Julie's Story:
Recently Julie stopped by our food pantry to get a food box. She didn’t have gas to use her van in the drive through line so we helped her get her box to her van. It was obvious she was living in her van with her four dogs.
We asked what her situation was that caused her to live in her van. She shared she was single with no family. Her social security check of $900 a month wasn’t able to keep her in her housing and she was evicted. Someone in Medford had offered to allow her to come live with him, but it turned out to be an abusive situation and she had to leave and move back into her car.
Julie had no options to get out of her car. She commented how her social security check went to basic living expenses including gas for her car. It didn’t go far.
Julie is a perfect example of the type of person Joy Community will be created for.
We asked what her situation was that caused her to live in her van. She shared she was single with no family. Her social security check of $900 a month wasn’t able to keep her in her housing and she was evicted. Someone in Medford had offered to allow her to come live with him, but it turned out to be an abusive situation and she had to leave and move back into her car.
Julie had no options to get out of her car. She commented how her social security check went to basic living expenses including gas for her car. It didn’t go far.
Julie is a perfect example of the type of person Joy Community will be created for.
Anthony's Testimony:
Anthony volunteers at Set Free every week yet he himself is a homeless man who lives in his car. Click the link below to watch the entire interview between Anthony and Chad McComas about the challenges faced by those who are homeless.
https://youtu.be/gafklPmFF_g
https://youtu.be/gafklPmFF_g
Joan's Worry:
Joan, (alias), who is in her 70’s lives at the local tiny house village. Though it seems this is a better alternative than living under a bridge, it can have the same issues. She struggles getting to the bathroom and she fell last summer and ended up in the hospital with hypothermia. She struggles with getting food. She has a master's degree in homeless services, but couldn’t find work with her degree because agencies only wanted to hire people with lived experience. It's extremely ironic that now she has lived experience, but not capable of working due to her age and health. Joan doesn’t make enough money to find housing outside the tiny house village which is meant to be a transitional program.
Tim & Elizabeth:
Tim and Elizabeth (alias) retired a few years ago. They had worked all their lives, but had low paying jobs. They hadn’t been able to build up their own retirement funds, but were now depending on their Social Security. Things were tight, but going well until the housing market escalated dramatically. With a lack of affordable housing and a shortage of housing in general they found their rent increasing $100 a year. They also had more medical expenses (even with Medicare) due to an increase in premiums and overall costs. They frequent food pantries and free meals wherever they can find them. She was sharing they are close to being homeless since the last $100 a month hike in rent.
Tom's Story:
Tom, (alias), came to the local Salvation Army shelter seeking help. He was in his 70’s and living in his car with his cat. He was a veteran. His wife had died and he lost her income and couldn’t cover his living expenses without it. He qualified for veteran services, but due to a clerical error was not able to access them. The case management staff at the shelter worked for eight months to get the paperwork done to get Tom his benefits, but if Tom hadn’t been a veteran there was little hope of getting him out of the shelter into more permanent housing.
Sandy's Story:
02/09/2023
To whom it may concern,
I am Shannon Holland and I work with our 'Unhoused' population. I started the career path because I was living in the bushes in a tent at one time and it became a passion of mine to give back what was so freely giving to me. I work alongside of some of the greatest people with the same passion.
Over the past few years something has caught my eye and has really tugged at my heart strings and that is how many seniors are living on the streets or in the homeless shelters.. I do outreach in the community and come across so many living in tents on our greenway and not being cared for. One lady is a cancer survivor and had lost her spouse to cancer and then was evicted from her home soon after because her income does not cover the rent. Right now as I write this she is fighting for her life in the hospital because of severe hypothermia. No proper nutrition and vulnerable to being victimized on the street. This is a very sad reality for these folks. We, as a community need to do something for our grandmas and grandpas instead of just looking the other way.
I have heard people comment that there isn't a problem with our seniors, but there is and it's a big problem. Our older folks are falling through the cracks and left out in the cold to "figure it out".”.
