Vulnerable People and Places Blog

Society has rapidly progressed into a new era of technology. Billions of people use the internet, search engines, and artificial intelligence every single day. Yet most people are only concerned with the digital input and output, unaware that every click, scroll, and AI prompt also carries a physical cost. The systems powering our online world do not exist in some invisible space. They exist in massive physical facilities known as data centers, consuming enormous amounts of land, water, and energy. While the benefits of these technologies are experienced globally, their impacts are often felt most heavily at the local level. Although data centers existed long before the rise of artificial intelligence, the rapid expansion of AI and large language models has significantly accelerated their growth. Data centers have become the backbone of modern technology, powering everything from cloud storage and social media platforms to search engines and AI systems. Without them, many of the techno...

It's 7am, and most of us are hitting snooze or brewing our first cup of coffee, but not for the homeless community in Clarkston, Washington. John Parke, known as "Cowboy," gets up at the crack of dawn not to wake up to an automatic cup of Keurig coffee but to pack his entire home before the local authority writes him up another ticket for sleeping in.  Cowboy on the move Many cities across the United States are finding ways to either support or ban the homeless population growing across the country. Some counties are creating permanent supportive housing while other counties are banning encampments, an out-of-sight, out-of-mind solution that, for some odd reason won't cause the issue to disappear.  When rural counties aren't taking responsibility for their community but instead pushing the problem for others to fix, it isn't creating a solution but creating an ever-growing snowball. When Lewingston County in Idaho banned camping in 2022, the homeless community...

  Photo by Jonathan Kho Ming Jun on Unsplash This isn't a problem subject to one place. This is a problem that grows in areas unknown. They hide in caves. The hide in forests. They hide in areas they know no one will go.  While yes, they're safer here, And no, we don't have many here- They're still here. They come out in the daylight and stand on the corner. They ask politely, "may I have a quarter?" No. No.  Yes. Here's a dollar. No. Get a job. They make so little,  It's their innocence that's robbed. Nobody listens. Not to us, at least. We're too far from the source. "They're better off there–I'm sure they can work." Maybe this is why everyone goes. Maybe they're tired of feeling alone. Maybe. We shouldn't leave them alone.

  When people think about homelessness in Oregon, many tend to associate the word with Portland. While it is true that Portland is one of the most prominent homeless hotspots in the state, let us not forget those who live in rural areas. Homelessness is an issue in many parts of the state, and we must also recognize small regions. According to  Housing and homelessness are issues in rural Oregon, too   by Eric Mortenson for The Other Oregon, housing is difficult to come by due to wealthier out-of-state individuals who create a competitive housing market with their high bid victories. Many locals looking to start a family can not afford it because of the lack of housing or the high prices. To make matters worse, the minimum wage in rural areas is too low to live sustainably. For instance, the minimum wage in non-urban areas like Douglas, Klamath, Malheur, and others is $12.50. These people can not rely on community resources because there are not enough to pass around; Mor...