Dustin recalls that one of the Bike and Build team leaders had a friend working for a local nonprofit supporting affordable housing who put them in touch with CSS. Dustin along with long time Hut Crew volunteers Frank Harper and Harold Leeson welcomed the riders to assist with a challenging project. “They helped us tear down six Huts, wash the PVC roofing material, load up a trailer, and take them to our shop to be refurbished. They were a tremendous help,” says Dustin, “so it was a very positive day.”
Bike and Build Volunteers Assist in Refurbishing Huts
Oct. 12, 2023 - By Keith Dickey
Volunteers from Bike and Build in Eugene on August 12, 2023
There are volunteers who drive across town and show up weekly. There are volunteers who travel an hour or two to assist from time to time. And then there are volunteers who bicycle over 4,000 miles, across 10 states and 4 time zones to lend a helping hand. And on August 12 that’s exactly the crew that arrived to assist Facilities Manager Dustin Foskett and his team dismantle, clean, and refurbish six CSS Huts.
Bike and Build organization was established as a nonprofit in 2003. Its website summarizes its mission: “Bike and Build engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise awareness for the affordable housing cause. We advocate for the need for affordable housing in thousands of communities across the country.” As teams bike from town to town, they volunteer for service projects and give presentations about issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing. Since 2003 Bike and Build estimates that over 3,800 participants have biked over 11 million miles and donated over 255,000 volunteer community service hours to local organizations throughout the country.
On May 29, a team of about 25 riders dipped the back tires of their bikes in the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and embarked on their journey that would end in Florence, Oregon, on August 14. Riding an average of 60–80 miles per day and stopping along the way to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity builds and other projects, the group eventually arrived in Eugene on August 12.
Frank was impressed with the enthusiasm of the group. “They were amazing!” he recalls. “They tore out six Huts.” According to Frank, the team agreed that, of all the volunteer projects they worked on across the country, their day with CSS was “the best!” “Everybody had something to do and they really helped us.” Frank learned that the group was mostly college-aged participants from across the U.S. but also included riders from as far away as the United Kingdom and Brazil. “It was really a good experience for them,” says Frank.
Harold also enjoyed working with and interacting with the Bike and Build crew. “It was good for the kids. We just sort of told them what to do and they went to it,” Harold recalls. “Frank and I got them together and said ‘these are the things we need to do.’” This included removing the roofs, panels, wall units and floors. “We got all that done in the heat by 1:30. If we would have had a normal crew it would have taken twice as long.”
The following day the riders finished their cross-country journey at the Pacific Ocean in Florence. Frank, an avid cyclist who has biked across the U.S. twice himself, was on hand with the group for the final leg. Family members of the Bike and Build riders traveled to Oregon—including the mother of the U.K. rider—to join in the celebration. “It was really neat to see them once they finished the trip, ” Frank says.
Sadly, this volunteer experience with CSS may have been the last one for the Bike and Build project. According to its website (bikeandbuild.org), the organization is sunsetting and will no longer offer this opportunity for young adults. As bittersweet as that is, the CSS team is appreciative of the opportunity to work with this group of amazing young adults and will remember their assistance for years to come.
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In a September 2023 interview, Sabrina, who had been in a CSS Hut for about two years, said, “It's been well over 10 years since I've had a job, because my drug habit has caused me to be homeless.”
Spring is a season of renewal—and at Community Supported Shelters, it’s arriving alongside some significant and hopeful changes. I’m writing today to share updates about our growth as an organization, exciting developments in local policy, and a special event we hope you'll join us for.
If you have the opportunity to meet Harley and discuss her job at CSS as a Community Facilitator, you will be impressed. She is confident, thoughtful, and compassionate about the work she does to improve the lives of her clients and help move them on a path to sustainability. But you have the feeling there is something else. And when you learn about her story you understand there is more. Way more.
Meet Crystal, one of our newest CSS volunteers. Crystal has quickly become a welcoming presence at our Access Center, generously donating her time once a week to support staff and clients with a smile.
Little by little for ten months, St. Mary's Episcopal Church Congregation collected cans and bottles. And now, those small BottleDrop deposits have provided a big return: shelter for the unhoused. Recently, St. Mary's donated $3,000 to CSS and adopted their FOURTH Conestoga Hut!
St. Mary’s has been a long-time supporter of CSS. They hosted our first ever Annual Celebration back in 2014. We’re beyond grateful for their decade of support!
Soon after Mark moved into the Skinner Safe Spot Community in 2022 he got a CSS staff job on the maintenance crew. He worked 10–12 hours a week, and his primary responsibility was cleaning up Huts when clients moved out, preparing them for the next occupants.
He didn’t have a driver’s license. He had one “many years ago” in California before he became homeless, but then he didn’t have a vehicle and he let his license lapse. He had never had a license in Oregon, where he moved in 2014.
So for the maintenance job, he says, “I would commute by way of my bicycle. I carried all the cleaning products and brooms and mops and whatever I needed on my bicycle.”
Things went well, and when the maintenance crew was reorganized about six months later, he was offered a new position, at 30 hours a week, in which he would be the primary maintenance person for three communities. It required he drive a CSS vehicle, so the offer was contingent on him having a driver’s license.
“My supervisor at the time told me that CSS
A CSS Yurt on a rainy cold December afternoon in West Eugene may not be a place you would expect to find two Eugene area bank branch managers enrolling new depositors. Even more remarkable is the effort and journey that brought them there. The story begins earlier this year when Downtown Eugene KeyBank Branch Manager Michelle Khanthanhot reached out to Blake Burrell, CSS Director of Community Impact. What ensued is a focused grassroots effort by Michelle and another KeyBank Eugene Branch Manager Jose Contreras to educate the CSS community about financial health and planning. “For KeyBank it is important that we are involved in our community,” says Michelle. “Blake and I connected and it has just kind of evolved in the last 6 months.”
Community Supported Shelters is thrilled to share news of the incredible support we received from our community partners in 2024. These grants have allowed us to expand our programs, enhance our services, and make a meaningful difference for the individuals we serve. Here are the highlights:
Robert hadn’t seen his brother Dan in 17 years. “I’ve been looking for him. I hadn’t had any luck and, honestly, I didn’t think he was still around.”
But when Robert moved from one CSS community to the Micro-Mission Community in mid-September, he saw a face he knew.
“Oh my God, it’s my long lost brother,” he said. And they gave each other a big bear hug.
Dan, 56, has been in CSS Safe Spots for two years and Robert, 59, about a year. Eugene natives, they have both dealt with many difficult challenges. But, thanks to CSS, they have been reunited in a safe place and will help each other build more stable lives.
“It was meant to be,” Dan says.
This past summer, the leadership team at Community Supported Shelters took a powerful step forward in advocating for alternative shelter solutions by attending the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) conference in Washington, D.C. The team joined thousands of advocates, policymakers, and service providers nationwide to share best practices, exchange ideas, and drive critical discussions on addressing homelessness with innovative, community-centered approaches.