I am writing this because I have witnessed this and have been the shelter manager and watched as these older folks come in and are not able to move forward because there is nowhere to go on such a limited income. It is up to us as a community trying to fix the unhoused issue in our neighborhoods to help these older people who have no one. Right now there is about 45% 60 and older living in a transitional housing. Transitional means temporary so after a certain amount of time like 6 months you have to leave. What if you have nowhere to go? Then you are back in a tent on the street. We need to find a solution to this. A permanent solution not just a Band-Aid.
I hope this plants some seeds. This is not a one person job - in order for something to happen we need everybody involved..
It truly does take a village. In the book of Nehemiah they built the wall of Jerusalem and everybody worked together towards the same goal. That's what we need to do to accomplish this. If people would just stop being part of the problem and help to find a solution I believe our goal will be successful..
Respectfully,
Shannon Holland
To whom it may concern,
I am Shannon Holland and I work with our 'Unhoused' population. I started the career path because I was living in the bushes in a tent at one time and it became a passion of mine to give back what was so freely giving to me. I work alongside of some of the greatest people with the same passion.
Over the past few years something has caught my eye and has really tugged at my heart strings and that is how many seniors are living on the streets or in the homeless shelters.. I do outreach in the community and come across so many living in tents on our greenway and not being cared for. One lady is a cancer survivor and had lost her spouse to cancer and then was evicted from her home soon after because her income does not cover the rent. Right now as I write this she is fighting for her life in the hospital because of severe hypothermia. No proper nutrition and vulnerable to being victimized on the street. This is a very sad reality for these folks. We, as a community need to do something for our grandmas and grandpas instead of just looking the other way.
I have heard people comment that there isn't a problem with our seniors, but there is and it's a big problem. Our older folks are falling through the cracks and left out in the cold to "figure it out".”.
I am writing this because I have witnessed this and have been the shelter manager and watched as these older folks come in and are not able to move forward because there is nowhere to go on such a limited income. It is up to us as a community trying to fix the unhoused issue in our neighborhoods to help these older people who have no one. Right now there is about 45% 60 and older living in a transitional housing. Transitional means temporary so after a certain amount of time like 6 months you have to leave. What if you have nowhere to go? Then you are back in a tent on the street. We need to find a solution to this. A permanent solution not just a Band-Aid.
I hope this plants some seeds. This is not a one person job - in order for something to happen we need everybody involved..
It truly does take a village. In the book of Nehemiah they built the wall of Jerusalem and everybody worked together towards the same goal. That's what we need to do to accomplish this. If people would just stop being part of the problem and help to find a solution I believe our goal will be successful..
Respectfully,
Shannon Holland
Elise
Elise was parked in Set Free’s parking lot when I met her. She was 74.
Living in her car, she was looking for shower facilities and eventually a safe place to park her car at night where she wouldn’t be harassed by community watch personnel and the police.
Elise shared her story. She was a widow and had an apartment in the bay area with rent of $1,200 a month. It was scheduled to increase. Elise’s total income was $1,700 a month which meant she had little to live on.
She decided to move North to Oregon thinking rents should be more reasonable, but when she landed in the Rogue Valley she soon discovered rents here were just as high and she couldn’t pass the 30% rule.*
Her car was starting to have maintenance issues which she didn’t have the funds to repair. Without some type of help Elise will be headed down the all-to-familiar pattern of people losing their jobs, homes, cars and ending up on the ground.
Elise asked where she could park. I told her there was no place since living in one’s car is illegal in cities in the Rogue Valley.
Elise is past the age of finding work and creating more income. She needs a community where widows, seniors and others with no support system can live safely. She is good example of what the Bible calls “widows” that God wants His people to help.
*30% rule is a person’s rent should not be higher than 30% of their income or to put it another way a person needs to bring in three times their rent each month.
Elise was parked in Set Free’s parking lot when I met her. She was 74.
Living in her car, she was looking for shower facilities and eventually a safe place to park her car at night where she wouldn’t be harassed by community watch personnel and the police.
Elise shared her story. She was a widow and had an apartment in the bay area with rent of $1,200 a month. It was scheduled to increase. Elise’s total income was $1,700 a month which meant she had little to live on.
