I read your letter with interest, Mr. Don French (Letters, 5/14).
You said, “Until there is a distinction between the homeless criminals/drug addicts and homeless needing a hand… the general public will not be supportive of assistance.” Conveniently, there is a distinction, and it isn’t difficult to find. However, it requires the sacrifice of time spent getting to know homeless people to understand who they are — not as a group, but as individuals. This would be a good community project for Eugene.
Perhaps then, local community members and police would stop assuming that when a crime is done, it is an entire camp that is the culprit. If there is a criminal in an apartment building, do we evict everyone in the building? If there is a business that runs a chop shop, are all the businesses in the block shut down? Yes, criminals can certainly be in camps. But it creates harm to all of our city when a social group is treated like the worst of that group. When everyone is arrested, evicted, ticketed or banned because of the actions of one or two.
Perhaps EW understands and appreciates that.
Steve Kimes
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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