There are nearly 1,200 people who are experiencing houselessness in Central Oregon on any given night. This number includes families with children and youth who do not live with an adult. Learn more in Central Oregon Houselessness Facts & Figures.

Learn more about the causes of this crisis, the people most affected, and what Emergency Houselessness Task Force has done to address it at houselessindeschutes.org.

To find out what the City of Bend is doing to address houselessness, please visit: bendoregon.gov/houselessness.

Background

In the Spring of 2021, the City of Bend and Deschutes County convened the Emergency Homelessness Task Force (EHTF). At the table were local housing and houselessness experts and stakeholders. The outcome was the development of a draft Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Houselessness in Deschutes County (Plan).

Concurrent to the Plan development, Deschutes County and the Cities of Bend, La Pine, Redmond, and Sisters worked together to secure $1 million in state funding to operationalize a County-Cities Coordinated Houseless Response Office Pilot (Office) and were successful.

• For more info, please visit: House Bill 4123 (HB 4123) and County-Cities Letter of Support. 
• Establishment of the Office was launched in the Fall of 2022. Contact: houselessoffice@deschutes.org. 

The Plan is a working document and will help give the Office a kickstart to fulfill on HB4123 requirement to develop a Strategic Plan within a year of award. 

New information has also surfaced, and new players have joined the table, all of which will also be factored in and considered for inclusion in the Office's Plan including ensuring alignment and synergies with the following plans: 

• Fall 2021 - BestCare and Central Oregon Health Council published a needs and gaps analysis with a proposal for a Behavioral Health Housing and Residential Treatment Plan.
• September 2022 – A Federal Strategic Plan with comprehensive and nationwide best practices is due to be published.
• Fall 2022 – Central Oregon JBarJ Youth Cascades is producing a Youth needs and gaps analysis and proposed solutions report.

(Updated: June 21, 2023)

EHTF Members

City of Bend - Sponsor/Convener

• Megan Perkins, Councilor
• Eric King, City Manager
• Carolyn Eagan, Recovery & Strategic Impact Officer
• Shelly Smith, Senior Management Analyst

Deschutes County - Sponsor/Convener

• Phil Chang, Commissioner
• Nick Lelack, Chief Administrative Officer
• Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator
• Molly Wells Darling, Program Manager Behavioral Health Services

City of Redmond

• Keith Witcosky, City Manager

Collaborating Agencies

• Bob Bohac, Jericho Road, Board Member & Outreach Director; Chair of Redmond Oasis Village Project
• Carlos Salcedo, St. Charles, Manager, Community Partnerships
• Colleen Sinsky, Central Oregon Frequent Users System Engagement (FUSE), Program Manager
• Colleen Thomas, Deschutes County, Homeless Community Outreach Coordinator & Homelessness Leadership Coalition
• Curt Floski, The Shepherd’s House, Executive Director
• David Brandt, Housing Works, Executive Director
• Elaine Knobbs-Seasholtz, Mosaic, Director of Strategy & Development
• Eliza Wilson, JBARJ - Grandma's House of Central Oregon, Program Manager 
• Jon Riggs, Helpers, Founder 
• Kay Vincent, City of Bend, Human Rights & Equity Commission  
• Kathy Skidmore, Central Oregon Veterans Outreach (COVO), Executive Officer
• Kristen Tobias, PacificSource, Community Health Coordinator for Central Oregon
• Mike Krantz, City of Bend Police Department, Chief
• Patty Wilson, NeighborImpact, Deputy Executive Director
• Shane Nelson, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff & Sergeant Jayson Janes
• Stacey Witte, Relationship Empowerment Action Compassion Heart (REACH), Founder & Executive Director
• Tara Feurtado, Bethlehem Inn, Program Manager
• Tammy Baney, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC), Executive Director

City of Bend Staff Liaison

• Mickie Derting, Strategic Initiatives Manager - City Manager's Office

MEETING SCHEDULE & MATERIALS