EDITORIAL: Warming shelter is needed

Published 2:15 pm Friday, December 3, 2021

Outside, the sun was shining and the temperature was reaching a record-setting 54 degrees on Wednesday, Dec. 1, but inside the Baker County Courthouse, the three county commissioners were talking about the frigid nights that are certain to come as fall gives way to winter.

It was an important discussion.

And the commissioners’ conclusion, that Baker City needs a temporary shelter where homeless residents can stay warm during those nights, is the correct one.

“We need to do something,” Commissioner Bruce Nichols said.

Commission Chairman Bill Harvey took the initiative on the issue, including talking with officials at the warming center in La Grande.

Harvey proposed a two-pronged strategy — first, find a temporary site for a shelter for this winter, then look into a longer term facility.

Commissioners will, of course, need to coordinate with, among others, the Baker City Council and Police Department, New Directions Northwest and organizations such as the Northeast Oregon Compassion Center, The Salvation Army, and local churches.

Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby said last month that the city’s homeless population has grown over the past few years. He cited his own observations, as well as reports from police officers and from the public.

The homeless issue is complicated, to be sure.

Duby plans to ask the Baker City Council to approve an ordinance limiting where, and when, people can camp on public property. That’s a reasonable thing to do.

But in Baker City, where temperatures plummet below zero almost every winter — and not infrequently dip to 10 below or lower — offering homeless residents a warm place to sleep is, ultimately, a matter of humanity. The community can’t force people to come in out of the cold, of course, but we should try to make sure there is an option.

Baker City and Baker County have limited financial resources. As commissioners discussed Wednesday, local officials need to seek state or federal help for this worthwhile endeavor.

— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor