Shepherd’s House launches final round of fundraising for new, year-round Redmond shelter
(Update: Adding video, comments from Shepherd's House Ministries Redmond City Director, men's program participant)
Fundraising aims to cover remaining construction costs, initial operational costs.
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- About 50 people, including several Redmond and Deschutes County officials, gathered Wednesday for a fundraising event for Shepherd’s House Ministries' new Redmond campus Wednesday.
The nonprofit hopes to open its new year-round low-barrier shelter this fall to serve the area's homeless population.
"We’re trying to get in place the first 12 months of funding we need to support a staffing structure that is sufficient to provide our guests with the services they need," Shepherd's House Redmond Planner Andrew Hoeksena said Wednesday.
The new shelter will offer life-transforming help to the many who are stuck in the dilemma of homelessness, the organization said in its announcement Monday.
Over the next six months, the organization said there may be two major land closures to the east of Redmond, resulting in up to 100 people experiencing homelessness being displaced and needing to relocate.
In the same season, Shepherd’s House is preparing to open this new Redmond Campus that will be the only low-barrier homeless shelter in the city.
Wednesday's special event, “Celebrating Progress” kicked off the final phase of fundraising to finish the construction and prepare for operations of the Redmond Campus of Shepherd’s House.
Scott Wahlberg is one participant utilizing the nonprofit's services to work through his alcohol addiction. He graduates from the Shepherd's House men's program in Bend next week.
"I just got 18 months sobriety Monday," Wahlberg said. "The Shepherd’s House has given me home, and it’s a wonderful place to work." He currently works as a janitor for the nonprofit.
The success seen with residents in Bend is something the Shepherd's House hopes to replicate at the new Redmond shelter.
"This will not only be a shelter, it will be a comprehensive place where people will find the resources they need to move their life in a new direction," Hoeksena said.
Participants in the event included Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch, Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair, the Newhouse Charitable Fund Executive Director Curt Floski, board, staff, volunteers, and donors of Shepherd’s House.
"This is an exciting day," Fitch said. "Shepherd's House is an integral part of addressing the homeless situation, providing safe refuge for people We've been working real hard on this in the last four months, and I think we're making a lot of progress."
Wednesday's celebration launched the public phase of fundraising the final $400,000 (11.5%) of the $3,500,000 Capital Campaign to fund the costs of construction and the first year of operating costs.
The 2023 Point in Time (PIT) Count numbers were released in April and indicate over 262 persons experiencing homelessness have been counted in Redmond in January, up 40% from the 2021 count. This is a significant increase over past years.
Shepherd’s House says it is prepared to expand beyond nine winters of seasonal shelter in Redmond to provide a comprehensive and compassionate year-round response by caring for the holistic needs of people experiencing homelessness and partnering on next steps.
"We know this new campus serves as a significant part of the solution for the challenges around the issues of homelessness in Central Oregon and specifically in Redmond," the organization
Major funding for the Redmond Campus comes from:
- Federal Home Loan Bank: $750,000
- City of Redmond: $450,000
- Deschutes County: $300,000
- Murdock Trust: $300,000
- Newhouse Charitable Fund: $100,000
- Maybelle Clark McDonald Foundation: $100,000
- Private donors: over $400,000, led by the Hodecker Family in honor of Lari Hodecker, $108,000