She decided to move North to Oregon thinking rents should be more reasonable, but when she landed in the Rogue Valley she soon discovered rents here were just as high and she couldn’t pass the 30% rule.*
Her car was starting to have maintenance issues which she didn’t have the funds to repair. Without some type of help Elise will be headed down the all-to-familiar pattern of people losing their jobs, homes, cars and ending up on the ground.
Elise asked where she could park. I told her there was no place since living in one’s car is illegal in cities in the Rogue Valley.
Elise is past the age of finding work and creating more income. She needs a community where widows, seniors and others with no support system can live safely. She is good example of what the Bible calls “widows” that God wants His people to help.
*30% rule is a person’s rent should not be higher than 30% of their income or to put it another way a person needs to bring in three times their rent each month.
Marci's Testimony
A co-worker and I came across an older lady, who for reference sake I will call, Sandy.
We met Sandy outside a local chain restaurant. She was in her mid to late 60’s and I was
immediately drawn to her warm smile and sweet disposition.
While she was very friendly, it was also clear Sandy lived on the streets and had been through
some hard times and serious trauma.
As we learned more about her, we discovered she was currently living behind a local
business. She mentioned the local shelter hadn’t always been the best experience for her and the
warming center wouldn’t be open for several more weeks (even though we had already gotten a lot of snow).
She talked of her desire to just have a stable and warm place to stay. She was so receptive to any ideas, but seemed resigned to the idea of not finding real help. A week later we found the lot she lived in and discovered she was living underneath a single tarp in a corner behind the business. Addiction and other trauma were likely part of her past, but there was little help to enable her to find hope to change or live.
We met Sandy outside a local chain restaurant. She was in her mid to late 60’s and I was
immediately drawn to her warm smile and sweet disposition.
While she was very friendly, it was also clear Sandy lived on the streets and had been through
some hard times and serious trauma.
As we learned more about her, we discovered she was currently living behind a local
business. She mentioned the local shelter hadn’t always been the best experience for her and the
warming center wouldn’t be open for several more weeks (even though we had already gotten a lot of snow).
She talked of her desire to just have a stable and warm place to stay. She was so receptive to any ideas, but seemed resigned to the idea of not finding real help. A week later we found the lot she lived in and discovered she was living underneath a single tarp in a corner behind the business. Addiction and other trauma were likely part of her past, but there was little help to enable her to find hope to change or live.
Grandma Jean
The Medford Police found Grandma Jean living in a cardboard box in the
Greenway. She was 79, a widow with no place to live. She was brought to the Kelly Shelter where she stayed six months and then transferred to Hope Village where she lived for over a year.
Grandma Jean had an income of around $1,400 a month, but with apartment rents around $1,000 a month she didn’t have enough income to meet the 30% rule* most landlords require.
Grandma Jean had a son, but he struggled with addiction issues and actually caused her to be evicted from her last apartment. With this on her record she was a risk for a landlord.
Grandma Jean is a great example of the “widow” the Bible talks about mattering to God and whom believers are instructed to care for. Widows like Grandma Jean do not have the resources, the support or the ability to take care of themselves. Someone needs to step in and help.
Fortunately with strong case management help Grandma Jean was able to secure a place in a retirement facility after nearly two years of work, but without the shelter and tiny house village she’d never gotten off the ground in a box.
When she finally secured a more permanent home Grandma Jean was able to get the dog and the turtle she always wanted.
*30% rule is a person’s rent should not be higher than 30% of their income or to put it another way a person needs to bring in three times their rent each month.
Greenway. She was 79, a widow with no place to live. She was brought to the Kelly Shelter where she stayed six months and then transferred to Hope Village where she lived for over a year.
Grandma Jean had an income of around $1,400 a month, but with apartment rents around $1,000 a month she didn’t have enough income to meet the 30% rule* most landlords require.
Grandma Jean had a son, but he struggled with addiction issues and actually caused her to be evicted from her last apartment. With this on her record she was a risk for a landlord.
Grandma Jean is a great example of the “widow” the Bible talks about mattering to God and whom believers are instructed to care for. Widows like Grandma Jean do not have the resources, the support or the ability to take care of themselves. Someone needs to step in and help.
