Low-Barrier Shelter Awarded Extra Funds for Needed Beds

The Bend City Council awarded an additional $127,868 of funding for low-barrier, emergency shelter beds at the Franklin Avenue Shelter, the former Rainbow Motel. The shelter, which is currently at full capacity, plans to add more units for families. The number of houseless people in families increased by more than 25,000 between 2022 and 2023, according to a recent homelessness assessment by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released in December.

In May, the City of Bend received $932,582 to go toward shelter beds, as part of Gov. Tina Kotek’s Executive Order 23-02 aimed at providing housing and services to people experiencing homelessness. With this approval, the City of Bend will have received a total award of $1,060,450 in Executive Order funds.

The amendment, approved on Jan. 3, will also extend the funding expiration date from Jan. 10 to June 30. The expiration date for the Executive Order, in theory, would have required the City to expend all the funds it received by Jan. 10.

Since the City didn’t spend all of the initial $932,582, extending the grant period will allow it to continue to use what is left over from the original award amount. Those funds, plus the additional $127,000, will help the City keep the Franklin Avenue facility open for the rest of the fiscal year.

The 50-room, 60-bed low-barrier shelter will use some of the additional funds to account for family units, which are necessary, according to Fraley. While the 2022-2023 Point in Time count showed a decrease in families experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon, the numbers rose significantly in the state as a whole.

HUD’s homelessness assessment showed that Oregon had the highest percentage of unsheltered, unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness in January 2023 at nearly 70%. The number of families experiencing homelessness also increased by 16% from 2022 to 2023.

Once the resources were available, families began seeking shelter in Central Oregon, said Fraley. In November, the Franklin Avenue shelter served 14 families and 22 minor children. Shepherd’s House recognized that the need for family motel rooms was critical, and they had very limited space.

“The families that arrived at the Franklin Avenue shelter as it opened were not families that were necessarily on people’s radar, which was pretty surprising,” said Fraley.

These additional units would allow families to have space and privacy, something Fraley said is very important. “Families shouldn’t be going into a congregate shelter.”

While the PIT count is a good tool, Fraley said it may not have captured all the information last year. The 2023 Point in Time Count estimated that families accounted for 10% of households experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon. However, experts believe those numbers are often undercounted.

“With HUD’s PIT count information that came out in December, and that rise in Oregon as a whole, I would guess that Central Oregon will capture more families,” said Fraley.

This article appears in Source Weekly January 11, 2024.