pack up their belongings and take them with them each day. They must leave the site an hour after sunrise and can return an hour before sunset.

However, few are using the site.

“People aren’t using the site because they don’t want to move each day,” said city of Madras community development director Nick Snead. “They’re using the shelter, or the camp closing was a push into treatment, or they’ve moved other places in town or just outside of the city.”

Only about two people use the site now, a month after it’s opening. The Willow Creek camp had about 30 people living there at its peak, and about 15 when it was closed.

Government regulations

Aside from the local city ordinance, state and federal mandates also dictate how unhoused populations are treated. Oregon state laws require that the city stores items left by people that must vacate the camp for 30 days before disposing or donating them. The city stores them in two shipping containers stored near the shelter. People can pick up their items by appointment only.

“We’ve had very few calls, but the shelves are mostly full,” said Snead. He says they store common essential items like clothing, blankets, tents, tarps and sleeping bags. They held many items cleared from the Willow Creek camp when it was closed, but the 30-day mark has hit, and soon those items fit to be donated will be. Otherwise, items will be thrown away.

“It’s changed what and how much people are carrying with them. They’ve adapted to many more just essential items like a mattress or clothing and less non-essentials,” said Snead.

At a federal level, the recent Grants Pass decision from the Supreme Court found that people can be fined for sleeping outside. Snead says he expects it will have little impact on the city’s actions. They have not been issuing fines for those that are breaking the city ordinance, but instead have been trespassing people form private property, or working with them to find alternative options.

The Shelter

The Secure Care Shelter Services Center that was officially opened in January of this year hasn’t seen much of an uptick in use since the camp closed. Executive director Tony Mitchell said it’s because there are some rules around the shelter people don’t want to follow.

Since the camp’s closure, a record heatwave has hit the region, with temperatures over 100 degrees for multiple days. Temperatures like that can be deadly for those without air conditioning or a cool place to go. A heat dome in 2021 killed 100 Oregonians. This year, seven people have died of suspected heat-related issues.

The shelter was designed to serve as an overnight location year-round, and open during the day in extreme weather. They’ve been open for eight days so far in July. Beginning July 15 until September, they’ll be open Monday through Friday 12 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. They close briefly to give staff a break and allow them to prepare the evening meal, which opens at 6 p.m. Mitchell says they’ll open on other days if the heat index warrants it.

Aside from cooling, the shelter is also open Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for weekly showers and is coordinating with local agencies like Best Care and Jefferson County Public Health to bring resources into the shelter every day. Their designated case manager also began the position and will support coordinating resources for individuals using the shelter.

“The vision of the shelter becoming a resource hub and support center is coming together,” said Mitchell.

Willow Creek

Now that the camp has been closed, along with the large dirt lot above it, the city is working on a plan to revitalize the area. They’ve already removed 296,000 pounds of debris from the area, using heavy machinery to clear debris from the banks, but the creek itself is also infested with trash.

“It’s going to be a long-term project where we have to bring in environmental engineers and people to see what can be done. The debris in the creek, alongside the brush in the area makes it hard (to clean-up the creek),” said Snead.

The area will remain closed as the city works on a plan, and officers regularly patrol the area to ensure no one goes down to the site of the previous camp.

The clean-up was manned by city public works employees and took three and a half days. City administrator Will Ibershof said during an update to the city council that they had found lots of garbage and human waste in the waterway and had dredged the creek.

Where did they go?

Only two people regularly use the new designated camping site behind the shelter. Snead says he’s not quite sure where people went, but he has seen an uptick in people throughout town during the day. He says some likely moved to other areas, to the reservation, or to public lands outside the city. When someone makes a camp on private property, local law enforcement trespasses them from the area.

“It’s a new problem to deal with,” said Snead. “This is a very complex issue, and closing the camp was never going to get rid of the issue entirely. It got rid of the health and safety concerns around that camp, but homelessness is not something that will just go away.”

Madras Police chief Tim Plummer said in a June 25 city council meeting he couldn’t directly attribute more calls from the public to the camp closure but added “they’re more highly visible then they were, they’re seen more.” He estimated there were about 40 that roam Madras. “Most show up on a bus in the morning and leave when it leaves town,” said Plummer.

Plummer added “We’re finding people moving into other parts of the county. As they move, we can still be compassionate. We’ve been merciful, we’ve been helpful, now there will be consequences for actions.