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1160 Grant Street Eugene, OR 97402

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541-683-0836

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Devin Jenkins Brings a Heritage of Empathy and Compassion to CSS Board

March 25, 2022

Many CSS volunteers work behind the scenes to help keep this community-based nonprofit moving forward. Serving as a CSS board member is one way to help bring constructive oversight and vision to the organization.

Devin Jenkins has served two years on the CSS board and is currently the board president. He brings a broad understanding of what is needed to maintain strong, community-based opportunities for people facing challenges that come with living without a place to call home.

The CSS board supports the three-person administrative directors team to help guide the organization towards its short- and long-term goals.

“I have a real passion for a community-based model helping people, and CSS does this in a pretty amazing way,” Devin says. “This organization is a model for building collaboration and using resources in a cost-effective way.

“We’re not heavy with administrative expenses. That allows us to stretch our funding to make the most of everything that comes to CSS. Most funding comes from our donor base, and lately the City has stepped up to support the recent expansion of Huts and Safe Spots in 2021.

“We’re very grateful for that support from both private and public contributions.”

Devin brings a unique perspective to the CSS board from his work at Laurel Hill Center, where he is director of facilities and housing programs..

Laurel Hill serves people with social, emotional, and cognitive challenges. One of its programs provides low-income housing for eligible people. The wait list to move into a Laurel Hill apartment or living unit is very lengthy. He understands very well the uphill challenges many people face in securing safe housing.

Devin was recruited to the CSS board by board members whom he had previously worked with through other nonprofits.

“Devin graciously accepted the mantle as board president this past year,” says CSS Grants and Contracts Coordinator Tod Schneider. “He has been an invaluable asset to CSS. He’s been very steady at the helm while we navigated some rough spots, including ongoing growing pains from our massive expansion.

“He also helped facilitate some challenging Covid-19 conversations about how best to keep folks safe.”

Devin graduated from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, in 2001 with a degree in biology, but felt drawn to the Northwest to work with kids, especially in outdoor settings.

He first moved to Oregon in 2001 to become program coordinator with Northwest Youth Corp. He’s also worked as an outdoor youth coordinator in Bend and in a variety of jobs with Looking Glass Community Services in Eugene.

So, how did it happen that someone with a science background became interested in helping kids and adults lead more stable lives?

“It was actually my Dad who’s been my inspiration for doing this work,” Devin says.

Devin’s Dad worked as a policeman and managed security with the housing authority in Syracuse. He was passionate about helping those struggling with poverty and housing insecurity, and sometimes took Devin to housing projects where he worked, which opened Devin’s eyes to the many challenges people face when life struggles become overwhelming.

“What I learned more than anything in those visits was empathy and compassion for people,” he says.

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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.