SALEM â In January, Eugene community members gathered to mourn the death of at least 30 unhoused neighbors over the past year.
But no one knows the total count â Lane County has no system for counting how many people die while homeless. The only county in the state of Oregon that does is Multnomah.
But, starting Jan. 1, 2022, the state of Oregon will require medical examiners to include whether a person who died was experiencing homelessness in their report. The hope is that this process will help lawmakers and advocates understand the scope of the sometimes deadly impacts of homelessness.
Senate Bill 850's chief sponsors were Rep. Wlnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, and Sen. Deb Pattersonâ, D-Salem,; however, it also saw support from Lane County legislators Sen. James I. Manning Jr., D-Eugene, and Rep. Mary Wilde, D-Eugene, who were both regular sponsors of the bill. Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill on July 23.