City of The Dalles Sues Local Soup Kitchen
On one side of the lawsuit is a group of people trying to be of service to those in need, on the other a City seeking compliance for neighbors who are complaining about safety and a loss of quality of life
St. Vincent de Paul Executive Director Dave Lutgens prepares a meal for the houseless in the commercial kitchen located in St. Vincent de Paul, 315 W. Third St., The Dalles. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles, OR, October 31, 2023 – The St. Vincent de Paul Society of The Dalles (SVdP), a non-profit that offers aid to those in need, has found itself in the City’s crosshairs.
The City of The Dalles is suing SVDP in pursuit of shutting SVDP down for up to a year and a monetary award of $10,000.
The Case So Far
On August 1, 2023, The City of The Dalles labeled SVdP a public nuisance due to a “pattern of behavior in the neighborhood” consisting of a series of arrests and citations issued within 300 feet of their property over a 12-month period.
According to the Municipal Code, a pattern of behavior in the neighborhood means one or more patrons, employees, residents, guests, visitors, or occupants of the place or the business has been arrested or issued a citation for violation of three or more of any of the offenses specified in Section 5.12.020 of the code. According to statistics from SVdP, an estimated 5% of those who receive services at SVdP engage in criminal activities, meaning that an estimated 95% of the clientele represent a non-criminal element.
In response, SVdP proposed a remediation plan to abate the nuisance. However, their plan faced criticism from City Police Chief Tom Worthy, who noted the organization's good intentions, but ultimately deemed the plan inadequate and requested they send him a new plan.
“What we want is for all of our business partners to be responsible and enforce their rules of conduct,” said Worthy.
Instead of sending a new plan, however, SVdP submitted a letter from their lawyer Gregory Lynch.
In the letter, Lynch states that the city is wrongfully holding St. Vincent responsible for both the activities and abatement of third parties’ activities at or near the facility.
”What you seem to be saying without saying it, is because of who and what St. Vincent is, it is somehow responsible for the unprovoked activities of some of the people it serves, regardless of the fact that those activities are the very antithesis of what St. Vincent de Paul expects of itself and others,” reads the letter.
Lynch also seems to state that the city is passing the buck and scapegoating SVdP rather than acknowledging the root causes of the issue such as a state-wide lack of affordable housing, mental health treatment, substance abuse programs, and a lack of accessibility to services.
“Your letter and associated claim ignore the fact that the homeless crisis in Oregon has become so large and widespread that in January of this year, the Governor declared a state of emergency due to homelessness,” said Lynch.
In 2022 an estimated 18,000 Oregonians were without housing and estimates say that Oregon would need to build over half a million new housing units in the next 20 years to meet the growing housing demand.
Lynch also pointed to unequal enforcement of the ordinance. He points out that if it only takes three police calls to a location to declare a public nuisance, then indeed, it would seem that there are plenty of other locations in town that could technically qualify as a public nuisance, including City Parks. It’s worth noting, perhaps, that of the 34 cases listed in the original public nuisance notice, Thompson City Park led with the most police service calls, while SVdP came in second.
“In addition, your letter ignores the fact that the homeless population is large and varied and affects numerous public and private properties and the City Park within a stone’s throw of the St. Vincent de Paul facility. The fact that you are attempting to make this St. Vincent’s problem is both ludicrous and outrageous,” reads the letter.
What Will Happen if SVdP Shuts Down?
A volunteer serving food at St. Vincent de Paul. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
If SVdP loses the lawsuit and is shut down it will jeopardize the health and safety of those they serve. Currently, SVdP is the only place in the city that offers free hot meals, laundry, and shower access to the general public. It serves, on average, 800 people a year. A shutdown would leave many of those in need without access to free meals and services.
The charitable meal service organizations currently operating out of SVdP’s Community Meal site would also lose access to a commercial kitchen. Collectively, these organizations serve 12 meals onsite at the Third Street Building each week and provide food to some 8,000 people a year.
“Our facility is about providing assistance to those in need, and we do our best,” said Ed Elliott, President of SVDP.
Donated planter boxes line a covered area (also donated) where individuals can enjoy the meals that they receive at SVdP. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
Hearing from the Houseless
CCCNews polled several individuals who currently receive services at SVdP about what a closure would mean for them. They responded by painting a picture of a public health crisis that could lead to an increase in hospital stays, mental health facility visits, arrests, and fatalities.
“A lot of people are going to die this winter if this place closes down,” said one individual who accesses services at SVDP.
According to statistics from HomelessDeathCount.org, at least twenty people experiencing homelessness die every single day in America, and almost all the deaths are preventable. In 2020, 126 people died while experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County.
Michelle Daniels, who regularly attends breakfast at SVDP also spoke to the issue.
“These guys are the only place that has tolerance for everybody’s crap and they still help you,” she said. “If this place shuts down, nobody’s gonna have any help at all.”
Several individuals also pushed back against the idea that shutting down SVdP would “get rid of us” and suggested that several would continue camping on Pentland, while others would likely just be forced to migrate to other neighborhoods in the city, such as public rights of way, public parks and areas along Mill Creek.
Some who access services at SVdP said they would like to see some changes.
Richard Schroeder, who accesses SVdP’s shower and laundry on a weekly basis said he thought some folks needed to receive services in a separate building or a different facility that has staff with behavioral health training.
