HMS Project
This project began when Marty & Scott discussed homelessness in the Eugene area. Marty
pointed out that he was embarrassed and ashamed when seeing sites in and about Eugene, and specifically the encampment on West 11 th and Beltline. He determined he would do something
to further educate himself on the issue. This began multiple discussions with Scott about the
issue and the root cause or causes.
Just as there appear to be multiple causes, the homeless population is not easy to track for
multiple reasons. This population is very mobile and in general has a distrust of authority. And
in speaking to the causes of the unhoused population, we have:
1. Mental health issues
2. Drug use
3. Health issues
4. Increasing housing costs
These are not the only causes but speak to some of the primary causes. Recognizing that many
of these causes are beyond our ability to remedy, we chose to look for something where
incremental help might have a positive result. One area that came up is the increasing number
of women veterans that became homeless after their service. And that this population was
seeing the largest increase in homelessness. Many of the issues faced by female veterans are
the same as those of male veterans. A big exception is sexual abuse/harassment faced by
female veterans which further complicates the distrust of authority issue.
Marty & Scott decided this might be an area where we could help a targeted area; to detail a
problem and determine a course of action to help this group. We would like to setup a template for
a course of action and then reach out for funding.