Bend subcommittee reviews houselessness data and expansion plans for shelters and safe parking

City staff briefed the Council Stewardship Subcommittee on May updates to houselessness services, saying the 2025 point‑in‑time count identified 2,108 people experiencing homelessness across the region and 1,001 of those in Bend, a roughly 4% increase for 2025.

The data, staff said, come from the annual point‑in‑time count run by the Homeless Leadership Coalition and “is required by the housing and urban development department.” Amy Fraley, senior program manager for housing, told the subcommittee the count is a single‑night snapshot and likely undercounts people who were not present or who were staying temporarily in hotels, with family or friends on the night of the count.

Why it matters: staff said the local figures point to persistent housing supply and affordability problems rather than in‑migration for services. Fraley said economic causes were the most commonly reported driver of homelessness and that most people counted had been in the region 10 years or longer, which has implications for outreach and rehousing efforts.

Major program and capacity numbers

- Bend currently has 543 shelter beds, staff said, including 226 low‑barrier beds that receive city funding. The Franklin Avenue Shelter recently added 10 beds. Fraley said the Franklin shelter is fully funded through the current fiscal year, with state funds that run through June of this year.

- City‑supported shelters provided more than 82,000 nights of shelter in 2024 and maintained a 98% utilization rate in the first quarter of 2025, staff said. Fraley noted utilization may be understated because shelters do not report units taken out of service for maintenance.

- Central Oregon Villages operates a 20‑unit tiny‑home shelter leased from Desert Streams Church; that lease expires in 2026. Fraley said the provider is funded through December 2026 with city and county ARPA dollars and is seeking a permanent site. The city is exploring space at the Public Works campus on 15th Street but staff said site work (water, sewer and power) and moving costs would be required.

Safe parking and shelter pods

Brooke O'Keefe, shelter coordinator, and other staff described a state‑supported safe‑parking pod program and a city safe‑parking grant that staff say will add 21 pods by the end of the current fiscal year. Six of those pods are already deployed at the Dean Swift site operated by Central Oregon Villages, staff said; additional sites run by Mountain View Community Development and REACH are expected to come online this spring and summer.

Staff said pod sites must provide sanitation (porta‑potties and hand‑washing stations) and trash services, and sites with more than three spaces are required to offer case management and on‑site supervision. O'Keefe said most operators plan to add electricity to pod units though that is not…