Downtown Camas Merchants, City Face Growing Homeless Problems
Camas, WA — The homeless and panhandler problems in downtown Camas and in other areas of the city came to a head on Memorial Day when Carmen, a homeless woman who sleeps on sidewalk benches along 4th Avenue, was accused of desecrating American flags on display. Local veterans had placed the flags to honor fallen veterans for Memorial Day.
“On Monday morning we heard a commotion, while having breakfast at Natalia’s Cafe, and we saw a lady who threw an American flag on the street and then she spit on it,” said Sonny Liston, a U.S. veteran, and commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW #4278).”
Liston said Carmen cursed the flag, and yelled “I don’t want this flag in my house!”
“Other VFW members confronted her, called the police and things got heated,” said Liston. “She started yelling at all of us, and the police were called. The police talked to her and to all of us, but no arrest was made.”
It’s one in a string of incidents with Carmen, and others who continue to sleep and squat along 4th Avenue. A younger man, named Jordan, was asked to leave the premises last week while panhandling on Lutz Hardware property.
Barry Lutz, owner of the Lutz Hardware building, said his tenants have been a dealing with unauthorized use of the upstairs office bathrooms. A homeless man used the facilities to clean up and left a big mess on the premises. Lutz plans to place additional security measures inside his building.
“I’ve been involved in a couple of these experiences,” said Amy Begley, owner of 4Ever Growing Kids at 4th and Dallas Streets in downtown Camas. “We had one incident on Camas clean up day and while cleaning up Carmen (who has spent four months camping outside her store) was yelling at me in front of my children and I got into quite the argument with her. I called the police because I didn’t think this was appropriate for this to happen in front of all these families and instead of coming down to tell me what my rights were the police decided to give her a rundown of her rights. I don’t believe she has the right to use that space as she does. Her stuff is on the bench 24/7. She moves around during the day but she keeps her belongings here.”
Begley said the police “treat me like I’m the nuisance, like I’m the problem.”
Begley also reported an altercation Carmen had with a customer.
“She (Carmen) smacked the hands of one of my customers who inquired about her being there, and she told them go away or she would call the cops on them.”
Lacamas Magazine also asked Carmen about why she uses this space, and she replied: “I’m busy, get out of my space.”
Jordan told Lacamas Magazine “I’m here because my family dropped me off to get money.”
The employees at Juxtaposition reported that their customers are concerned because they too have been threatened by several people wandering the streets, and said “unless the problem goes away we won’t shop here anymore.”
So, what can be done?
“I have received comments from several citizens and am aware of the incident that occurred on Memorial Day,” said Camas City Council member, Jennifer Senescu. “I have reached out to Mayor Hogan, Administrator Quinn and Chief Lackey requesting a discussion on how to best handle this situation. I recognize the importance of addressing this matter and will work with my peers toward a resolution.”
The Downtown Camas Association (DCA) has also held meetings with city officials to address the growing issue.
Downtown Camas employees have expressed feeling unsafe at night (when working late) as they see another homeless man wander the streets on an ongoing basis. And, the city was able to clear Goot Park of a homeless issue that arose there months ago.
“We are aware of the situation that occurred (on Memorial Day),” said Bryan Rachal, City of Camas Communications Director. “Camas PD was dispatched to the situation and determined that it did not rise to the level of arrest or citation. Homelessness in itself is not a crime, as such we follow standard protocol and connect the individuals with the Clark County Council for the Homeless. We understand the public’s concern and will continue to discuss options internally.”
Senescu plans to address the problem in official City Council sessions, and local merchants plan to formally address the homeless and panhandling issues.
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Under what conditions can we respond to her attacks with violent or potentially lethal force?
This is incredibly sickening. Using lethal force on an unhoused woman who you don’t want to see in Downtown Camas… What’s wrong with you?
Nobody wants to be homeless, and of course people who are unhoused are going to be defensive and acting out of deep hurt. So many people treat unhoused folks as less than human…see the comment above about using “violent or potentially lethal force” against a woman who has nothing and nobody.
Clearly Camas needs more resources and systems in place to help people with housing issues, as homelessness will only grow in our community as the housing problem gets worse. We can’t ignore it or shove it off as not our problem. Until Camas can get its act together to provide some commubity support, maybe Journey church should use all that prime space it’s buying up to shelter people, if the church wants to be such a core part of downtown.
Your comment suggests that she is at greater risk of harm from you than you are from her.
I’m on downtown Camas often and have never been accosted by any of the homeless people mentioned. To read this, actually came as a surprise to me. Not sure what can be done, I feel for everyone involved.
I live in Portland and our homeless crisis is very sad, but there are thousands of people involved with non-profits and churches trying to reduced the suffering seen on the streets of Portland.
What’s even more sad is how a city with a median household income higher than Lake Oswego is struggling with a couple homeless folk. Some say they’d never live in Portland because of the homeless crisis, well I say I’d never live in a city where the residents refuse to help just one person.