With the recent proposals directed at solving the homelessness issue in Baker County, it is becoming increasingly evident that what is thought to be the solution and what actually is the solution are two very different things.

It’s no secret that two of the most looked down upon demographics in Baker are the homeless and recovering addicts. I see it in comment sections, I hear it in passing conversations. If I was given a nickel each time someone tried to pin the homeless as a “Portland conspiracy,” I’d more than likely be the richest man in town.

What most people fail to realize is that homelessness is not simply a lack of housing. It is not the failures of an individual who is “just too lazy to work.” It is the reality of the majority of the working class, and it won’t be fixed by tearing down camps or quarantining them outside of town. If you believe homelessness is simply just an issue of housing, you are missing 85% of the problem.

Mental health needs assessments, addiction recovery services, affordable housing, gainful employment opportunities. These are solutions. Forceful evictions and passive initiatives that put a blanket over the problem? Those are fuel for the fire. Despite what many people think, and most likely secretly hope for, homelessness won’t stop if they’re just all gone. It ends when we fix the problems in our systems that created the issue in the first place. It ends when we stop looking down on others who are in situations that we could be in with one bad week. It ends when we stop accepting mediocre policies as “good enough.”

Baker’s homeless problem is not a “Portland” problem, it’s not a “Salem” problem. It’s a Baker problem, and it gets fixed by us finally taking it seriously instead of brushing it away like it’s some stain on our community.

Boston Colton

Baker City