Bend homeless issue addressed with new year-round shelter, city campsite policy

(Update: Adding video, comments from city officials)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Homeless camps have become a more common sight throughout Bend, as related issues gain greater attention.

City Manager Eric King recognizes the homeless problem and believes the affordable housing crisis is fueling it.

"Housing prices have escalated quickly, and it is creating a situation where those folks who are working and trying to afford a place to live just can't," King said Tuesday.

A new city policy up for discussion at a city council work session Wednesday evening aims to manage and, in some cases, remove campsites along city rights of way, if serious health and safety concerns arise for both the traveling public and people living there.

Some of the issues the policy aims to address include reducing risks of fires in the camps, eliminating unsanitary conditions impacting public health and safety, reducing hazardous materials, including human waste and other pollutants, and meeting legal and humanitarian standards for all people in the city.

Elizabeth Oshel, an associate city attorney, says the city already has a camp they'd like to address.

"I think the first one that has risen to the top as far as safety concerns is at the area of Emerson and Second," Oshel said -- not far from the city's first year-round, low-barrier homeless shelter, which opened Tuesday at the location of what served earlier as a winter warming shelter.

If an area is cleared and people's items are removed from an encampment, the city will store their items temporarily, much as ODOT has after similar actions on their right of way.

"Any personal property that is left behind, the city would then collect and store for a minimum of 30 days," Oshel said.

In partnership with the city of Bend and NeighborImpact, Shepherd's House on Tuesday reopened its 70-bed, low-barrier shelter on Second Street in Bend, with a goal of year-round services for those in need.

David Notari. director of development for Shepherd’s House Ministries, said being able to keep the shelter open year-round not only allows people an opportunity to get off the streets, but also to build social skills.

"Relationships grow, trust grows, and the ability for them to really getting to trust people for the first time really is kind of a byproduct of our presence here," Notari said.

Notari added that the plan for the "low-barrier" shelter (meaning as few restrictions as possible, to make services accessible to as many as possible) is to keep it permanently open, with help from partners.

"We hope to continue to move this all the way through the winter and beyond. That’s the hope, to see it be a year-round shelter,” Notari said.

Shepherd’s House said it will be offering overnight shelter, food, clothes and case management for up to 70 women, children, men and families at the same Second Street location in Bend where the winter shelter operated.

Low-barrier shelters provide unhoused community members with a safer option than living on the street or in other public right-of-ways, and are an important piece of the continuum of services that can help people find permanent shelter and housing, the partnership said.

For volunteer opportunities, visit shministries.org and click on the volunteer link for more information. 

For more information about shelter services, contact John Lodise, Director of Emergency Services, at johnl@shministries.org. For more information about volunteer opportunities, contact Ryan Olufson, volunteer coordinator, at ryano@shministries.org.