Fortunately with strong case management help Grandma Jean was able to secure a place in a retirement facility after nearly two years of work, but without the shelter and tiny house village she’d never gotten off the ground in a box.
When she finally secured a more permanent home Grandma Jean was able to get the dog and the turtle she always wanted.
*30% rule is a person’s rent should not be higher than 30% of their income or to put it another way a person needs to bring in three times their rent each month.
Sally’s Challenge
Sally has worked hard all her life. If you ever needed anything done you could call her. She has a huge heart and rescues abandoned animals and people. Once on a cold night she brought a homeless man into her home. He stayed the night, got warm, was fed and went back out to the streets. He died a couple of days later on the streets.
Sally helped create and works for a homeless service organization. Now past retirement, she is still working to help those who can’t help themselves. She can’t afford to retire. She will never make it off her Social Security check since her income over the years has been modest.
Sally’s husband left her years ago, so she is the sole provider for the home. Her son struggled with addiction for many years and Sally took his two children into her home to provide a safe place for them to be. All of this has been a strain on Sally’s resources and income.
It’s not farfetched to believe Sally will end up homeless when and if she retires. Her home is mortgaged and costs more than the income she will receive from Social Security. She has no one capable of helping support her.
Sally needs Joy Community.
Sally has worked hard all her life. If you ever needed anything done you could call her. She has a huge heart and rescues abandoned animals and people. Once on a cold night she brought a homeless man into her home. He stayed the night, got warm, was fed and went back out to the streets. He died a couple of days later on the streets.
Sally helped create and works for a homeless service organization. Now past retirement, she is still working to help those who can’t help themselves. She can’t afford to retire. She will never make it off her Social Security check since her income over the years has been modest.
Sally’s husband left her years ago, so she is the sole provider for the home. Her son struggled with addiction for many years and Sally took his two children into her home to provide a safe place for them to be. All of this has been a strain on Sally’s resources and income.
It’s not farfetched to believe Sally will end up homeless when and if she retires. Her home is mortgaged and costs more than the income she will receive from Social Security. She has no one capable of helping support her.
Sally needs Joy Community.
Marjorie’s Impossible Situation
Marjorie called our office desperately seeking help. Her soft, frail voice was a clear indicator she was quite elderly.
As she shared her story it was evident she was in an impossible situation, needed help and didn’t know where to turn.
She didn’t have any family, wasn’t married, didn’t have much money and didn’t have a home. She had connected with an older man and at his invitation moved in to keep off the streets. Things went from bad to worse.
The man was abusing her. She needed to get out to protect herself, but her only option was to go to the streets and she knew she wouldn’t last there out in the cold.
She was calling us and everyone else she could think of for help. She was finding out there was no help. Most organizations didn’t return her calls or just referred her to someone else. Her cries for help were not received. There was truly no hope for her.
Should she stay and continue to be abused? We tried to connect her with a local agency that works with abused women to find a possible, immediate solution, but even if she were able to get into the shelter, it was a short-term fix. There were time limits on staying in the shelter and Marjorie would need to find housing to move on to.
Yet, for Marjorie and so many other seniors, their income is far from sufficient to cover a monthly rent. She has no family to help her and her odds of finding HUD housing are slim with the lack of affordable housing and waiting lists of up to five years.
Marjorie needs a place like Joy Community.
Marjorie called our office desperately seeking help. Her soft, frail voice was a clear indicator she was quite elderly.
As she shared her story it was evident she was in an impossible situation, needed help and didn’t know where to turn.
She didn’t have any family, wasn’t married, didn’t have much money and didn’t have a home. She had connected with an older man and at his invitation moved in to keep off the streets. Things went from bad to worse.
The man was abusing her. She needed to get out to protect herself, but her only option was to go to the streets and she knew she wouldn’t last there out in the cold.
She was calling us and everyone else she could think of for help. She was finding out there was no help. Most organizations didn’t return her calls or just referred her to someone else. Her cries for help were not received. There was truly no hope for her.
Should she stay and continue to be abused? We tried to connect her with a local agency that works with abused women to find a possible, immediate solution, but even if she were able to get into the shelter, it was a short-term fix. There were time limits on staying in the shelter and Marjorie would need to find housing to move on to.
