It was a Thursday in late March when Kyle Videtich found out he’d be losing his job and his housing in Deschutes County. He’d moved to Bend from Washington nearly three months prior, eager to start his new gig as the housing manager for a home meant to provide stability for men on probation for sex offense crimes.
After a sudden decision from the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners to terminate the housing program, and a lack of guidance from his employer, Free on the Outside, the organization managing the housing program, Videtich needed to find his own stability – a new place to live and a plan to get back on his feet.
He left Bend on April 2, purchased a cheap trailer and moved into a friend’s backyard in Washington, where he remains today.
In addition to Videtich’s eviction and job loss, Deschutes County’s decision to terminate the housing program evicted two parolees and halted the potential of housing for several others who were set to be part of the program.
Today, a new housing program is set to move into the property, aimed at housing youth.
“I think Parole and Probation dropped the ball by telling us not to talk to the public and not to attend or speak at any of the meetings.”
– Kyle Videtich
While the house will soon be used for a different vulnerable group, Videtich suggests that a lack of communication, information and support from Deschutes County and Free on the Outside ultimately led to the closure of a needed housing program, and the outstanding problems Videtich still faces.
Soon after Videtich moved into the house on Wilson Avenue in Bend on Dec. 23, 2023, turmoil began to ensue right outside his front door. Neighbors started a petition, which garnered 1,500 signatures, calling for the program to move to another location – away from the densely populated neighborhood with kids, families and nearby parks and schools.
After months of complaints, Deschutes County Commissioners voted 2-1 to shut down the housing program on March 27. Videtich told the Source Weekly he never received an outstanding payment intended for him, which was given to FOTO by Deschutes County.
Deschutes County Commissioners approved Free on the Outside, a nonprofit with over 15 years of experience in offering transitional housing in Oregon, as the provider for the Adult Parole and Probation housing program. The County’s Adult Parole and Probation division was awarded just over $1 million in grant funds, as part of Gov. Kotek’s Emergency Order to expand low-barrier shelter capacity. The County approved a purchase of the Wilson Avenue property in Bend on Dec. 6, 2023. A week prior, the organization began notifying neighbors.
Communication Breakdown
Among neighbors, the biggest complaints were the minimal notification process and a lack of communication and community understanding.
During the months he resided in the house, Videtich was not ignorant to the neighborhood outrage. In hopes of mending the situation, and with experience in this industry, Videtich felt it was necessary to have open communication with neighbors and the community.
Emails obtained by the Source Weekly showed that Videtich asked Deschutes County staff members on numerous occasions if he could talk to neighbors, and was advised not to.
Videtich requested opportunities to respond to complaints on social media, asked to speak at County Commission meetings and even proposed a “town hall” to share information with people. In every instance, including the final meeting that led to the program’s termination, and where County Commissioner Patti Adair pointed out the lack of attendance from FOTO to defend its program, the department overseeing the program, Deschutes County Parole and Probation, told Videtich not to participate.
“I think Parole and Probation dropped the ball by telling us not to talk to the public and not to attend or speak at any of the meetings,” said Videtich.
Videtich told the Source Weekly that there was little to no direction on the community notification process. He had done outreach before, he said, and suggested putting more information on the flyers. However, Videtich claimed his boss, Mike Cross with FOTO, refused.
Deschutes County Community Justice Director Deevy Holcomb said the County department helped produce the informational flyer, defined the area they asked FOTO to share it within and provided a form for FOTO to document feedback received during outreach. The outreach report noted that most occupants who received the flyer had no questions during the visit. However, some neighbors suggested otherwise, stating they never received the flyer on the petition and throughout public comment.
Other issues with FOTO ensued throughout the process, according to Videtich. Emails showed that FOTO directors applied for additional funds for another house in Deschutes County, without notifying the County Parole and Probation team they had been working with. It is unclear what the organization intended for the second property, but according to Videtich this incident added to the communication issues and increased internal tension.
After the program ended, FOTO allegedly withheld expenses which records suggest were intended for Videtich. A Deschutes County termination agreement alluded to funds meant for the housing manager – six months of salary as a result of losing his job and housing.
FOTO received $28,237 from Deschutes County in a lump sum and was responsible for paying out a portion of the funds to Videtich, according to records. An invoice showed the salary costs totaled $27,679. However, months went by and Videtich said he never received the money. When he asked his former employers about the payment, he was told he “quit,” and was no longer entitled to the money.
Messages between Videtich and FOTO suggest he remained under contract with FOTO until the end of May, over a month after the program was dissolved.
FOTO did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication. Deschutes County stated that any questions related to the employment relationship should be directed to FOTO.
A Vulnerable Population
In October, approximately 150 individuals were on supervision in Deschutes County with conditions that restrict proximity to minors or require sexual offense registration, according to Holcomb with Deschutes County.
Because of housing and shelter restrictions, an average of 25-35 clients at any time are camping, sleeping in trailers on public land or utilizing low-barrier shelters if no minors are present, making supervision and stability more difficult, Holcomb said in an email.