Cost to Taxpayers
The ongoing litigation will cost taxpayers money. While it’s not possible to know how much it will cost at this time, CCCNews has done our best to research the potential cost by inquiring about attorney’s rates and the cost of prior public nuisance complaints.
The City has hired Nathan Sramek of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt P.C. as their litigating attorney on the case. The firm has represented the City in several cases in the past including their lawsuits with the Oregonian, Gorge Aviation Services, and R. Douglas Powell.
Several local attorneys told CCCNews that Schwabe is known as one of the most expensive law firms in the state - billing at close to $500 an hour - and wondered why City Attorney Jonathan Kara would not be litigating. CCCNews reached out to Kara who explained that his role was that of general counsel and that litigation required a different skillset.
City of The Dalles Mayor, Rich Mays also responded to the inquiry about Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt P.C saying “ They’re worth every penny,” he said. “We’ve had good experience with them on other matters.”
Since Sramek’s rate is $475 an hour, and the average civil case takes two years to resolve, litigation could cost tens of thousands of dollars. In the case of the City of The Dalles vs R. Douglas Powell public nuisance complaint in 2022, the overall cost came to about $11,970.00 and the case ultimately received a permanent dismissal. It’s worth noting that the scope of the suit was vastly different from the SVdP suit, which is much more complex in nature.
Rich and Rose Mays (right) volunteering at SVdP during the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
Other Impacts
The results of the trial could also potentially influence insurance premiums for other houseless service providers and impact how public nuisance complaints are litigated in the future.
The Community Weighs In
Viewpoints on the lawsuit span the board.
While some have been pushing the City to close SVdP for years, others spoke out in defense of the non-profit.
“There seems to be a general belief that closing the Soup Kitchen will solve these problems. Is there any reason to believe there will be less drug needles in the street after the Soup Kitchen is closed? Is there any reason to believe that closing the Soup Kitchen will reduce the feces on the street or the number of homeless?” said Antoine Tissot, a resident of The Dalles.
“I think it is very unlikely that closing the Soup Kitchen will improve anything for the neighborhood,” he continued. “On the contrary, if the homeless are food insecure, I think it could lead to more crime and more police calls. People in “survival mode” can and do become more aggressive,”
Tissot also said he felt that those experiencing homelessness were unlikely to veer far from Mill Creek, even in the event of an SVDP closure, due to the stream serving as a cool place to rest in downtown during the hot summer months.
“Shame on the City of The Dalles,” said Teri Brisset Thalhofer, in a comment on Facebook pointing out that the City had not cited the Chamber of Commerce, the Panderia or the Gas Station which are all positioned around the same location where the arrests and citations have occurred.
“Typical U.S. government response-punish don’t prevent,” said Jen Ericksen Heredia in a comment on Facebook.
One person pointed out that shutting down SVDP doesn’t solve the root causes of the housing, addiction, and mental health crisis facing the city.
“It would be great if everyone who dislikes the situation, including the city, had a solution. If St. Vincent walks away, then what? The population won’t disappear. It’s a typical “not in my backyard situation,” said Kay Ericksen in a comment on Facebook.
Neighbors to SVdP also shared their side of the story.
“Three years ago, I testified in front of this body and I shared my family’s experience in this neighborhood,” said Rian Beach recently told The Dalles City Council. Beach has lived in the neighborhood for four years. “I shared daily occurrences of theft, trespassing, fires, littering, fights, yelling, disorderly conduct, harassment, public urination and defecation, illegal parking, destruction of public and private property, and blocking of the sidewalks,” he said.
“Today, three years later, the same exact issues remain - except they have grown worse… The lack of action by the City and St. Vincent’s has turned our sidewalks, Mill Creek, and parts of Thompson Park into a literal garbage dump, public health crisis, and fire hazard from 2nd Street to the 6th Street Bridge.”
Some in the community, like City Attorney Jonathan Kara, believe SVDP could do better, and that the city must answer to its constituents and to its municipal code.
“The people of Pentland Street have suffered enough. It’s not about the services being provided, it’s about those services being provided in the right way,” said Kara.
“It’s time to close it down,” said Russ Brown, a former City Council member. “St. Vinnie’s has tried to deal with all the problems that are involved. It can’t be fixed.”
“People should not be living in piles of garbage on the street,” said Kenny LaPoint, Executive Director of Mid-Columbia Community Action Council. “I have higher expectations for our community than that. We don’t live in a lawless society. There are people openly smoking meth under garbage bags on the street. It’s not okay.”
LaPoint noted that while people can access services locally elsewhere, they choose SVdP due to its more permissive attitudes and lack of strict expectations. LaPoint emphasized that this was both SVdP’s and each individual's choice.
He also noted that if SVdP closes its doors, it would mean that their clientele would have to choose between either working with the other service providers or going without.
Rob Mendoza (left) and Kenny LaPoint (right) at SVdP in 2022 when MCCAC briefly took on the task of operating a winter warming shelter at SVdP. LaPoint has said in the past that they ceased operating a warming shelter soon after because it was not being utilized. LaPoint shared that this was because the clients there refused to comply with MCCAC’s rules of conduct. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
While opinions about the case vary, it is now on the courts to decide what will become of SVdP.
Stay tuned for part two of this story, where we will investigate ongoing efforts to reduce houselessness in The Dalles and take a look at what the different categories of houselessness seen in our area.
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