The Growth of Homeless Shelter Options in Central Oregon

by Chuck Hemingway

There has been an exponential growth over the past half decade in the availability of shelter space in indoor and outdoor shelters and safe parking programs in Bend and Redmond.

Prior to 2021 bed space at indoor shelters operated by Bethlehem Inn and Shepherd’s House was limited.  Also prior to 2021 there were no outdoor shelter or safe parking options.

Since 2021 the City of Bend has been creative in using federal government COVID dollars to expand both indoor and outdoor shelter options. 

As of today there are three different organizations operating nine indoor shelter facilities that provide either congregate shelter or group shelter.  Also today, between safe parking sites and micro-unit outdoor shelters, six different organizations operate outdoor shelter and safe parking programs, with more than 130 units or safe parking places among them.

Provision of any form of shelter for those unhoused in Central Oregon is a creature of the 21st century.

How Traditional Indoor Shelters Came About

In the winter of 1999 retired Lutheran pastor Milton Hunt convinced four local churches to join together and provide overnight shelter for the homeless living on the streets of Bend.  The churches rotated among themselves over that winter season and for the next several years during the winter months in what he called the “Bethlehem Inn Project.”  When the weather warmed, the Bethlehem Inn Project shut down.

It was not until 2004 that Bethlehem Inn, by that time formed into a nonprofit and no longer rotating among churches, with the help of the county, came up with a site of its own in Bend and was able to offer the first year-round shelter for men, women and families.  In 2023 Bethlehem Inn opened a second shelter program in Redmond called BIRCH.

In 2007 Shepherd’s House opened as a men’s shelter program with an initial focus on men coming out of jail or prison.  Over the years Shepherd’s House expanded, opening a women’s program in 2015 and subsequently opening in 2021 a Navigation Center, an overnight shelter for both men and women and the Franklin Center, a converted motel that provides rooms for families and medically vulnerable individuals.  In 2023 Shepherd’s House opened a facility in Redmond that offers overnight shelter for men, women and families.

In 2021, using COVID funds from the federal government, the City of Bend purchased an old motel and converted it into rooms for families and medically vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness.  In 2023 the city awarded a contract to NeighborImpact to operate the facility, known as Stepping Stones.

In January 2025 NeighborImpact partnered with HousingWorks to open 34 units of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals with medical and behavioral health needs, known as Cleveland Commons.  Shepherd’s House was given the contract to provide case management at Cleveland Commons when it opened.  

Shelter for Homeless Youth

An unmet need to provide shelter for homeless youth was met by J Bar J, which since its founding in 1968 has opened The Loft in Bend and Canal House in Redmond for youth 14 to 24 under its Cascade Youth and Families Program.  

NeighborImpact also operates Grandma’s House in Bend, which it took over from founder Woody Maderis.  Grandma’s House provides shelter for homeless, pregnant and/or young mothers ages 15 to 24. 

Legislative Efforts to Create Outdoor Shelters and Safe Parking

But more than 17 years had to pass before outdoor shelter or safe parking became an option.  The impetus grew from a combination of lack of indoor shelter space, economics and the COVID-19 pandemic.

State and local leaders realized that a growing need existed.  The COVID-19 pandemic led to a 2020 special legislative session in which HB 4212 was passed to enact special provisions related to COVID.  HB 4212 contained a short-lived 90-day emergency outdoor shelter provision.  It allowed nonprofits to request permission from local governments to create outdoor emergency shelters.

Before that legislative authorization sunsetted, two applications were submitted to the City of Bend.  One was from Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and Bend Heroes Foundation, which led to the creation of Veteran’s Village on land at the Sheriff’s Campus that the county provided.  HB 4212 allowed Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and Bend Heroes Foundation to open 15 units at Veterans Village in 2021. Since then 7 more units have been added that opened in 2025.

The other application was from a group of concerned citizens, mostly with local churches, but also representatives of St. Vincent dePaul in Bend, who asked for permission to set up a managed camp on city property at Juniper Ridge on a site where the new Bend Public Works campus now sits.  Because the city had not given its prior permission for use of city land, the application was not acted on.

In a follow-on regular legislative session in 2020 the legislature passed HB 4001, reauthorizing the emergency shelter provision from HB 4212.  But it too had a sunset provision that expired July 1, 2021.  

In the 2021 legislative session HB 2006 was enacted. HB 2006 reauthorized the emergency shelter provision from HB 4001, but again the legislation provided only a two-year window, after which it sunsetted.

Thankfully, three successful emergency shelter applications by three different organizations were submitted under HB 2006 before it sunsetted.

One was by St. Vincent dePaul, submitted to the City of Bend, which approved the application, leading to the creation of St. Vincent’s Place.  St. Vincent’s Place has 10 micro-shelter units, a live-in unit for an onsite case manager, and a community building.

Another application submitted to the City of Bend was from Central Oregon Villages, a nonprofit formed by the group of concerned citizens mentioned above.  The city approved their  application and it resulted in establishing 20 micro-shelter units on space the nonprofit leased from Desert Streams Church.

St. Vincent’s Place opened in 2022 and Central Oregon Villages opened in early 2023.

The third application was to the City of Redmond from Oasis Village, a nonprofit formed by community members who were associated with Jericho Roads, a community organization that had been providing homeless outreach in Redmond and areas around it for years.  Oasis Village opened in January 2024. 

Development of Safe Parking Programs

The other development that expanded outdoor shelter options for unhoused persons was safe parking.  Each of the Oregon laws referenced above authorized “car camping” and pursuant to those provisions, the cities of Bend and Redmond, and Deschutes County as well, have passed safe parking ordinances.

“Safe parking” has been defined to include vehicles such as cars, RVs, 5^th Wheels and camping trailers, but micro-shelters as well.  

Today three organizations – Central Oregon Villages, REACH and Mountain View Community Development  -- operate safe parking programs.  

REACH operates in Bend with safe parking locations at four churches that are vehicle only sites: Nativity Lutheran, Church of the Nazarene, Antioch Church and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon (UUFCO).

In addition to its 20 unit micro-shelter location behind Desert Streams Church in Bend, Central Oregon Villages operates three safe parking locations in Bend, one on Bend Methodist Church property and two on land rented from private landowners. Those locations are micro shelters only.

Mountain View Community Development (MVCD) operates numerous safe parking locations in Bend and Redmond that are a combination of vehicle and micro-unit set-ups.  MVCD operates safe parking locations in Redmond that provide 36 spaces and in Bend 15 spaces, with more planned.

Even though these outdoor shelter and safe parking options do not fill the need, considering where our locality has come from since 1999, this shows that strides are being made to fill the gap and provide safe, secure shelter for those unhoused.