Just before Christmas, around a dozen people filtered through Activate Church, a Christian ministry that serves the Columbia River Gorge towns of Camas and Washougal. Visitors were there for a hot cup of coffee and a plate of ham and grits. They perused donated clothing and stocked up on free canned goods and holiday bags.
One visitor, James Jackson, had lived in the area for the past two decades and wound up homeless years ago after a string of problems: He broke his back, forcing him to retire early, and he had fallen behind on child support payments. The final straw, he said, came when he was getting ready to leave town for a job and his car and boat were towed, along with all of his belongings and tools.
“The money to get your truck out of tow, and then the money to get your boat out of tow, it was going to be a couple grand,” Jackson said. “Another one that kicked me right in the guts. So, I kind of just gave up.”…