Ways to Give

1160 Grant Street Eugene, OR 97402

Public Office Hours:

Tue-Fri, 1-4 p.m.

541-683-0836

community@cssoregon.org

Director's Letter: Shared Leadership

By Heather Quaas-Annsa

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.

Community is at the core of our organization, and we embody that commitment at the highest leadership level here at CSS through our shared executive leadership team. The Nonprofit Association of Oregon invited the three CSS co-executive directors to present a panel at the recent Flourishing Oregon Conference that explored alternative leadership models' benefits, challenges, and successes.

Shared leadership is distributing leadership responsibilities across a group rather than placing the burden on a single individual. This model fosters collaboration, inclusivity, and collective ownership of our mission and goals. The benefits of a leadership team are many – lower rates of burnout, more minds tackling challenging issues, and mutual support for the complex and good work we do. Adding alignment and structure to these relationships makes them more successful. By leveraging our community's diverse strengths and perspectives—staff, volunteers, and clients alike—we can create innovative solutions, enhance our decision-making processes, and build a more resilient and cohesive environment.

Nature's Symphony

Breathtaking colors of our planet

Button

Beyond Boundaries

Visual odyssey across continents

Button

Sands of Time

Stark beauty of desolate dunes

Button

Faces of Humanity

Portraits of people from around the globe

Button

At CSS, shared leadership helps to create an environment that inspires a culture where everyone has a voice. We encourage our clients to participate in community meetings, where their insights and experiences inform our policies and programs. Our dedicated staff members collaborate closely across departments, sharing responsibilities and supporting one another to ensure that our services are effective, compassionate, and responsive to the needs of those we serve.

We believe that by empowering each community member to participate, we can unlock the full potential of our collective efforts. This approach not only improves the day-to-day operations of our shelters but also helps individuals develop valuable skills and a sense of agency, which are critical for their journey toward stability and independence.

Thank you for your continued support and for joining our community. Together, we are making a meaningful impact and paving the way for a brighter future.

With gratitude,

Heather Quaas-Annsa, Director of Philanthropy

Blake Burrell, Director of Community Impact

Tabitha Eck, Director of Operations

You Gotta Nourish to Flourish

Your support makes a huge difference. Thanks to you, we can continue nurturing communities that foster growth, dignity, and hope.

All donations to the brand new CSS Nourish Fund will be directed toward nourishing the lives of unhoused individuals through open art studio classes, music lessons, peer-led support groups, employment prep, and more.

Give to the Nourish Fund

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

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

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.

Staff Spotlight: Mellinda Poor, Navigating Toward Sustainable Lives

July 21, 2024

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a navigator as “one who navigates.” Further it defines navigate as “to make one’s way over or through.” At Community Supported Shelters, the role of the Service Navigation Manager is precisely that: to assist clients in making their way over and through challenges to a place of sustainability in their lives, including with housing. And you would be hard-pressed to find a better navigator than Mellinda Poor.