Bend town hall meeting addresses variety of houselessness issues, city’s proposed shelter code

'There are no easy solutions or easy answers,' moderator Jeff Conrad said

(Update: Adding video, comments from speakers at first town hall)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- With public response to Bend’s proposed shelter changes being overwhelmingly negative, a panel of city leaders took part in the first of two town halls Monday evening, addressing some of the questions and concerns residents have about the city's homeless strategies and proposed new codes for managed and temporary shelters.

Bend Neighborhood Associations and BendCares hosted the first gathering at Caldera High School; a second is set for Wednesday evening.

Jeff Conrad, the moderator for the event, identified the goals as educating the public on shelter codes and presenting scenarios that benefit the homeless and the Bend community as a whole.

The opening speaker was Alan Evans, the CEO of Helping Hands Re-entry Outreach Center, which provides services to the houseless), who emphasized the need to reframe how people address those struggling with homelessness. 

Evan voiced a shocking, tragic childhood, “When I was a kid, I was sexually abused, I was physically abused, and I was hung by my father when I was 11 years old,”

Given his traumatic past, which led to years of houseless struggles, he said it takes compassion and accountability to help people change their lives.

Individual evaluations for personalized plans, he said, are an important step in proactively helping the houseless.

The panel answered various questions from the audience, such as, 'What are your expected outcomes for the city as a result of these code changes to address the houseless issues, and how will you define success?'

Bend City Councilor Megan Perkins replied: "Success is basically ending houselessness for people who are experiencing houselessness or diverting people who could become houseless. That is success, to me."

Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair voiced that it strongly involves offering an array of social services.

Other questions asked had to do with why Bend allows low-barrier shelters.

Perkins clarified that low-barrier shelters still come with a set of rules and expectations, typically dismissing people who are violent and/or indulging in drugs and alcohol use.

Perkins said, "(Low-barrier shelters are) something that’s being used in our community, and John from Shepherd’s House will tell you that they have transitioned people to stable housing from Shepherd’s House. They have transitioned people to the next step of housing through Shepherd’s House. They have gotten people into rehab. They have gotten people the services they need from that very low-barrier shelter.

"Low barrier shelters do actually do what they're supposed to do, which is make these shelters actually be transitional for the people that are living in them."

Perkins did mention that the shelter codes, however, do not dictate whether shelters are low-barrier or high-barrier, rather the service providers do.

With safety being the a primary concern for residents, Perkins alluded to the required "good neighbor agreement," intended to help develop expectations and solutions for facilities serving the houseless. The idea behind them is to foster a relationship between houseless individuals and the greater community.

As far as the solution for the houseless that refuse to move into structured rule-based shelters or don't qualify, Perkins said the situation is complicated but suggested codes governing unsanctioned camping.

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz made it clear that the role of the police is to protect and serve.

"The mission statement doesn’t say anywhere housed or unhoused, or low-barrier, high-barrier, low-impact, high-impact. We go to the calls for service," he said.

And it’s not always so cut and dried, Krantz said, when it comes to the city's houseless populations. 

"An evaluation -- is the behavior so bad that it’s more unsafe for the community than the benefits of not addressing what’s going on?"

With unmanaged houseless camps, Krantz said there’s a criteria listing more than 20 items that would all need to be evaluated before a houseless campsite is cleared. The criteria includes the blocking of sidewalks, which would violate the city's rights-of-way policy, violence, and rotting trash, among a variety of elements.

Fires in the China Hat Road wooded area resulting from houseless populations also were discussed.

Adair said she's working to employ an emergency ban on fires. She also discussed direct funding for continual cleanup.

To answer many more concerns around safety and the negative impacts growing houselessness has had on businesses, Perkins circled back to her main point: the urgency to provide more shelter beds to house those experiencing houselessness.

With such complexity around houseless issue, offering no quick fix, Conrad wrapped up the meeting stating, "There are no easy solutions, or easy answers."

Another evening session will take place this Wednesday.

Come Wednesday, May 4th at 7 p.m., the Bend City Council will hold a public hearing on the controversial code amendments.

Here's the town hall announcement news release, with a link for invite to Wednesday's meeting:

Town Hall on New Houseless Shelter Codes

April 18, 2022 – Bend Neighborhood Associations and BendCares, a group of caring Bend citizens, announce two Town Hall events next week (4/25 and 4/27) on the topic of Houseless Strategies and Shelter Code amendments.  These events will take place in the auditorium of the new Caldera High School.  A great panel of speakers has been lined up to help Bend citizens become better informed, and more importantly, have an opportunity for our neighbors to ask questions about an important issue affecting our community.

Our Panel of Speakers include:

- Deschutes County Commissioner: Patti Adair

- Bend City Councilor: Megan Perkins

- Bend Chief of Police: Mike Krantz

- Houseless Service Provider: Alan Evans (CEO Helping Hands Re-Entry Org)

This event is brought to you by a group of non-partisan volunteers and is hosted by the Neighborhood Associations and BendCares. These groups endeavor to educate and inform our community on important topics which have a direct impact on our neighborhoods, and to do so in a live/in-person format.

Panelists will be asked how the proposed shelter code changes will directly affect our community. In addition, the audience attendees will have an opportunity to have their questions asked during the Q & A portion of the program.

Please plan to arrive by 5:15PM, as the event will begin promptly at 5:30PM. If you would like to attend these Town Hall events, please RSVP below:

Here is the link:

April 27: http://evite.me/rfH9Pq9KVc