It’s important to Metro staff that the campers identify what’s garbage themselves, to prevent personal property from being discarded. According to Metro spokesperson Kimberlee Ables, Metro’s RID team visits the Delta two to three times a month to pick up garbage collected by campers in trash bags distributed by Metro. She named two in particular that have gained the trust of Delta residents: Metro's Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) patrol and the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Homeless Outreach and Programs Engagement (HOPE) team.ĭSL has contracted with Metro for at least a decade to manage garbage pick-up and disposal at the Sandy River Delta. Remnants of a campsite in the woods of Sandy River Delta park. So we stayed.”Īlatorre said it took her a little while to feel comfortable at night in the park-“I think I had watched too many scary movies set in the forest,” she said-but she now feels right at home at the Delta. That made me feel like this was a good community, like people were actually holding each other accountable. A few hours later, the tent was returned to me, no questions asked. “But I started asking other people out here if they had seen it. “We could have just left after that, given up,” recalled Alatorre. Alatorre said that on their first day, the pair went on a walk after setting up their tent.
Neither of them knew anyone else living in the park. After a decade of short-term solutions, including failed attempts to secure housing, Alatorre moved to the Delta with her adult son in 2019, looking for a quiet, undisturbed place to camp. Teresa Alatorre became homeless in 2008, after losing her job, her mother, and her marriage in the course of a year. Most camps are reached through labyrinthine paths through blackberry bushes and ferns, making it rare to see any signs of camping from the park’s main trails. The majority of camps in the Delta are located in the park’s eastern swath, where dense stands of red cedar and cottonwood meet the banks of the Sandy River.
One of the biggest draws, however, is the general distance from civilization. Residents cite the protective tree cover, the flat terrain, and the area’s natural beauty as several factors that attracted them to the location. The Delta has long been a landing spot for unhoused individuals in Multnomah County-for a number of reasons. The area has been overseen by these public agencies since 1988. The state agency is responsible for the beds and banks of Oregon’s public waterways, like the Sandy River, while the Forest Service oversees the rest of the property. The Sandy River Delta is, confusingly, overseen by both the US Forest Service and Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL). I know in my heart that we’re doing the right thing.” -Troutdale City Councilor Alison Caswell “I know the only thing we did was pick up abandoned trash. She explained that the clean-up was meant to clear the area of garbage in anticipation of winter flooding, a mix that could cause an “environmental disaster.” “A great day at Thousand Acres dog park!” Caswell wrote in a post accompanying the photos.
#Shelter live visuals full#
The event was organized by Troutdale City Councilor Alison Caswell, who advertised the event on her personal Facebook group called “Coalition to Protect Thousand Acres.” Caswell later posted photos on Facebook after the day’s work, showing volunteers loading a Bobcat tractor with full trash bags and smiling for a group photo. The sprawling property, which carries the nickname “Thousand Acres,” is also home to several homeless encampments. On a Saturday in late September, several dozen individuals enthusiastically gathered with trash bags, gloves, and shovels on a mission to pick up garbage at the Sandy River Delta, the 1,500 acres of wooded trails and a grassy dog park at the confluence of the Sandy River and the Columbia River. A sign marks a path frequented by people living at Sandy River Delta park in northeast Multnomah County.
0 kommentar(er)
