Government officials and service providers were thrilled to announce this year that the number of unhoused individuals in the community went way down compared to the previous year’s count. According to the annual Point in Time Count, the numbers were reduced by a staggering 19.1% — a figure that felt almost too good to be true. Those who did the count say their relationships with service providers and the unhoused community itself give them confidence that the numbers were accurate.
While it’s true that Central Oregon doesn’t have the visible markers of homelessness on the streets the way it did during and right after the pandemic, we have not “solved homelessness,” and we still need the services that got us where we are today. Numerous shelters still house people who struggle to find a place to go. The sanctioned area north of Bend where people are allowed to congregate has hundreds of people living there. And just this past weekend, officials say an abandoned fire at a homeless encampment caused a fire behind the Red Lion hotel, just steps from Highway 97.
When City and Deschutes County leaders made the move to clear the unsanctioned campers off public lands at Juniper Ridge north of town, they did so with the plan to allow sanctioned camping for a limited number of people in the “safe stay” area. The area was a temporary solution that local officials felt sure they’d be able to close after a few years of working on finding other places for those folks to live. Instead, that population has ballooned to around 200, and yet the area is still slated to close next year.
When the City moved to purchase the Rainbow Motel using a combination of American Rescue Plan Act money and other emergency state funds, they went in knowing it wasn’t forever. Eventually, the thinking went at the time, they’d raze the motel and build a new City Hall. Alas, a consultant deemed the land was valuable enough that selling it would be a better move, and the City appears to be positioning for that eventuality.
However, this comes at a time when federal and state funds for the unhoused are drying up. Unfortunately, the federal shelter money will all also be spent right around the same time as the City plans to close the safe stay area. In exchange, local leaders are endeavoring to build a supportive housing facility at Juniper Ridge. That’s obviously needed, but we struggle with the numbers here.
That new facility will take years to build and house a few dozen individuals — hardly a solution in the here and now for the hundreds of people who will be displaced.
Are we headed back to where we started?
The PIT count shows us we’ve made progress, but it feels fleeting. Hopefully the City won’t cry poor and give up on the sanctioned “safe stay” area at Juniper Ridge or on the people who live in the former Rainbow Motel. Funding is a big part of it all and no small feat to overcome. City and County general funds may have to be tapped to maintain services.
This article appears in the Source July 30, 2026.
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100% no! Let those who care pay more in taxes to fund this crap. The rest of us should able to opt out. I am tired of my money being confiscated to support the homeless. A huge economy now exists around homeless support and it gets larger every year. Enough!