Yet, for Marjorie and so many other seniors, their income is far from sufficient to cover a monthly rent. She has no family to help her and her odds of finding HUD housing are slim with the lack of affordable housing and waiting lists of up to five years.
Marjorie needs a place like Joy Community.
Billie's Story - Running From Wildfire
My name is Billie Nix (age 75)
I heard you on radio about housing for Seniors. I didn't think anyone understood. Maybe you got through to Meyer, I never could!
Dozens of my neighbors have died looking for a home or trying to get home. I never got there. Now have COVID, weigh 85 lbs and fear my journey is over. I just want to go home! If I can, I will leave $ to your group. I don't want anyone to endure what I have for nearly 3 years.
Isolation, fear, hunger and death.
Thank you, I wish you the best!
Billie aka AuntB, thetowncrier
Please see the information below that was submitted for testimony
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rep Morgan
To: HWREC Exhibits
Subject: Testimony impact of wildfires disabled 73 year old woman Date:
Friday, February 12, 2021 8:40:34 AM
Dear Rep. Morgan, My name is Billie S. Nix, female, age 73. My home was in Phoenix, Oregon, destroyed by the Alameda Fire, FEMA disaster # 4562 on Sept. 8, 2020.
You asked for testimony regarding the impact of those wildfires. Though I am unable to travel, I hope this written statement will be considered.
I now find myself a resident of your district in Grants Pass. I am trying to go back to my home of 70 years in the Medford area. I led a simple life, disabled with TBI, a badly healed crushed pelvis, COPD, bad mesh implants, PTSD and more for many years, mostly at home alone for 25 years without family with Bugs the Cat, my crafts and family heirlooms.
I have a 22 year old car with only 80,000 miles... I didn't get out much. My world was small and simple. A good share of those miles has been the last 5 months spent living in the car or in strange scary places, disgusting motels or driving the I-5 corridor searching for a safe place to sleep or storage to put the few things I had to buy. Nothing has been available to buy, rent or store. When something pops up, hundreds are vying for it.
We got NO warning of the coming flames. A relative from Northern Calif called to tell me it was coming! I ran door to door to warn my neighbors. It was an elderly Mobile Home park. Most laughed at me. The media was mute! I couldn't even find out anything from 911. We weren't evacuated, we ran.
I had no time to gather any of those precious remains of my ancestors and loved ones, jewelry, hundreds of thousands of $ in jewelry, gold and was too exhausted from smoke to load my car with more than my cat, the only living thing left of 73 years of life, a purse and a cell phone I didn't know how to use.
I drove west until I was out of the traffic, stopped on a hilltop and looked back at Phoenix, Talent, realizing that I wasn't just evacuating for a couple of days and worried about looters. I knew it was all gone.
I had no idea where to go. The freeways were closed. I drove a back road to Rogue River where I bought cat litter, parked at a grocery store parking lot and tried to get news.
Nothing... the same thing on radio ALL day..."There was a one structure fire in Ashland this morning, fully contained". No one I knew, knew anything. The rumors were rampant. The smoke was thick and it was still 100 degrees. I didn't have a toothbrush.
This old broken body isn't made to sleep in a car. There were no motels for days. The next day I was informed my home was gone. The entire community was gone. I had a few invitations from old single men, the only ones willing to take the cat too... And I will NOT let go of the only face I recognize, the only connection to my life, even though it's only a cat! So I picked the least frightening of them and landed in Lane County.
Then I got the news on my insurance, which I thought was adequate. In my confusion, I had in error increased the coverage 2 years before on another piece of real estate for a relative, not my own. My beautiful, remodeled home that I put $ 70,000 into was insured for $23,000.
Then the State took a portion of that for taxes. That house would now sell any where in Jackson County for $140,000. Yes, we are being gouged by a greedy, sellers market. Prices have more than doubled in 5 months on 'affordable' manufactured housing. Park prices have gone up as well.
There's no where in my home town to come home to, and that is hard to accept much less adjust to... old, can't see, constantly driving in a strange town with anxiety every time I have to get behind a wheel. No internet...
