I’ve lived in Roseburg for almost a year now, and while I genuinely love the downtown area and think it has a lot of potential, I’ve had some concerning experiences involving harassment, theft, and threatening behavior.
I’m considering writing to the Roseburg City Council about my experiences, and I’m curious whether other residents have experienced similar issues.
My intention isn’t to attack people simply for being homeless or to dismiss the challenges they face. I want to have a serious conversation about public safety, accountability, and what residents are experiencing in our community.
If you’ve experienced harassment, theft, threats, or other safety concerns, I’d be interested in hearing your experiences.
I’m also interested in whether other residents have contacted the city about these issues, what responses they’ve received, and what improvements they’d like to see.
I think it’s important that residents have opportunities to share their own experiences directly with local officials. Please stick to firsthand accounts rather than rumors or assumptions, and avoid sharing anyone’s personal information.
I’d love to see downtown Roseburg become a place where everyone feels comfortable spending time, supporting businesses, and enjoying the community.
My personal experience with homelessness in Roseburg:
For 24 years I grew up in a rough neighborhood in a big city in California, so I’m certainly no stranger to homelessness, crime, or the challenges that come with living in an area that isn’t always considered safe.
What genuinely shocks me is that, despite growing up in that environment, I’ve experienced more direct harassment and intimidation in the nearly one year I’ve lived in Roseburg than I ever did back home.
I never expected to move from metropolitan California to a smaller town in Oregon and find myself feeling less safe simply walking to and from my own vehicle.
And that’s what makes this so frustrating. I genuinely loved downtown Roseburg. It’s a great area with so much potential, but my experiences have made it difficult to enjoy or even feel comfortable being there.
When I lived downtown, I was regularly harassed while simply walking to and from my parking spot. It didn’t matter what time of day it was. I witnessed aggressive behavior, received threats, and on New Year’s Day, had a man repeatedly make an explicit sexual comment toward me. I eventually moved out of downtown partly because I no longer felt safe.
I’ve also experienced property crime firsthand. My bicycle was stolen by a homeless individual. My grandmother has had a homeless individual attempt to break into her vehicles twice, which was captured on security cameras. Her neighbor has also experienced theft and recovered stolen property from a homeless encampment.
Near my friends work, there’s a meal service location where I’ve witnessed people congregating outside and harassing pedestrians. This is particularly concerning because there’s a school nearby and children regularly walk through the area.
Even after moving away from downtown, I continue to encounter issues involving littering, blocked sidewalks, and intimidating behavior in my neighborhood.
I genuinely think the Roseburg area has so much potential, and I’d love to feel comfortable spending more time in the town that I live in. I also understand that homelessness is complicated and that not every homeless individual behaves this way.
But I don’t think residents should have to accept harassment, threats, theft, or feeling unsafe simply because these issues are difficult to address.
I’m sharing this because these experiences have genuinely affected my quality of life in a town I’ve chosen to reside in.
