Bend nonprofit REACH seeking donations to help area’s homeless

'This time of year, as we're going into winter, we always need things like gas cards'

BEND, Ore (KTVZ) -- REACH, short for Relationship, Empowerment, Action, Compassion and Heart, is a Bend organization dedicated to serving the homeless throughout Deschutes County, and could use your help.

It started as a collaboration with numerous other agencies in 2019. They provide mobile case management and street outreach.

Founder and Executive Director Stacey Witte said Wednesday they are in need of donations.

"This time of year, as we're going into winter, we always need things like gas cards, which are -- some people think are frivolous, but we have a lot of people living in vehicles. They need to stay warm. They need to get from place to place," Witte said.

"Other gift cards are also really helpful for people to get essential needs. And the need for bikes came up. We have many people that are working, and it's really difficult to get to and from work, if you don't have a vehicle. Buses only run limited schedules."

Since they've started, they've tripled their number of engagements, which involve face-to-face or phone-call interactions with the same individuals several times. They've also grown in their number of unduplicated or unique encounters, where they've interacted with the same individual only once or twice. 

"So we see probably about 100 to 125 unduplicated people a month, but many of those people we engage with three or four times a month. So we have about 400 engagements monthly," Witte said.

Their services include helping people get an ID or  birth certificate, laundry vouchers, employment opportunities and offering tools of empowerment.

The organization started a new program this year, sponsored by the Bend BottleDrop, which has six of their currently unhoused people clean up the Bend Central District, in exchange for a $15 gift card for each hour worked. Unhoused individuals are allowed to work up to two hours a week.

"It's a great way to clean up," Witte said. "It's a wonderful way to change the optics of our unhoused population, so that they are now becoming part of the solution and not always the problem."

Witte said since they've started, they've had a powerful impact in homeless communities.

And she offers one reminder.

"Everyone has a story," Witte said. "Each person is unique, and their story is unique -- and, you know, being careful not to be quick to judge." 

At the moment, the organization is seeking for support for one man who's at risk of being homeless in two weeks, and is in urgent need of a vehicle. Click here to see a list of things you can donate to support their cause.