A newly formed local non-profit, Central Oregon Villages, plans to set up small, managed communities to house the homeless.
They’ve chosen a Eugene community called “Opportunity Village” as their model, telling us the Eugene operation has a track record of proven success.
We spent parts of two days at Opportunity Village getting to know how the place runs and getting to know the managers and some of the residents.
Our visit raised some important questions:
Can we find similar, appropriate locations here in Bend?
Is there the political will, community and financial support to build similar villages?
Is a 60% “success rate” for moving residents into permanent housing an acceptable metric?
How much impact can a few dozen safe living spaces have on the growing homeless population in Central Oregon?
Hopefully, this series can help provide some answers.
Our first story deals with the nuts and bolts, the basic rules residents are required to follow.
Part two will air Tuesday.
