Deschutes commissioners, Sisters councilors discuss new homeless office

Deschutes County commissioners traveled to Sisters Wednesday evening for a joint meeting on several topics, including plans to create a new office to coordinate efforts to combat homelessness by the county and all four cities.

The county and Bend, La Pine, Redmond and Sisters were selected to be one of eight pilot projects around the state.

House Bill 4123 was passed recently by lawmakers, and now an office will be created to create a coordinated effort.

County Administrator Nick Lelack said, "The purpose of the office is to coordinate all our efforts and find shelter for the unsheltered."

Sisters Mayor Michael Preedin expressed support for the project.

"It's going to be another public-private partnership that's going to get this thing done," he said. "The city of Sisters by itself can't do it. The city of Bend cannot do it by themselves. The county can't do it by themselves. And, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this team comes together."