This Wayne Morse Center for Lawn and Politics panel brings together representatives from city and county government as well as community partners to discuss the planning and enforcement of regulations surrounding unsheltered homelessness and informal housing in Lane County. Through this conversation we aim to identify shared obstacles, concerns, and experiences of officials and organizations charged with addressing this pressing social problem.

Panelists
Claire Herbert is an assistant professor of sociology at UO and a 2021-22 Wayne Morse Center Resident Scholar. Her research focuses on law, housing, incarceration, and urban sociology. Her first book is about the informal use of property in Detroit, Michigan, including squatting, scrapping, and gardening. Her current research is on informal housing in Lane County.

Heather Sielicki works for Everyone Village, a planned shelter development with a mutual benefit model located on the Rexius property in west Eugene that has been approved by Eugene City Council to host up to 60 units of shelter. She has worked for Carry it Forward and White Bird Clinic and currently serves as a Eugene human rights commissioner and vice-chair for Lane Coalition for Organizations Active in Disaster Response. 

Sarai Johnson is the Lane County housing and shelter strategist. She coordinates efforts among the city, county, and local service providers to avoid duplication of work on the shared goal of housing for everyone. Her assignment is to create a new path forward by working together – among government agencies and other service providers who help people who are unhoused. 

Chris Skinner has been chief of the Eugene Police Department since April 2018. His public safety career began in Monmouth, Oregon. He came to Eugene from Kirkland, Washington, where he was appointed chief of police in 2011.