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 a code requirement.

Costs and funding timelines

Staff described multiple braided funding streams. Central Oregon Villages is funded through city and county ARPA through December 2026. Franklin Avenue funding depends on the current state session and state allocations; staff said if the state funding were removed the Franklin shelter would be the first to be at risk of closure. Fraley gave an operating cost estimate for Franklin of about $1.4–$1.5 million per year.

Staff said the initial pod grant required funds to be spent by June 30; additional ARPA funding will support more sites beyond that date. Neighbor Impact, the agency that manages HMIS data locally, has given providers until June 15 to update delayed entries caused by intense intake activity at the Temporary Safe Stay Area.

Temporary Safe Stay Area (TSSA) impacts

Staff told the subcommittee that recent land closures — including the China Hat closure tied to a Bureau of Land Management vegetation project and other public‑land closures at Juniper Ridge — have driven new encampments and increased use of the TSSA. Fraley and O'Keefe said the China Hat closure displaced roughly 200 people and the TSSA has seen about a 45% increase in people camping since that closure. At the time of the update staff reported roughly 12 camps with about 42 occupants and expected an additional 7–10 people as other closures proceed.

Fraley said the city’s earlier policy guidance asked providers not to actively encourage moves to the TSSA but acknowledged the city would not turn people away because the TSSA was the only available temporary option. She said the intent when the TSSA was created (in a companion resolution with the county) was to reduce the overall campsite footprint from about 40 acres toward 20 acres by the end of 2025, but staff said the recent influx will require continued coordination with Deschutes County and may necessitate rethinking that timeline.

Operations and coordination

Staff said multiple providers are braiding funds (city, county ARPA, Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council awards and other grants) to maintain services. The city and county have created a review committee involving sheriff’s office staff, a city team member identified as Jason’s team, Compass (security contractor), and providers to address safety and service delivery. Homeward Network is funded to coordinate moves for camps on parcels that are closing.

What the subcommittee asked and what staff recommended

Councilors pressed staff on cost and capacity questions, the risk that state funding could be reduced, and whether sanitation and hygiene resources would need scaling. Staff said hygiene resources are monitored daily and that providers are managing current needs, while warning that capacity to deliver services is tenuous and depends on providers securing multiple funding sources.

Ending

Staff said they are monitoring the situation and will continue coordinating with the county and service providers. Neighbor Impact’s HMIS data update scheduled for June 15 will inform the dashboard used to track exits to housing and other outcomes.

Speakers

- Megan Norris, Councilor (present) - Steve Platt, Councilor (present) - Mike Riley, Councilor (present) - Amy Fraley, Senior Program Manager — Housing, City of Bend - Brooke O'Keefe, Shelter Coordinator, City of Bend

Authorities

- type: "policy", name/description: "Point‑in‑time count (required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)", referenced_by: ["point-in-time count data was released" ] - type: "grant", name/description: "American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding (city and county awards)", referenced_by: ["Central Oregon Villages funding through December 2026"] - type: "other", name/description: "Governor's executive order funding routed to Shepherd's House/Franklin Avenue Shelter", referenced_by: ["Franklin Avenue Shelter is fully funded through this fiscal year with money that came through the governor's executive order"]

Actions

- kind: "motion", motion: "Approve minutes from 04/04/2025.", mover: "not specified", second: "not specified", vote_record: [], tally: {}, outcome: "approved", notes: "Voice vote; transcript records a single 'Aye' and chair said 'It passed.' Individual tallies were not specified."

Discussion vs. decisions

- discussion_points: ["2025 point‑in‑time count and its limitations","shelter bed counts and utilization","safe parking pod rollout and site requirements","TSSA occupancy increases following closures of China Hat and other public lands","funding timelines and reliance on braided funding sources" ] - directions: ["Staff to continue coordination with county, providers, Homeward Network, Compass security and Jason's team; monitor HMIS data updates due June 15."] - decisions: ["No new formal council action recorded in this subcommittee meeting; informational briefing." ]

Clarifying details

- {"category":"point_in_time_count","detail":"Regional point‑in‑time count: 2,108 people; 1,001 in Bend; 4% increase for 2025","value":2108} - {"category":"shelter_capacity","detail":"Bend shelter beds: 543 total; 226 low‑barrier beds funded by city","value":543} - {"category":"franklin_operating_cost","detail":"Estimated annual operating cost for Franklin Avenue Shelter","value":"$1.4–$1.5 million","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Amy Fraley"} - {"category":"pods_deployed","detail":"21 pods expected by end of fiscal year; 6 deployed at Dean Swift; additional sites coming online","value":21} - {"category":"TSSA_change","detail":"China Hat closure displaced ~200 people; TSSA reported ~45% increase in people camping since that closure","approximate":true}

Proper_names

- {"name":"City of Bend","type":"agency"} - {"name":"Homeless Leadership Coalition","type":"organization"} - {"name":"U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development","type":"agency"} - {"name":"Central Oregon Villages","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Mountain View Community Development","type":"organization"} - {"name":"REACH","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Shepherd's House","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Neighbor Impact","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Homeward Network","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Compass","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Deschutes County","type":"agency"} - {"name":"Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs","type":"organization"}

Community relevance

- geographies: ["City of Bend","Deschutes County","Jefferson County","Crook County","Public lands (China Hat, Juniper Ridge)"] - funding_sources: ["City ARPA","County ARPA","state executive order funds","safe parking pod grant program"] - impact_groups: ["people experiencing homelessness","families with children","service providers/shelter operators"]

Searchable_tags

["houselessness","point-in-time","shelters","safe-parking","TSSA","Central Oregon Villages","ARPA","Franklin Avenue Shelter"]

Provenance

- transcript_segments: [{"block_id":"block_493.465","local_start":0,"local_end":119,"evidence_excerpt":"So next up is houseless services update, and we've got senior program manager housing, Amy Fraley, and shelter coordinator, Brooke O'Keefe.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_2408.34","local_start":0,"local_end":28,"evidence_excerpt":"Thanks. Thank you. Alright.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

Salience

- overall: 0.86, overall_justification: "Direct local policy and service implications — major funding lines, shelter capacity and a near‑term site and service response to public‑land closures.", impact_scope: "local", impact_scope_justification: "City and county services and budgets affected within Bend and Deschutes County.", attention_level: "high", attention_level_justification: "Funding deadlines and shelter capacity create urgent operational risk.", novelty: 0.35, novelty_justification: "Updates reflect ongoing programs rather than new policy, but include new displacement impacts.", timeliness_urgency: 0.88, timeliness_urgency_justification: "Immediate effects from recent land closures and funding deadlines this fiscal year.", legal_significance: 0.20, legal_significance_justification: "No new ordinances or statutes adopted; funding and lease deadlines noted.", budgetary_significance: 0.70, budgetary_significance_justification: "Shelter operating costs and ARPA/state funds are material to city budgeting.", public_safety_risk: 0.46, public_safety_risk_justification: "Encampment growth and sanitation concerns raise localized safety and health issues."},{