Parents Horrified as City's 'Balanced Approach' to Homelessness Sees Man Immolate Himself in Front of Nearby Elementary School
Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to put a giant homeless shelter in a school zone?
On Tuesday, a man set himself on fire in the park next to the library in Beaverton, Oregon, after accidentally igniting his clothes with a lit cigarette. He was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition and later died, according to KPTV.
While authorities believe the incident was accidental, it has further upset parents of children who attend St. Cecilia Elementary School, just across the street from the shelter.
The parents have complained that the shelter’s location has created a lose-lose situation: an unsafe environment for their children and a facility that provides inadequate services for those with mental health issues.
A social media post alleged that children actually saw the event out of the school windows.
“Enough is enough!” the post said. “This is not acceptable and will no longer be tolerated. The council needs to change the focus from homelessness to CHILDREN… We will no longer wait for the unimaginable to happen and keep accepting ‘I’m sorrys’ from the city. We’ve been patient and understanding enough.”
Today in Beaverton Oregon, a mentally ill drug addicted homeless man LIT HIMSELF ON FIRE in front of St. Cecilia Elementary School. The children could see out of the school windows!
In a letter to Mayor @laceybeaty and the City council of Beaverton, a fed-up parent writes:… pic.twitter.com/arPAwihDO2
— Coco 🇺🇸 (@CoClarified) January 31, 2024
I would argue that the children have already been harmed. Anybody that witnessed that will need extensive therapy.
— Atlas (@IlhaDeAtlantida) January 31, 2024
The Beaverton Temporary Shelter at the Beaverton Community Center, run by Just Compassion of East Washington County, has operated since January 2017.
However, parents of students at St. Cecilia School said that disturbing incidents have become more common around the shelter over time.
“We’ve had people who have been naked during drop off time, we’ve had people sleeping on the preschool doorstep,” one parent told KPTV on Wednesday. “My kid doesn’t want to go to the library anymore, he doesn’t want to enter school on this side of the street. It becomes difficult.”
Another parent claimed a man pounded on her car window, shouting obscenities as she dropped off her daughter.
That mother said she feels “hopeless” about the situation, concerned about what her kids may be exposed to so close to the shelter.
The homeless situation in Oregon is at crisis level and there is much blame to go around.
Social distancing policies, aimed to curb the spread of COVID-19, exacerbated mental health struggles and substance abuse.
Isolation from community support systems led to increases in addiction, overdoses and suicides during the pandemic.
Simultaneously, the dangerous opioid fentanyl infiltrated Portland’s illegal drug supply. As mental health care needs grew, more people appeared to have turned to drugs as a form of self-medication.
This combination of factors drove Oregon’s overdose fatalities to double between 2011 to 2021, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
James Pritchard, a resident of Beaverton homeless shelter, told KGW on Wednesday that fentanyl is always around the area.
“Unbeknownst to me, I had gotten some coke, and it was mainly fentanyl … I overdosed and almost died,” Pritchard told the outlet.
Ronald Hastenpayne, another resident, told the outlet, “Fentanyl is everywhere … People are dying every day from it.”
But while lawmakers debate on how best to handle the intolerable situation, you would think they would at least try to keep the homeless population — which includes many who are severely mentally incapacitated and some who may possibly be dangerous — away from the children.
But the City of Beaverton said the shelter is part of a “balanced approach.”
In a statement to KPTV, the city wrote, “We recognize that incidents of this magnitude resonate within the community and acknowledge feelings of fear and frustration. Homelessness is an extremely challenging situation affecting much of the region at increasing levels.
“In Beaverton, we remain committed to a balanced approach,” the letter added, “continuing support for area adults and families in need, while maintaining the safety and integrity of our city for all to enjoy. We have done this by prioritizing compassionate response with resources intended to make the deepest impact, such as launching a Safe Parking program with secure space for people living in cars and partnering with street outreach workers to deliver direct services.”
It sounds like the “balanced approach” weighs far more heavily on the side of the homeless, with little to no mention of how the city plans to protect the local children.
It’s a clear indication of where school kids and families lie in the hierarchy of priorities of the city.
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