City and county officials are closing off portions of an area known as Juniper Ridge where many unhoused residents find shelter, hoping to direct people to housing and supportive services.
Authorities in Oregon are, for the second time in two months, moving to clear a major encampment populated by unhoused residents, reports Clayton Franke in The Bulletin. “At a meeting in September, when the Bend City Council and Deschutes County Commission jointly approved the plans to phase out camping at Juniper Ridge, officials estimated about 200 people were living in the area, with 70-80 camps west of the railroad tracks and fewer than 20 in the closure area to the east.”
The effort to relocate people living in the area known as Juniper Ridge by Deschutes County and Bend city officials comes shortly after federal forest officials forcibly removed people living in the Deschutes National Forest.
Officials are enacting a plan to connect people with housing and services by the end of 2026. But for now, the encampment dubbed “Dirt World” will likely become more crowded after authorities close off large portions of the area. People will be moved to a 170-acre designated “temporary safe stay area.”
Because the safe stay area provides services and because authorities are cracking down on unauthorized encampments, “The new safe stay area has quickly become the only place in Deschutes County where people without shelter are allowed to live.”
FULL STORY: Crowding into ‘Dirt World’: Bend Homeless camp swells as closures displace more people
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