City staff brief committee on temporary safe‑stay area, safe parking grants and shelter funding shifts

City of Bend houselessness staff told the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee that the City will continue to support shelter and safe‑parking programs while pivoting some funding administration to regional partners, and staff provided updated point‑in‑time and grant allocation figures.

Amy Fraley, senior program manager for Houselessness Solutions, opened the update and introduced Brooke Hokey, shelter coordinator, who presented annual point‑in‑time methodology and counts: ‘‘The point in time count is conducted every year on a single night in January. And it measures the number of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered houselessness in Central Oregon,’’ Hokey said. Staff noted limitations of the count as a single‑night snapshot and said regional data showed 1,811 people experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon in 2024, a 10% regional increase over 2023, and 959 people in Bend (a 5% decrease for the city by the staff’s figures).

Fraley said the City has recently assumed roles in the shelter continuum (property ownership and administration in some cases) in order to access one‑time federal and other dollars, but staff expect a shift in administration of most navigation and shelter funding to a regional entity (staff cited Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council as a likely pass‑through for some grants). Fraley said the Franklin Avenue Shelter remains a possible exception if the nonprofit operator requests city administration of navigation funds.

Staff described House of Services Grant Program allocations that support safe parking and pods, outreach and housing‑focused case management, and other shelter system needs. Examples cited in staff materials and discussion included:

- $119,610 awarded to two existing safe‑parking providers (Central Oregon Villages and REACH) for operations support; - $762,750 allocated to expand safe parking (33 additional safe parking spaces across three organizations); - $292,500 for a Safe Parking Pod Grant Program to fund creation of 15 new pods and purchase of small units for the Dean Swift site; and - approximately $1,034,283 for housing‑focused case management, outreach, rent assistance, and prevention programs (including outreach outside the TSSA and personnel support for permanent supportive housing partners).

Staff warned of multiple closures and relocations of unsanctioned camping areas, noting a planned closure of the China Hub area around May 1 and other property closures; staff said the TSSA at Juniper Ridge is intended to provide water, restrooms and services and that outreach funds will attempt to reach people in affected camping areas. Fraley described some positive indicators in the system — openings created by the addition of permanent supportive housing units and rapid rehousing — and staff said they have seen movement of some chronically homeless individuals into permanent units.

Committee members asked operational questions about safe‑parking models, costs and host feedback. In response, staff said average funding requests for hosting a safe‑parking space were roughly $1,500 per year (providers’ full budgets vary), and that hosts generally report the programs make lots feel safer and create connections to services. Staff also said ADA and accessibility obligations apply to projects that receive city support.

Staff said the city will continue to provide technical assistance and limited ARPA gap funding where needed and will post updated data and TSSA metrics to the city’s housing data hub. Staff also asked for the committee’s input on program design elements as the City finalizes grant agreements and regional funding relationships.