Dozens call rest stop home; one for 18 years

WILSONVILLE, Ore. - Dozens of people have called the Baldock Rest Area near Wilsonville home for years, and a few of them have lived there for more than a decade.

Their presence may not be obvious to the average visitor to the rest stop on Interstate 5 between Portland and Salem, but to Linda Elder, who sweeps the parking lots every morning, they are a familiar sight.

Elder, who works for Commercial Sweeping Inc., pointed out several motor homes and vehicles at the rest stop to a reporter and said “most of those have been here for the three years I’ve been working here.”

Charlie Hall, who said he’s lived at the rest stop for 18 years, has ignored posted signs that say “Camping Overnight” is forbidden. He said he’s kind of given up trying to find a real home.

“Where are you supposed to go?” he asked.

Ray Stanley, 68, also moved to Baldock in the early 1990s.

“I’ve watched a million people go through these places,” he said.

Lately, Baldock’s veterans have greeted new neighbors like one man, who after living at the rest stop for the better part of a year with his wife and dog, said he doesn’t want to become a permanent resident and is planning to move to the coast soon.

And then there’s 35-year-old Jack Schmid, who began sleeping at Baldock last year after getting laid off and then separated from his wife and kids.  He said he has to live at the rest area to make ends meet and to pay child support.

But there is hope for Schmid of getting out of the rest area because he’s got a new job. He said he hopes to get a rental by May.

Baldock has become so popular as a homeless haven that St. Vincent de Paul serves hot meals there every Thursday.

“I think our highest meal count up here has been 45,” said Jacque Grieve with St. Vincent de Paul.

The state took notice of the problem after drivers complained of garbage, animals locked in cars, and crime at the rest area.

“The 24-hour rule has not been enforced,” said Greg Leo of the Statewide Rest Area Task Force. “It looks like it will need to be enforced to move people out that are living here on a permanent basis.”

Leo is part of a statewide task force formed by the Oregon Travel Information Council that is charged with cleaning up the rest area and finding housing and employment help for its residents.

“You do it with a great deal of care and compassion and you look for ways to actually make their lives better,” he said.

Leo said he’s confident the task force will eventually find homes for everyone and jobs for some.

Meanwhile, the people who work and live at the rest area are just trying to get by the best they can.

“The economy is so bad that I guess they have nowhere else to go,” said Elder.

Leo said it is a social crisis caused by the economy for most of the rest area residents. He said the state needs to be sure it improves their living situations and not make things worse by simply kicking them out.

Since KATU News started investigating this story, the Travel Information Council has been planning an intervention strategy and will meet with rest area residents next week to offer some help to get them back on their feet.