The fire was the least of the trauma. It's the every day horror of people capable of the lowest form of humanity. FEMA told us they would clear the burned rented sites at no cost to us tenants, but the owner of Greenway Village, my park, refuses to wait. His lawyer wrote demanding $5,900 immediately or I would be sued to pay the private contractor he hired. I didn't hire that contractor. I gave right of way to FEMA, at no cost to me.
But lawyers don't have time for old fire refugees. My credit, PERFECT credit.... NEVER a late payment in my life, never a traffic ticket, suit or bad check. EVER. ... is now ruined.
I won't be able to rent, or rent a space or even buy an old trailer. When I moved in we paid first and Last month’s rent...$335…many years ago. Greenway also refuses to refund that which they are contracted to at end of space rent! They owe me money.
My family was NEVER on welfare! I paid off my families student loans! I was a good citizen. I worked hard to earn that perfect credit, but someone thinks they deserve part of that $21,000 more than I do. And they'll get it, because I can't fight everyone and stay alive too.
When I was in Lane county, the door was slammed in my face like I was an alien because "You are in the wrong county!! Wrong disaster #!. BYE!" Over and over. Red Cross said I had to go to Medford. I was sick, couldn't drive and couldn't go to a doctor covered by insurance... because Medicare advantage is by COUNTY and I had to go to Medford!
Every day is a new, unexpected humiliating blow. Some agencies and non-profits try. Some just cause more confusion and heartache. For the most part they just give out each other's phone numbers. And ask silly questions no one has an answer for.
I have 3 notebooks full of them and STILL have never been able to register with Red Cross.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, with pancreatitis, the man I was living with had used and worked me nearly to death, gone through my money, so I packed my car, leaving most behind and headed to Medford.
When I got to the Expo, FEMA and Red Cross had closed up THAT day. I won't describe the next 3 weeks of sometimes begging on my hands and knees for help lifting or a place to sleep, once sneaking away in the middle of a rainy night on a mountain in Glendale, Oregon. I paid $25 for a place with no toilet.
I was terrified and mauled and no woman should have to go through what I did! Each place I was forced to leave more behind. GoFund me cut me and several fire victims off quickly as 'not a legitimate cause'...... Every day I was made to feel as if I had done something terrible. Criminals are treated better by law!
Finally one motel in Grants pass would take a cat. Horrible dirty, full of gang bangers and quarter mile walk to the office with ice. No microwave or fridge. $60 per night. Savings go fast at that rate. It was warm. It was never safe.
Thanksgiving day I drove into Grants Pass exhausted after finally finding storage in Glendale Oregon. The ONLY one on i5! I cannot see in the dark, so walked to Jack in the Box next door.
Our governor had just issued a new no go inside a restaurant order, so I was turned away at the door. I got in line behind half dozen cars in the rain. When I got to the speaker, I was informed that I had to be in a car. I just turned and cried. I couldn't go on. Finally a man in a car offered to order for me. I was so hungry, had no chance all day to eat and down to 89 lbs. Most just looked at me with disdain assuming I was a vagrant.
I have owned my own home since I was 18. But not this 'Thanksgiving'. As I stood in the rain walking back, afraid, in the dark, I thought of my mother's silver daffodil silver service that was always at our lace covered Thanksgiving table and only finding burned pieces of it in the ruins. And I said thank you, that none of those good people could see what I had become. I didn't think a human could sink lower or meet more mean people than this, but I had not yet seen the depths of disgusting behavior. And it's not over.
Everyone I hire, sees me as a target, bait for insurance money and intimidation. I'm so traumatized I cannot communicate verbally without crying and becoming terrified. I have an anxiety attack every time this cell phone rings. It's never good news or a friendly voice.
The mailbox is a thing of horror. I went to the doctor for meds to calm my heart and confused brain down... they almost killed me. I'm sick. And there is nowhere to live and heal and start over.
I am supposed to be out of here in 3 weeks. I can't find anywhere to go. A 50 year old mobile, worth $20,000 is going for $90,000. And worse.
None of us have the money to do this! We must have safe housing. Please. We deserve to die in our hometowns, not out here afraid among strangers.
