Central Oregon Veterans Outreach estimates that there are between 80 and 100 veterans living in the region without homes.
But the exact number is hard to find. The 2019 Point In Time Count published by the Homeless Leadership Coalition reported 62 veterans.
Hundreds of homeless camps dot the landscape on the outskirts of Bend and Redmond. Many people without homes live in the woods because they’d rather not be found, according to James Cook, co-chair of the Central Oregon Homeless Leadership Coalition.
But a new project aimed at providing temporary shelters for veterans is uniting city, county and state leaders across the political spectrum. The Central Oregon Veterans Village aims to build 15 transitional shelters and a community center for 15 veterans in the region.
Erik Tobiason, president of the Bend Heroes Foundation, along with COVO, are spearheading the program.
“It’s not a done deal until the ink is dry,” Tobiason told the Source. “But I want to emphasize that the City of Bend, the Deschutes County commissioners and Rep. (Cheri) Helt have been very supportive and share the vision and are prioritizing this program in their leadership activities.”
Tobiason said the plan is to have the shelter community built by next fall, behind the Deschutes County Public Safety Campus near the Sheriff’s Office. Supplies for 15 tiny homes are already in Bend, and volunteers are working to assemble and paint the small cottages. Tobiason presented the proposal to the Deschutes County Commissioners Jan. 27. Now, county staff are drafting a memorandum of understanding with COVO and the Bend Heroes Foundation, establishing an agreement to lease the land owned by Deschutes County to the nonprofits.
Tobiason is also working to raise funds to build a community center in the new village. The individual tiny homes won’t have running water or cooking facilities, but the main building will have a kitchen, bathrooms, showers and meeting rooms.
Tobiason was inspired by the Clackamas County Veterans Village, opened in 2019 and funded entirely through the Clackamas County general fund. Do Good Multnomah, a veteran-managed nonprofit, provides daily services to help veterans transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency.
The group united around the fact that the veterans have served us, and now it is our job as community advocates to come together and serve them -Rep. Cheri Helt
In the case of the Deschutes County facility, “We can’t just say, ‘welcome to the village, here’s your home, good luck,'” Tobiason said. “That is where COVO comes in. We’re going to manage the construction of the shelters, they’re going to provide the daily services and continuous case management to help solve the ongoing problems that veterans face, especially when they’ve been living out in the woods for years.”
COVO will help with behavioral and physical health services, job training and the eventual transition to more independent living. The Deschutes County Stabilization Center is scheduled to open this spring on the same campus as the village, adding an additional safety net. DCSC was designed as an alternative for people in crisis so they don’t have to go to the emergency room or to jail.
Phase Two of the project is to build high-density, long-term, affordable housing with on-site or nearby access to ongoing support. Tobiason is working with the City and County to find more public land that could be donated to the cause.
Tobiason’s other inspiration for the Central Oregon Veterans Village was the Veterans Community Project in Kansas City, Missouri, funded entirely through private donations. That community has 49 colorfully painted tiny homes with a 4,600-square-foot community center. Tobiason’s vision is to create the best of both worlds, forming a true public/private partnership that combines the public funding model of Clackamas County with substantial donations from private donors.
Tobiason brought the idea to Rep. Helt (R-Bend) in November. She then organized a meeting with City Councilors Barb Campbell and Bruce Abernethy, County Commissioner Phil Henderson and advocates from COVO.
“There was unanimous support,” Helt said. “The group united around the fact that the veterans have served us, and now it is our job as community advocates to come together and serve them.”
Tobiason is hopeful that if the veterans village is a success, it will garner more support for other people without homes in the region.
“We can’t even house middle-income and poverty-level people in this town,” Tobiason said. “We hope this is just the beginning, a pilot project that shows what can be done, and that it could be done on a much larger scale to really take the bite out of the homeless problem in our community.”
Cook of COHLC also sees the project as an opportunity to demonstrate what a successful transitional program could look like. He said that the wrap-around support is essential for helping people reach long-lasting independence.
Cook also pointed out that the real number of people without homes in Central Oregon is much higher than the 880 documented during the 2019 Point In Time Count. A recount by Portland State University in 2017 found that the population of unhoused people in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties was seven times higher (38,000 people) than the PIT count reported (5,700 people).
“The problem is mostly hidden here, because many people mostly live in the woods outside our cities and come into town to buy food and access services,” Cook said. “If people are pushed off public lands without being offered a safe and legal alternative, they’ll move in town and we’ll have a more visible issue. We’re going to need everyone working together on this—city, county, state, homeless advocacy groups, private donors—if we hope to have an impact.”
In the meantime, by next fall, at least 15 veterans will have a temporary shelter to call home.
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2020.
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they are sheds essentailly, not tiny homes. what kind of insulation do these have? single pane windows, maybe i am wrong. far better solution is low budget apartment buildings with shared walls for $$ savings. make them as cheaply as possible to code except for insulation and metal roofing to keep long term costs down. these kind of apt. bldgs can be purchased as prefab kits. will never understand this. a bunch of garden sheds and a central gathering spot.
so many other options other than these. super duper short term solution.
What people don’t realize is that many people simply don’t want to live like everyone else. Myself, I’d rather be homeless (camping) than work a meaningless job just to pay the rent of some depressing apartment in town. I am not mentally ill, handicapable, or a veteran; I actually did quite well in college, but I don’t vibe with the way we live. I am not the only person around that sees no value in the busy ways we live today. We have to meet people like me, not just veterans, half way, and understand that our current way of living looks like slavery to many less socialized, more out-of-the-box type people. These centralized villages are a wonderful step in the right direction for people who want to live simply, with less stuff. I’d like to see more of these villages in rural areas, around a farm that could be worked by the inhabitants. Maybe more safe and thoughtful changes to code and law are in order.
Thank you Travis and Greg for your thoughtful comments.
Greg in terms of the sheds… they really are substantially cheaper than building a full apartment building with pluming, electricity and vertical structural integrity. I think this is definitely a short-term solution as well, but truly a welcome change for people who have been living in tents or in their cars out in the cold. It will only serve about 15 vets at a time and there are five times that many who are currently homeless in Central Oregon, according to COVO. But the idea is it is something they can do right now… while your idea for an apartment building is actually in the works and will be Phase II of the program for vets.