A recent investigation published in the Source revealed the complications and conundrums that can come up when trying to offer stability to those for whom instability has been the norm.
At the start of this year, the region’s housing authority opened the first supportive housing community east of the Cascades, aimed at providing not just housing, but support for those who had previously experienced homelessness. Funded through a combination of public dollars, Cleveland Commons is run by Shepherd’s House Ministries, with another property management company handling leases and other property concerns.
Less than a year in, residents we spoke to described inconsistent management practices, sometimes-dangerous fellow residents and culture of drug use that they say included at least one member of the staff actually offering people drugs.
The Source reviewed video which showed a staff member offering psychedelic drugs to a resident. One of the people we interviewed spoke of her recovery from fentanyl addiction, and how hearing that someone upstairs was selling fentanyl caused her to have thoughts of relapse. Another person interviewed for the story was eventually kicked out of the apartments after wielding a chainsaw in anger at another resident who was allegedly harassing him.
Running a permanent supportive housing community is no walk in the park, to be sure. Cleveland Commons, like other PSHs, operates on the “Housing First” principle of securing housing for vulnerable people, so they can then work on the other issues, such as mental health concerns or drug and alcohol abuse.
Among the supports that are supposed to be provided, Shepherd’s House’s contract stipulates that they’ll offer early identification and intervention for behaviors that may jeopardize housing; crisis intervention and assistance in the resolution of household disputes and conflict resolution as needed. Since it’s not a jail or high-barrier shelter setting, inevitably, people are going to stretch the boundaries — that’s reality.
These are complex problems, and the public has the right to understand that such challenges are being met with a robust response.
What is also reality, however, is that places such as Cleveland Commons are housing people across the spectrum. Some are trying desperately to stay sober and change their lives. Some require regular check-ins and intensive support with mental health and behavioral health challenges.
These are complex problems, and the public has the right to understand that such challenges are being met with a robust response. In speaking with residents for the story, we came to understand the notion of holding two truths in your hand at the same time: Someone can present as a danger to others while they also pose a danger to themselves. Someone can engage in behaviors that make them seem unreliable, while also offering information that contains kernels of truth about where they are living.
If residents offer those dueling truths, who can the public rely on for accurate and detailed information about how their public dollars are being spent? When presented with these issues at a county commission meeting this summer, one commissioner responded by visiting the facility and checking in. It’s not clear which specific issues, if any, were resolved as a result.
Even when a facility such as this is funded through public dollars, entities like Shepherd’s House, a nonprofit and not a government entity, are not obligated to comply with public records requests about their operations. They can, as they did, simply decline to comment on the allegations of drug use by staff. They can simply offer vague numbers when we ask whether protocols outlined in their contract have been followed. That’s all within their right — but that doesn’t make it right.
As the first permanent supportive housing community east of the Cascades, the public should have high standards for the operation and oversight of the building. If residents’ accounting of the situation there is considered unreliable, then all the more reason that the entities in charge should weigh in on exactly what is happening.
This article appears in the Source October 23, 2025.
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Thank you to The Source for reporting on the situation at Cleveland Commons. I’ve written several times urging our city and county to take a harder look at these low-barrier models, which may sound altruistic but often fail to address the underlying causes of homelessness. These low barrier facilities are simply a money making turnstile. Without structure, accountability, and professional treatment for addiction and mental health, with wrap around services, we create a revolving door that wastes taxpayer dollars and puts both residents and our neighborhoods at risk. This has become a well-funded industry that too often prioritizes maintaining programs over helping people truly recover. Our investment should focus on high-barrier facilities that provide real stabilization, treatment, and rehabilitation — and only then transition individuals into supportive housing once they are ready to succeed. That’s how we create lasting change instead of continuing the cycle.