A week after erecting “No Trespassing” signs around the homeless encampment of Whoville, the City of Eugene has put up a fence around the compound.
“(The fence is) really just to secure the site and prevent trespassing,” Laura Hammond, community outreach coordinator for the City of Eugene’s Planning and Development Department said. “Eventually once everyone leaves the fence will be closed because the area isn’t open to the public.”
According to Hammond, Whoville has been situated on property allocated for the Hillyard Street Extension Project since it was erected four months ago. The city’s hope, she says, is that people will slowly move out of the area.
Jennifer Frenzer, an advocate for the unsheltered of Eugene, doesn’t view the fence as the appropriate course of action. She applauds the previous social work put in by the city but doesn’t believe enough is being done to help find Whoville dwellers new places to live.
“Instead of taking a social work approach … they switched gears and brought in an eviction notice,” Frenzer said. “(Whoville residents) don’t want to argue, they don’t want to fight with anyone, they just want to move to the next site.”
Hammond says the city’s future plans remain tentative.
“Our plans are not to have a confrontation or a deadline,” she said. “We’re working with everyone to have a transition that works for everybody involved.”