Bridging Housing Gaps in Redmond

Every year, new efforts continue to appear and expand in Deschutes County to help transition people out of homelessness. After seeing success in a number of different projects aimed at housing vulnerable populations, local leaders and service providers have plans to expand current successful projects, while introducing others that address gaps in the housing continuum.

In 2024, Deschutes County had about 1,799 unhoused adults and children, according to the annual Point in Time count, a nearly 9% increase in houselessness from 2023.

Redmond nonprofit Mountain View Community Development has significantly increased shelter options over the last year, creating 29 safe parking spots to in the city. According to Executive Director Rick Russell, a particular project will help fill a need that he considers mostly missing from the region.

A planned permanent supportive housing project aims to develop a 60-unit permanent housing village with on-site case management, just north of Redmond’s Oasis Village, a tiny home village for previously unhoused residents.

Credit: Mountain View Community Development

This project would prioritize those with disabilities, those coming out of chronic homelessness or those part of an aging demographic. Many individuals who need this type of housing are high acuity, meaning they have a number of obstacles to independent living; often in their retirement years, making it harder for them to re-enter the workforce.

While the project is heavily dependent on securing funding, he said, it’s possible they could begin construction in the next year.

“We consider this really kind of a missing rung on the ladder,” said Russell. “Because there’s a shortage of permanent supportive housing units, some people just end up sort of stuck in shelters or in safe parking, waiting on housing lists.”

Russell has identified a need for hundreds of these units in Central Oregon. While there are some projects in the works that could bring that number up to 40, regionally, the Mountain View permanent housing project would bring in another 60 units, with acreage to expand. “If it works at 60, we’d be able to do future developments into the hundreds,” he added.

Addressing another part of the housing continuum, the nonprofit plans to increase its popular, more transitional safe parking programs in both Redmond and Bend. Since their introduction in Central Oregon, these programs, which offer parking spots for individuals or families to safely live, have proved to be in demand, often having long waiting lists.

Russell plans to have 40 safe parking spots in Redmond by the end of year, and with the success of the program in Redmond, is discussing an expansion into the city of Bend. While things like staff capacity and funding can often be barriers, Russell said he’s confident they will be able to significantly increase spaces in Bend over the next 12 months.

Redmond City Councilor Cat Zwicker said she’s proud of the work Redmond has done, celebrating the city’s willingness to work frequently with service providers to accomplish goals. Zwicker, who serves on the County-wide houselessness office, the Coordinated Houseless Response Office, feels like the progress in Redmond has aligned with the policy and strategies discussed within the CHRO.

CHRO saw how these systems were working Redmond, she said, and continues to heavily advocate for more safe parking in Bend. To increase safe parking opportunities, Zwicker added that the City of Redmond may soon look at changing its code around safe parking, increasing the number of spots available at a single location from six to eight.

“It seems to be a really good system that’s working very well for some of our homeless people in Redmond, and I think that would be a great way to expand,” said Zwicker.

This article appears in Oct 2-9, 2024.