“I think the difficulty police are having has an awful lot to do with trust issues that they have with the homeless,” Weaver said. “The police and the homeless run into each other more than anyone else and are often clashing. Because there is nothing about homelessness that is illegal, except for everything you must do to survive.”

Gregg Olson, executive director with Corvallis Housing First, agreed that trust between the two groups is a major factor.

“With the amount of substance use in the community, if someone says something, the authorities have trouble with believing it, because they might not be admissible witnesses if it goes to court,” Olson said. “I think that makes it difficult to get the right feedback and to know who to rely on.”

Hakes’ close friends say she had a history with substance use. She went to drug court after being arrested on possession of methamphetamine charges in 2006 and 2011, according to court records.

“She was a known drug addict, but she was getting help for it,” friend Paula Lindsey said. “ We don’t know if that has something to do with it because it’s all rumors. I think for a long time her street family wanted to take care of it, rather than go the legal way to get justice, but nothing’s happened yet.”