In Eugene, homeless campers in city parks are being given just two hours notice to move. For many years, city workers gave campers at least 24 hours notice. But starting in 2021, the city created a new category of “non-established” campers, apparently to get around a law passed that year that required 72 hours be given to unhoused campers, according to reporting in the Eugene Weekly. The number of two-hour eviction notices has risen drastically, and the city appears to have set a record for such notices in 2022.
Now, Eugene’s Human Rights Commission is questioning why the city council and mayor were not informed of this change and plans to hold public listening sessions on the matter. "Think Out Loud" spoke with Alexis Weisend, who reported the story for the University of Oregon’s Catalyst Journalism Project and Eugene Weekly. You can listen to the conversation at the link at the top of this web post.
