Commentary: Come together as a community, we’re all in this together

Published 11:55 am Friday, December 12, 2025

On a recent Sunday morning, more than 40 volunteers, most of them strangers to one another, gathered at the Astoria Armory. By two that afternoon, they had moved more than a ton and a half of food and supplies into the hands of over two hundred local families. No paperwork. No judgment. Just neighbors helping neighbors.

This is what mutual aid looks like in Clatsop County.

As conversations heat up about homelessness and visible poverty in our downtown, I hope to share some truths that often get lost in the noise.

The “bussed in” myth is just that — a myth.

Talk to anyone doing direct service work in our community — Erin Carlsen at LIFEboat, the teams at the Warming Center, the volunteers who show up week after week — and they’ll tell you the same thing: the vast majority of our unhoused neighbors are local. They grew up here, worked here, raised families here. Or they came here years ago and put down roots. They aren’t strangers shipped in from somewhere else. They’re us.

The real problem is a set of impossible loops.

Imagine trying to get a job without an ID. Now imagine trying to get an ID without an address or a copy of your birth certificate. Imagine trying to secure housing without income, and income without stable housing. Add to that the impossibility of a good night’s sleep, a hot shower, or a quiet cup of coffee — things most of us take for granted every single morning.

These aren’t character failures. They’re systemic traps. And once you’re caught in one, climbing out requires resources and luck that most people simply don’t have.

Addressing symptoms isn’t the same as solving problems.

I understand the frustration of downtown business owners. I understand wanting our streets to feel safe and welcoming for tourists and residents alike. But sweeping people out of sight doesn’t make the problem disappear — it just moves it. If we want real change, we need to address the causes, not just the optics.

That means supporting organizations like LIFEboat, CCA, the Regional Food Bank, The Harbor, Helping Hands, Consejo Hispano, and more that do the unglamorous daily work of meeting people where they are. It means funding housing solutions, ID assistance programs, and mental health services. It means showing up.

Solutions exist. We need the will to use them.

A contingent of us are actively working on this — not just talking, but building real solutions. Oregon law already provides a tool called “super siting” under ORS 197.783, which requires local governments to approve emergency shelters regardless of local zoning if basic criteria are met. A super site would provide a centralized location for services, support, and shelter — reducing the scattered visibility that frustrates business owners while actually helping people stabilize their lives.

But I’ll be perfectly frank: the very problems that businesses and the Mayor and City Council want solved? They have solutions available that they are choosing not to utilize. We don’t have time to wait months for more research and more studies. The answers are clear. The data is present and current. We have access to funding that could be tapped for solutions immediately. And state law has already removed the zoning barriers that are so often cited as obstacles.

What we lack is not information or resources. What we lack is urgency and political will.

We are all closer to a crisis than we think.

One medical emergency. One job loss. One family rupture. Most of us are not as far from our neighbors on the street as we’d like to believe. This isn’t meant to frighten — it’s meant to build a bridge. Compassion becomes easier when we recognize our shared vulnerability.

Let’s be honest about why downtown is struggling.

It’s convenient to blame declining foot traffic on our unhoused neighbors. But let’s tell the truth: people are broke. SNAP benefits have been slashed. Inflation has gutted household budgets. Families are choosing between groceries and gas, not debating whether to pop into a shop on Commercial Street. This is happening in downtowns across America, not just in Astoria.

Our houseless neighbors are not the cause of our economic pain — they are experiencing the sharpest edge of it. When we scapegoat the most vulnerable among us for problems that stem from decades of policy failures and economic squeeze, we miss the real issue entirely.

And let’s talk about language.

We keep calling it “camping.” It’s not camping. No one is pitching a tent on a downtown sidewalk for fun. They are surviving. They are doing what any of us would do if we had nowhere else to go — finding a place to lie down that offers some measure of safety, some protection from the elements, some proximity to services.

The city has issued 200 citations this year with, by the police chief’s own admission, “zero results.” Officers are leaving the force because they didn’t sign up to be “camping police.” We’ve spent over $54,000 in labor and removed seven tons of garbage, and the problem is growing. At what point do we admit that punishment isn’t working — and try compassion instead?

Stop criminalizing and vilifying homelessness. It doesn’t work. It has never worked. It only makes it harder for people to climb out of the hole they’re in.

You don’t see most of what it takes to help.

This week, it took me five days to connect a single bin of supplies with one person in need. Five days — because they can’t just leave their phone on. They don’t have unlimited minutes. They don’t have a car to drive to a pickup point or a dry, warm place to wait. There is a huge, invisible web of people working tirelessly to help others survive, and most of it happens out of sight.

I’d invite anyone reading this to check their privilege and take a hard look at what survival actually requires. In December 2023, our cabin lost power for over three weeks. I was dry. I had a well-maintained wood stove. And it still took nearly two hours to warm a small space. Now imagine that’s your entire day — not an inconvenience, but your life. Imagine spending every waking hour just trying to stay warm, stay dry, stay safe. Imagine doing that with no ID, no address, no phone minutes, no way to receive help even when someone is trying to give it.

The season of giving is here — and everyone has something to offer.

You don’t have to write a check to make a difference, though donations to local organizations are always welcome. You can give time — a few hours at a food distribution, a shift at the Warming Center. You can give talent — professional skills, a strong back, a warm smile. The mutual aid network in Clatsop County is full of people who started by just showing up once.

We’re doing it again this month, and we welcome you to join in the spirit of Clatsop County community for Thriftmas and the Winter Warmers Solstice Swap on December 20 and 21. Details at AstoriaHarvest.org.

Dignity matters more than charity. When we show up with pride, we reduce stigma for everyone. This holiday season, I invite you to extend your compassion beyond your comfort zone. Look your neighbors in the eye — all of them. Remember that no one chooses to sleep in the cold and rain. Remember that the person asking for help today might be the person offering it tomorrow.

Our community is richer for the experiences we all face. If we can share these difficult times together and shore up our community, we will be able to create a more prosperous and healthy environment and town for everyone.

We’re all in this together. And when we come together as a community, we can do remarkable things.

Emily Engdahl is the founder of Astoria Harvest and a longtime Astoria resident. To learn more or volunteer, visit AstoriaHarvest.org.