Waste collection firm aids the homeless, Feb. 10

Coquille Tribe release – If you think caring for homeless people is about compassion, you’re partly right. But it’s also about logistics. Washing a lot of dishes. Doing a lot of laundry. Discarding a lot of garbage. And paying for everything on a shoestring. Some of those challenges just got easier for Coos Bay’s Devereux Center, thanks to a substantial inkind donation from Les’ Sanitary Service. The center’s garbage and recycling bill, typically $1,000 to $1,200 every month, is free from now on. “That’s a major gift for us,” Director Tara Johnson said. “Those funds can go directly back into helping people.” Johnson has a lot of people to help. About 300 clients – homeless, mentally ill or both – come to the Devereux Center each month. “In a sense, we’re a household for 300 people a month,” she said. A household that size generates a steady flow of packaging, food waste, paper towels and worn-out clothes. The center also invites homeless people to deposit their own trash rather that dump it on the street or in the woods. The local manager of Les’ Sanitation, Bill Richardson, learned of the center’s financial strain from a couple of community leaders. The decision to help was easy. Parent company Waste Connections encourages community service. “There is no negative to this,” said Richardson, who is also a North Bend city councilor. “If our company can help in a small way, that’s what we need to do.” Richardson has become an enthusiastic booster for Johnson and her cause. “She’s helping people in all kinds of ways that I didn’t even know about,” he said. COQUILLE INDIAN TRIBE 3050 Tremont Street North Bend, OR 97459 Phone: (541) 756-0904 Fax: (541) 756-0847 www.coquilletribe.org The help includes the obvious – food, clothing and other necessities. Devereux also works to help homeless people leave the street for good. In the first 10 months of 2020, the center helped 47 displaced souls return to families or communities where they had connections. Johnson emphasizes that homeless people are a diverse group, with many reasons for their troubles. “It frustrates me beyond belief that people paint every single homeless person with the same paintbrush,” she said. A recent example was a man who had followed a friend to Oregon. The man was in his late 60s, blind in one eye, and afflicted with dementia and a shoulder problem. He had no immediate family, but Johnson was able to return him to his North Dakota community, where he would be looked after. Free garbage service allows the Devereux Center to generate more of those happy endings. “The garbage bill was one of their biggest expenses,” Richardson said. “If we can help them use that money for food, shelter, bus tickets – whatever it takes – then I just felt that it was the right thing to do.” Want to help? The Devereux Center accepts donations of usable food and clothing – but, if you really want to help, Director Tara Johnson says a check is more useful. A monthly donation is better yet. A single dollar can buy breakfast for a person in need. A $5 gift can buy a week of showers. You can send your donation to: The Devereux Center P.O. Box 3519 Coos Bay, OR 97420. You also can drop it off at 1200 Newmark Ave., or phone (541) 888-3202.