I am not asking for a handout. I have savings, though inadequate in this inflated market. We must have reasonable, safe housing comparable to what we had or at least reasonable temporary housing. Thank you, Billie S.
I heard you on radio about housing for Seniors. I didn't think anyone understood. Maybe you got through to Meyer, I never could!
Dozens of my neighbors have died looking for a home or trying to get home. I never got there. Now have COVID, weigh 85 lbs and fear my journey is over. I just want to go home! If I can, I will leave $ to your group. I don't want anyone to endure what I have for nearly 3 years.
Isolation, fear, hunger and death.
Thank you, I wish you the best!
Billie aka AuntB, thetowncrier
Please see the information below that was submitted for testimony
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rep Morgan
To: HWREC Exhibits
Subject: Testimony impact of wildfires disabled 73 year old woman Date:
Friday, February 12, 2021 8:40:34 AM
Dear Rep. Morgan, My name is Billie S. Nix, female, age 73. My home was in Phoenix, Oregon, destroyed by the Alameda Fire, FEMA disaster # 4562 on Sept. 8, 2020.
You asked for testimony regarding the impact of those wildfires. Though I am unable to travel, I hope this written statement will be considered.
I now find myself a resident of your district in Grants Pass. I am trying to go back to my home of 70 years in the Medford area. I led a simple life, disabled with TBI, a badly healed crushed pelvis, COPD, bad mesh implants, PTSD and more for many years, mostly at home alone for 25 years without family with Bugs the Cat, my crafts and family heirlooms.
I have a 22 year old car with only 80,000 miles... I didn't get out much. My world was small and simple. A good share of those miles has been the last 5 months spent living in the car or in strange scary places, disgusting motels or driving the I-5 corridor searching for a safe place to sleep or storage to put the few things I had to buy. Nothing has been available to buy, rent or store. When something pops up, hundreds are vying for it.
We got NO warning of the coming flames. A relative from Northern Calif called to tell me it was coming! I ran door to door to warn my neighbors. It was an elderly Mobile Home park. Most laughed at me. The media was mute! I couldn't even find out anything from 911. We weren't evacuated, we ran.
I had no time to gather any of those precious remains of my ancestors and loved ones, jewelry, hundreds of thousands of $ in jewelry, gold and was too exhausted from smoke to load my car with more than my cat, the only living thing left of 73 years of life, a purse and a cell phone I didn't know how to use.
I drove west until I was out of the traffic, stopped on a hilltop and looked back at Phoenix, Talent, realizing that I wasn't just evacuating for a couple of days and worried about looters. I knew it was all gone.
I had no idea where to go. The freeways were closed. I drove a back road to Rogue River where I bought cat litter, parked at a grocery store parking lot and tried to get news.
Nothing... the same thing on radio ALL day..."There was a one structure fire in Ashland this morning, fully contained". No one I knew, knew anything. The rumors were rampant. The smoke was thick and it was still 100 degrees. I didn't have a toothbrush.
This old broken body isn't made to sleep in a car. There were no motels for days. The next day I was informed my home was gone. The entire community was gone. I had a few invitations from old single men, the only ones willing to take the cat too... And I will NOT let go of the only face I recognize, the only connection to my life, even though it's only a cat! So I picked the least frightening of them and landed in Lane County.
Then I got the news on my insurance, which I thought was adequate. In my confusion, I had in error increased the coverage 2 years before on another piece of real estate for a relative, not my own. My beautiful, remodeled home that I put $ 70,000 into was insured for $23,000.
Then the State took a portion of that for taxes. That house would now sell any where in Jackson County for $140,000. Yes, we are being gouged by a greedy, sellers market. Prices have more than doubled in 5 months on 'affordable' manufactured housing. Park prices have gone up as well.
There's no where in my home town to come home to, and that is hard to accept much less adjust to... old, can't see, constantly driving in a strange town with anxiety every time I have to get behind a wheel. No internet...
