CSS Operations Update

July 20, 2023

Did you know that in 2021, CSS built 100 Conestoga Huts to meet the growing unhoused needs of the Lane County community post-Covid? As you can imagine, this rapid expansion was quite the growth curve for our little start-up organization! In the years since, we have seen the length of stay in our Huts shift from 10 months to upwards of 2 years with the growing lack of affordable housing and, since the pandemic, our onsite hours shift to 24/7, where previously most of our clients were offsite during a significant portion of the day. 

These factors have increased the wear and tear on the CSS community spaces and individual Huts and mandate a different look at how we deliver services to our clients. The foundation of CSS is entirely based on the idea of community, and we continue to breathe that concept into our work on a daily basis. Our Service Team brings each community together at least once a week to encourage healthy communication and troubleshoot unhealthy behaviors, as our clients navigate life with up to 18 roommates and shared spaces! They cook together, chop firewood together, and more.


For CSS Operations, 2023 will continue to be a year of renewal and renovation! With a new Director of Operations, new Facilities Manager Dustin Foskett, and fully staffed Maintenance Team, we have been focused on clearing a backlog of repairs, conducting community Hut safety inspections, and enhancing infrastructure with an eye toward livability. Beyond these essential projects, we have few fun plans in the works including . . .  


  • The expansion of our grey water filtration pilot program, presently at our Skinner site, to other CSS communities courtesy of a grant from the Oregon Country Fair. This enhancement will eliminate the need to haul grey water out of our off-grid communities each week, as well as provide relatively clean water for client gardens and green spaces.
  • Leveraging City of Eugene infrastructure funding to create more accessible paths and entryways in our communities as well as decrease the ponding that happens during heavy rains on the barrowed wetlands that host many CSS communities. 
  • Enhancing our solar systems and/or connecting communities to EWEB to increase the ease of living in our mostly off-grid communities. 
  • Revamping our shower and laundry services to better serve our existing clients with an investment in onsite washers and dryers as well as more accessible shower hours.
  • Opportunities for clients to prepare for potential CSS employment through  volunteer roles, serving alongside the Maintenance Team on routine tasks, as well as special projects.

This year is the time to shore up the infrastructure quickly assembled in 2021 and plan for sustainability in this next season. We have a wonderful foundation, willing hands ready to build, and heart-warming public support. Thank you for being a part of the Team that makes shelter possible for hundreds each year at CSS!



Tabitha Eck
Director of Operations
Community Supported Shelters 

News & Events

To stay connected and learn about upcoming events, subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.


If you are a member of the media who is seeking information or would like to request an interview, contact community@cssoregon.org.


Subscribe to Newsletter

February 2025

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun

27

28

29

30

31

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

1

2

A Driver’s License Can Alter Lives

January 22, 2025
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

Breaking The Cycle: Fostering Financial Literacy

January 21, 2025
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.”

Grants That Create Pathways to Stability, Creativity, and Community

January 20, 2025
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:

Family Reunites and Forges a New Beginning

January 14, 2025
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.

CSS Leadership Team Advocates for Alternative Shelter Models at National Conference in Washington, D.C.

November 1, 2024
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.

Access Center Expands Services

October 31, 2024
The last time Shaggy (given name Steve) got a haircut was right before he moved into the CSS Lot 9 Community about two years ago. His hair was long and he’d been sleeping under the Harlow Street Bridge between Eugene and Springfield and he wanted to make sure he didn’t bring any lice or other parasites into the community. He shaved it all off.

HIV Alliance Brings Testing and Education to CSS Communities

October 30, 2024
Since August, residents of the 14 CSS Communities in Eugene have seen a white van and new faces arrive on site during Tuesday group meetings. HIV Alliance is a Eugene-based nonprofit focused on supporting people with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted diseases—and actively promoting prevention through testing and education.

Empowering Voices: Homeless Not Voteless

October 29, 2024
In partnership with The League of Women Voters of Lane County (LWVLC), CSS is making significant strides in expanding voter registration outreach to unhoused individuals in our community. Historically, unhoused individuals have faced numerous barriers to voter registration and participation including lack of a permanent address, identification issues, lack of information on candidates and issues, and limited access to information about the voting process.

Art Partnership Celebrates Community

July 23, 2024
On Friday, August 2, 2024, art created by CSS community members and staff will be featured on Eugene’s First Friday Art Walk in an exhibition titled “Community is Key” at the Oregon Supported Living Programs Arts and Culture Center (110 East 11th Avenue, Eugene). The exhibition, which opened on the First Friday Art Walk on July 5, is the culmination of a partnership between CSS and OSLP that began almost magically on a rainy day last Fall.

Director's Letter: Shared Leadership

July 22, 2024
We are delighted to bring you the Summer edition of our shelter program's newsletter. A special welcome to our new friends from the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference in D.C. For those receiving our newsletter for the first time, our mission is to support the unhoused in rebuilding their lives through intentional community. We seek to provide not only a safe haven for those experiencing homelessness but also a nurturing community that fosters growth, dignity, and hope.
Show More
Share by: