This story is part of a series examining the drug and homelessness crisis plaguing Oregon.read part 1, part 2 and part 3.
SALEM, Ore. — Matt Maceira remembers people driving by throwing trash out of their car windows at him. But the insults they hurled hurt more. Worthless. It’s hopeless. A lost cause.
“Hey, you scumbag,” he recalled one man yelling. “No one loves you. Why don’t you kill yourself?”
Crisis in the North West: Drugs leave rural communities rotting in the shadows, ‘like playing whack-a-mole’
“I heard that story all the time,” Maceira told Fox News as he walked through the woods he once called home. “Because I [was] Being homeless means I have less value, right? ”
“God never said never,” he added sarcastically.
After 27 years in the drug industry, Maceira is approaching 10 years of sobriety. He travels around the world and his hometown, sharing his gospel in hopes of inspiring others to return to society. Maceira is a vocal critic of Oregon’s policies regarding drugs, addiction, and homelessness.
family traditions
Maceira was born into a world of drugs, violence, and crime. He started drinking at the age of 8 and was introduced to crank by his father at the age of 11. That same year, he was stung for the first time.
“I called it fun,” he said of his bloody upbringing.
On the left, Matt Maceira and his twin brother Ray are pictured in high school. That’s right, less than a year after Maceira got sober, he was photographed with his father and uncle. (Photo by Matt Maceira)
Maceira said her twin brother Ray developed a chemical psychosis due to long-term stimulant use and took his own life just before his 24th birthday, plunging him deeper into despair and addiction.
However, one pastor became friends with Maceira and never gave up on him. After several more years, Maceira finally turned his back on the only way of life he had ever known.
“Today I have a whole new life,” he said. “God changed my heart.”
Oregon’s homeless population increased by 37.4% from 2020 to 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The state has the second highest percentage of unsheltered homeless residents (64.6%), behind California (68%).
State and local government spending on housing and other homeless services has also skyrocketed.
Oregon Democratic Party withdraws bill allowing homeless people to sue over encampments after massive public outcry
With an ice storm predicted, Maceira and other nonprofit volunteers loaded sleeping bags, wool socks, water and other gear onto wagons just across the Willamette River from the Oregon State Capitol. I headed to the forest behind Wallace Marine Park. This park is home to one of the largest homeless encampments in the entire state.
Returning to Wallace Marine Park “is just a blessing,” Maceira said softly. His bright blue sweatshirt, embroidered with the words “Dealer of Hope,” stood out against the gray sky and bare trees.
Some of the people who live there “knew me when I wasn’t necessarily the friendliest and most approachable person.” Maceira smiled. “So I can come back and really love everyone here.”
Take a look: Inside Oregon’s largest homeless camp:
See more FOX News Digital Originals here
Many of the people Maceira works with are also formerly homeless, like Aidan, who ran away from home at age 11. He spent most of the next 12 years on the streets and in the woods behind Wallace Marine Park.
“I got hooked on the streets,” Aidan said. “Drugs, crime, just about anything I wanted to do.”
But in October 2019, a month before his daughter was born, he had an epiphany.
“I grew up without a father,” he said. “I didn’t want her daughter to go through that.”
Now five years sober, Aidan works in a drug-assisted addiction treatment facility and frequently returns to his old home to spread the gospel and encourage others to find their way out of the woods.
Aidan lent Tyler, 28, his cell phone while Maceira and other volunteers chatted with residents at the encampment. After 10 years of methamphetamine addiction, Tyler called a treatment facility.
“I’m just trying to do what I can to get out of here and become a citizen of the outside world,” Tyler said after giving the information to the center. “I can’t live here.”
Tyler, 28, had been homeless for about 10 years and was addicted to methamphetamines. On January 12, 2024, his Outreach worker helped him call a treatment facility so he could work on his sobriety. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
Portland leaders complain that city has allowed stricter rules on tobacco than on fentanyl: ‘That’s outrageous’
For some people, living in the woods is more comfortable than living in the claustrophobia of being surrounded by four walls.
“I don’t know if I want to stay indoors,” said Seven, who has been homeless since 2006, shortly after his mother died. “I’m not used to it.”
Ressa, who was temporarily off the streets and living in transitional housing, agreed.
“I couldn’t stand the four walls, the restrictions and the lack of nature,” she said. “I don’t want to get stuck.”
Ressa, 50, has been homeless for about 10 years. She temporarily lived in transitional housing, but she lived outside for so long that on January 12, 2024, she said, “She could no longer tolerate four walls.” Told. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
Maceira pauses when asked how society can deal with homelessness, as some people prefer to live outdoors.
“If someone likes it, or likes not to take a bath, or likes not to eat…or eats food that is no longer fit for human consumption, or drinks water from a stream… “If you’re comfortable doing that,” he said, stepping back. “If someone says they like any of it, they’re not doing well.”
A 2018 HUD report estimated that about 27% of unsheltered homeless people have a “severe mental illness,” and about 21% suffer from chronic substance abuse. In the Portland area, nearly 40% of homeless deaths in 2022 were due to drug overdoses. According to one report, fentanyl was involved in about 74% of them. recent reports From the Multnomah County Health Department.
Homeless encampments remain in Portland despite tent ban: ‘It’s bull—‘
For Maceira, addiction and homelessness were “inextricably linked.” While Maceira acknowledged it’s “not everyone’s story,” he was deeply critical of Oregon’s approach to the homelessness crisis, saying addressing the root causes is often ignored.
The “housing first” model is popular with those who argue that a lack of affordable housing is the root cause of homelessness. It prioritizes housing homeless people without prerequisites such as sobriety or addiction treatment.
”[That] “Drug addiction doesn’t stop,” Maceira said. “Giving someone a home doesn’t solve the problem.”
Maceira said he was “completely opposed” to low-barrier shelters, saying too much money is “wasted” on programs that keep the homeless out of sight and out of focus.
“Drugs are being sold and used in those places,” he says. “People are dying in those places. I’ve done lifesaving festivals for people who have overdosed in low-barrier shelters.”
Maceira also spoke in favor of recriminalizing hard drug possession in Oregon, saying lawmakers have an opportunity to “get back on track” during the current legislative session.
“It’s not compassionate to force people to use methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and other deadly substances,” he said.
A young man tries to keep a fire burning in the rain at Wallace Marine Park in Salem, Oregon. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
As the group splashed through puddles and cart wheels left deep marks in the mud, one volunteer looked around at all the trash.
“No matter what we give, this is what happens,” he said. However, clean socks and water can serve as an “ice breaker.”
“And we always give hope that there is a better way,” he said.
Sometimes, like Tyler, people are ready. Be Bold Street Ministries participated in the event at the park in December, along with dozens of other nonprofits and churches.
“The same day, people were taken off the streets,” Maceira said. “Many people said yes to salvation and were able to participate in medical services, navigation services and housing services.”
Even though Oregon’s homelessness problem shows no signs of slowing down, Maceira is optimistic about the future.
“It’s amazing what we can do because you can see miracles throughout the week,” he said.
Ramiro Vargas contributed the accompanying video.