The fire was the least of the trauma. It's the every day horror of people capable of the lowest form of humanity. FEMA told us they would clear the burned rented sites at no cost to us tenants, but the owner of Greenway Village, my park, refuses to wait. His lawyer wrote demanding $5,900 immediately or I would be sued to pay the private contractor he hired. I didn't hire that contractor. I gave right of way to FEMA, at no cost to me.
But lawyers don't have time for old fire refugees. My credit, PERFECT credit.... NEVER a late payment in my life, never a traffic ticket, suit or bad check. EVER. ... is now ruined.
I won't be able to rent, or rent a space or even buy an old trailer. When I moved in we paid first and Last month’s rent...$335…many years ago. Greenway also refuses to refund that which they are contracted to at end of space rent! They owe me money.
My family was NEVER on welfare! I paid off my families student loans! I was a good citizen. I worked hard to earn that perfect credit, but someone thinks they deserve part of that $21,000 more than I do. And they'll get it, because I can't fight everyone and stay alive too.
When I was in Lane county, the door was slammed in my face like I was an alien because "You are in the wrong county!! Wrong disaster #!. BYE!" Over and over. Red Cross said I had to go to Medford. I was sick, couldn't drive and couldn't go to a doctor covered by insurance... because Medicare advantage is by COUNTY and I had to go to Medford!
Every day is a new, unexpected humiliating blow. Some agencies and non-profits try. Some just cause more confusion and heartache. For the most part they just give out each other's phone numbers. And ask silly questions no one has an answer for.
I have 3 notebooks full of them and STILL have never been able to register with Red Cross.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, with pancreatitis, the man I was living with had used and worked me nearly to death, gone through my money, so I packed my car, leaving most behind and headed to Medford.
When I got to the Expo, FEMA and Red Cross had closed up THAT day. I won't describe the next 3 weeks of sometimes begging on my hands and knees for help lifting or a place to sleep, once sneaking away in the middle of a rainy night on a mountain in Glendale, Oregon. I paid $25 for a place with no toilet.
I was terrified and mauled and no woman should have to go through what I did! Each place I was forced to leave more behind. GoFund me cut me and several fire victims off quickly as 'not a legitimate cause'...... Every day I was made to feel as if I had done something terrible. Criminals are treated better by law!
Finally one motel in Grants pass would take a cat. Horrible dirty, full of gang bangers and quarter mile walk to the office with ice. No microwave or fridge. $60 per night. Savings go fast at that rate. It was warm. It was never safe.
Thanksgiving day I drove into Grants Pass exhausted after finally finding storage in Glendale Oregon. The ONLY one on i5! I cannot see in the dark, so walked to Jack in the Box next door.
Our governor had just issued a new no go inside a restaurant order, so I was turned away at the door. I got in line behind half dozen cars in the rain. When I got to the speaker, I was informed that I had to be in a car. I just turned and cried. I couldn't go on. Finally a man in a car offered to order for me. I was so hungry, had no chance all day to eat and down to 89 lbs. Most just looked at me with disdain assuming I was a vagrant.
I have owned my own home since I was 18. But not this 'Thanksgiving'. As I stood in the rain walking back, afraid, in the dark, I thought of my mother's silver daffodil silver service that was always at our lace covered Thanksgiving table and only finding burned pieces of it in the ruins. And I said thank you, that none of those good people could see what I had become. I didn't think a human could sink lower or meet more mean people than this, but I had not yet seen the depths of disgusting behavior. And it's not over.
Everyone I hire, sees me as a target, bait for insurance money and intimidation. I'm so traumatized I cannot communicate verbally without crying and becoming terrified. I have an anxiety attack every time this cell phone rings. It's never good news or a friendly voice.
The mailbox is a thing of horror. I went to the doctor for meds to calm my heart and confused brain down... they almost killed me. I'm sick. And there is nowhere to live and heal and start over.
I am supposed to be out of here in 3 weeks. I can't find anywhere to go. A 50 year old mobile, worth $20,000 is going for $90,000. And worse.
None of us have the money to do this! We must have safe housing. Please. We deserve to die in our hometowns, not out here afraid among strangers.
I am not asking for a handout. I have savings, though inadequate in this inflated market. We must have reasonable, safe housing comparable to what we had or at least reasonable temporary housing. Thank you, Billie S.