Just outside Bend, Oregon, on Highway 97 lies the Juniper Ridge poor camp, also known by some citizens as” Dirtworld”. It has its own Facebook company page because it is so well-known among the poor.
As you approach the camp, unlimited campers become apparent over the top of stone surfaces, scattered through the jungle. A melted- out automobile lies on its edge near a tent and dirt including some porta- potties, a dumpster, and a supply of drinking water. Wooden camps are connected by dirt roads. A wall of blanket surrounds a wooden fortress, and vehicles circle it, forming a circle. Damaged glass, garbage, and squirt- painted signs mark the earth.
A dog attack left a man dead there last year, according to The Bulletin, and a local animal boarding company shut down because it became too dangerous for consumers to walk, according to KTVZ.
” The atrocities reported in these camps cover the entire collection and include attack, arms acts, sexual assaults, call, and homicide”, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels said.
Rural Oregon has long struggled with poverty and the resulting violence as a result of extreme Democrat housing and medication policies. However, some regional leaders see the ending of the ugly camp pipe with pending changes and an impending Supreme Court ruling this June.
Anticipating Change
Bend County, Oregon’s fastest- growing for its hospitality and exterior entertainment, has struggled with poverty for decades, according to Gunnels. Central Oregon, a remote, traditionally traditional state, has seen homelessness increase gradually since 2015.
Gunnels, yet, said he hopes the homeless issue will increase with two developments: the Supreme Court’s expected decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which could overturn a previous decision protecting the “unavoidable consequences” of homelessness, and the reform of Measure 110, which gave Oregon the nation’s most liberal drug laws in 2020.
Communities across America have seen surging rates of homelessness, with a 12 percent overall increase from 2022 to 2023, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In Oregon, the number increased 16 percent from 2022 to 2023, and in Central Oregon, it increased 28 percent.
Despite President Joe Biden’s ambitious 2020 goal, which was announced in 2022, to reduce homelessness by 25 % by 2025, this is true. Biden’s strategy includes the unproven ( and often failed ) “housing first” policy, which aims to “prevent people from becoming homeless, address inequities that disproportionately impact underserved communities, including people of color and other marginalized groups, and help cities and states reduce unsheltered homelessness”.
The Cause
Gunnels claimed that Central Oregon’s struggle with homelessness mirrored a trend in the American West since 2018, when Martin v. Boise, the state’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it cannot make “unavoidable consequences of being homeless” like” sitting, lying, or sleeping on streets.”
” Martin v. Boise has significantly limited local government’s ability to manage public’ camping,’ leading to the establishment of homeless encampments that have become very unhealthy, dangerous places to live or to encounter”, Gunnels said in an email.
Gunnels said Measure 110, which removed penalties for the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, has also largely contributed to the region’s homeless crisis.
” Measure 110 has contributed to rampant drug use and associated crime, including assaults, weapons offenses, sexual assaults, arson and homicide in homeless encampments in Oregon”, Gunnels said. Case law furthering the limitations of local authorities ‘ authority to effectively address and relocate homeless encampments has made these issues worse.
The Crisis
According to the nonprofit Homeless Leadership Coalition, homelessness has increased in Central Oregon from 594 in 2015 to 1,799 in 2024. The majority of the homeless have resided in the area’s rapidly expanding community for more than ten years.
The area has a number of homeless encampments, including two large ones near Bend, the most populous and liberal city east of the cascades, and another in the smaller, more conservative city of Redmond.
The Juniper Ridge Campsite and the China Hat Road Campsite are both nearby. The camps are located outside city limits, according to Jacob Larsen, the City of Bend’s public information officer, and fall under the control of Deschutes County and the US Forest Service.
At the China Hat Road encampment, violent crime has plagued nearby residents for years, according to KTVZ, driving some to leave the state. Police arrested a man last year in the camp for fentanyl trafficking, according to KBND.
Meth and fentanyl are common in the camps, Gunnels said, with meth causing violence and fentanyl causing overdoses.
Off Antler Ave., just north of the regional airport, is an encampment off the edge of Redmond. The Federal Aviation Administration required the city to clear the land and install safety fences last year because the debris and tents were so close to the runways.
The Antler Ave. encampment, known as” Dirt World Two”, has its own Facebook page. In February, the page‘s administrator said” Cops are on Antler” and warned residents about nearby police.
In 2023, Redmond Fire and Rescue’s Fire Marshal Tom Mooney sent a list of emergency responses to the homeless areas of the fire district. The department responded to 44 injuries, including emergency medical calls and vehicle accidents with injuries, and 33 fires last year.
According to Gunnels,” these are very dangerous places for law enforcement to enter as well as for the people who live there.” ” Law enforcement typically marches in en masse with at least several officers or deputies for safety”
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. People have been residing in these areas for a while, according to Jason Wall in an email, but the number of people living in camps has increased noticeably over the past five years. According to Wall, the sheriff’s office began using its school resource deputies to patrol encampments in the summer.
” We receive all types of calls for service”, Wall said. ” From animal complaints to felonious assaults, and everything in between”.
Hope for Improvement
Martin v. Boise may soon be overturned by the Supreme Court. In April, judges in the court heard arguments in Grants Pass v. Johnson, and the court will make a decision in this regard.
The case arose in 2018 when Grants Pass, a small city in conservative Southern Oregon, began ticketing people sleeping in public. Plaintiffs claimed local bans on homeless camping were” cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment, citing Martin v. Boise. It would be possible for governments to impose rules governing public camping if the Supreme Court disagrees with Grants Pass.
” The Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson will provide clarity as to the scope of local government’s power to successfully address this significant public health and safety challenge,” Gunnels said.
Larsen claimed that city officials think the local code will remain regardless of the outcome.
” Bend does not ban camping, but imposes reasonable regulations on the time, place, and manner of camping in public places, as allowed under any of the arguments made before the Supreme Court”, Larsen said in an email.
Oregon HB 4002 and Measure 110 might also be moderated. The bill strengthens addiction and mental health services, increases the penalty for unlawful possession or delivery of a controlled substance, and opens a doorway to rehabilitation. Democratic Gov. The legislation was approved on April 1 and will go into effect on September 1.
Gunnels claimed that the bill would help police stop drug use and camps.
” HB 4002 will re-introduce accountability and give law enforcement the authority to intervene and direct drug users to treatment,” according to the bill. Prosecutors and the courts will be able to compel treatment if those drug users do n’t follow through with their treatment, Gunnels said. Failure will lead to jail. ” HB 4002 will not solve the current mental health, drug abuse, and homelessness crises in Oregon, but it is a step in the right direction for public safety”.
According to Larsen, Bend supports the bill, but officials view drug use as a problem that is distinct from homelessness.
” The city is optimistic that the additional tools created by HB 4002 will reduce the impact of addiction in our community,” Larsen said. ” Ultimately, homelessness is a housing issue, not a drug issue”.
Multiple studies, however, show that homelessness and drug use often go hand in hand.
These policy changes, if successful, have the potential to set a minimum standard for the rest of the nation to correct rising rates of homelessness. Time will tell.
At Hillsdale College, Logan Washburn is majoring in journalism and politics. He serves as associate editor for the school paper, The Collegian, served as editorial assistant for Christopher Rufo, and has bylines in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller.  ,
