Travis Greiner, or TBone to those who know him, was arrested for prohibited camping after he refused to leave after he was evicted. Greiner built an elaborate shelter on the Bear Creek Greenway in Medford and is known for providing a space for others who have been evicted from encampments in the area.
Nicholas Stanley was arrested for disorderly conduct, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and interfering with governmental administration after strapping himself to a backhoe in protest of Greiner's eviction.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more than just a home for TBone,鈥� says Maig Tinnin, an advocate for people camping on the Greenway. 鈥淚t's become a community hub for people on the Greenway. As other people have gotten swept, they鈥檝e checked in there to get supplies, to get emotional support.鈥�
The police have been forcing homeless people from the greenway and encouraging them to go to shelters or the Urban Campground in Medford. They cite fire danger as one of the reasons they need to remove people from the area. Some activists say that the crackdown actually heightens the fire risk, as people move deeper into the brush to avoid detection.
Advocates for the houseless community have asked why the focus is on evictions, rather than giving people the resources to stop fires before they can happen. Examples they give include giving fire safety demonstrations and handing out fire extinguishers.
The police also say that they are evicting people because of the environmental impacts of the camps and their effect on the usability of the path. But some people living on the greenway say that because of the lack of long-term affordable housing in the region, they simply have nowhere else to go.
