St. Vincent De Paul, a food bank in Bend, plans to build a homeless village on its property off 3rd Street to house up to 10 people.
The goal is simple: To give people a safe place to come at night and get them over whatever obstacles that stand in the way of getting them off the streets.
A site manager, who is a certified mental health counselor, will be at the facility and guests will be required to stay drug and alcohol free while living there.
“Over a thousand people live in Central Oregon, unhoused,” said Gary Hewitt, executive director of St. Vincent De Paul. “We’re trying to address that problem because it’s a community problem. This is something we all need to embrace, we need to look for solutions, and this is one of many.”
The space, dubbed St. Vincent’s place, will include a community center, laundry facilities, four bathrooms, a kitchen and more.
It’s located between SE Cleveland and SE McKinley.
Hoping for a mild winter, the facility hopes to be up and running next spring.