Before the program concluded, Deschutes County was criticized for its location choice and the process of acquiring the house. In a Central Oregon Daily report from December 2023, Community Justice Director Holcomb stated that the grant had tight deadlines, leaving a limited timeframe for notifications and limited options about where to go.
Commissioner Adair shared concerns at a County meeting in March, stating that while the property was supposed to be 1,000 feet from a park, the Wilson Avenue house ended up being less than 1,000 feet from Kiwanis Park in east Bend.
While County Commissioner Phil Chang is excited about the new youth program moving onto Wilson Avenue that nonprofit J Bar J eventually acquired, he still believes the County made a mistake in its handling of the Parole and Probation program. Chang was the lone “no” vote on the decision to terminate the program.
“I am so appreciative to COIC and J Bar J for salvaging the best possible outcome out of the County’s error,” he said. “I see it as a very egregious error by the County, first directing staff to proceed with a program, then when we heard from concerned neighbors, turning tail and running and not being willing to learn about the system that was put in place to ensure that people who weren’t safe wouldn’t be placed in that house.”
According to Jeremiah Stromberg with the Oregon Department of Corrections, while there can be real concern with housing the population, the danger is much higher if they are living on the streets.
“Their parole officers are going to have a much tougher time having access to them,” said Stromberg. “I think that creates a greater risk than having a designated location, even in a neighborhood.”
According to Chang, there was a willful ignorance, by the county, about the measures Parole and Probation was taking to ensure there was little to no risk associated with the people who would be placed in the housing program.
“Is there a segment of people coming through the parole and probation program who are becoming homeless because there wasn’t a good place for them to go? There’s a very real possibility that’s occurring right now because the county had an opportunity to create a stabilizing force for people who needed it, and we didn’t take it,” Chang said.
Today, Videtich still lives in his friend’s backyard. He has not been paid, nor has he heard from his former employers. According to Videtich, one of the individuals from the program found housing. The other moved back into the local shelter he previously resided in.
“Both of the clients were very disappointed that the house was being shut down, as they both expressed to me multiple times how much they finally felt like they were home after being on the streets or in a shelter for so long,” he said.
This article appears in Source Weekly October 17, 2024.
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There are several other problems with this Adult Parole and Probation housing program that remain unresolved. 1.) The money from the Governor’s Emergency Order was to be used for “low barrier” shelter beds only. But this highly regulated program for parolees was never going to adhere to the low barrier definitions. In fact, after this was called out by the community, COIC changed the funding source for this program on January 22, 2024 (two months after the money had already been spent) and the scope of work was also changed to “include at least eight high barrier shelter beds”. To date, no one at COIC has been held accountable for the possibly erroneous allocation of “low barrier” funds from the state to fund a “high barrier” county shelter facility. 2.) There are at least 7 other shelters already in the Larkspur Neighborhood, and a continual pipeline of proposals for more. The concentration of these facilities for the housing challenged in a single lower income east side Bend neighborhood is an absolutely stunning display of Economic Segregation not seen in any other community in the State. Government (taxpayer) funded concentration of poverty like this is not progressive. It is REGRESSIVE and it is SEGREGATION. Is it being done for short-term political gain by local politicians at the city, county and regional (COIC) governments who appear to be falling over one another claiming success with their latest shelter projects in Larkspur? Meanwhile, the long-term impacts of segregating all the poor in a single geographic area are completely ignored. Economic Segregation like this exacerbates the dynamics that contribute to generational poverty. Moreover, the concerns and health of long-established low/middle income family neighborhoods east of the parkway are completely ignored. Aren’t these neighborhoods entitled to the same level of public safety and property value protections as residents in more affluent and favored parts of the city? 3.) This closed facility was 100% taxpayer funded. Many strongly believe it is a facility that does not belong in ANY densely populated residential neighborhood. It would never have even been considered for placement in any neighborhood West of the Parkway. We all know this and it’s time everyone in this city admit it and own it. But here we are again subjected to a county commissioner and a state employee telling us east side taxpayers not to worry, it would have been alright: this will be ok in your family’s neighborhood. But we are the ones paying for these facilities and the salaries of government employees and we made it clear we did not want this facility. Last time I checked, the government is supposed to be working for us, not the other way around? Maybe in Bend, in 2024, that’s only true if you live in more affluent and favored neighborhoods? One moral of this convoluted tale for the City, County and COIC? ENOUGH: No more shelters in Larkspur.
yeah, interesting there are no such facilities in the NW Crossing area of Bend….hummm!
The state with the highest tax burden per person in the country shovels money out the door on one more crash program, with poor-to-no oversight. Money is gone, Target problem is not impacted at all. Target population is probably worse off. Nobody held to account, from governor down to local level. We all just move on, wondering why taxes are high and problems don’t get solved.
Hey Raproberto – I was curious about the stat you mentioned about Oregon’s tax burden, so I looked it up. According to this resource, Oregon is #23 as of this year. Your points about the oversight of this program may still be valid, but for anyone like me who was wondering about the tax part…
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-high….
Another one from ’22 put us at #31.
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/t…