About Homelessness

Supporting communities to prevent and solve homelessness

Homelessness is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It is important to note that every individual’s experience is unique, and multifaceted strategies are required to address homelessness in different communities.

Causes of Homelessness

There are various myths and misconceptions around homelessness. Some believe people experiencing homelessness can simply pick themselves up if they tried hard enough, and that they are unhoused simply because they are lazy or bad. However, the truth is more complex than that. There are many factors leading to homelessness, including:


• Eviction and unaffordable costs for housing and rent

• Job loss

• Inadequate discharge planning for those leaving hospitals, correctional facilities, and mental health facilities

• Poverty

• Physical and mental health, including substance use disorders

• Discrimination

• Human-caused and natural disasters

• Transitions from foster care

• Choice—this is uncommon; for most, homelessness is not a choice

Annually, a single person experiencing chronic homelessness costs taxpayers _____.

Annually, a single person experiencing chronic homelessness costs taxpayers _____.

A) $5,000 to $10,000

B) $5,000 to $25,000

C) $10,000 to $30,000

D) $30,000 to $50,000

Get the Answer

What factor has the strongest correlation with a city’s homelessness rate?

A) Poverty rates

B) Housing costs

C) Mental health disorder rates

D) Substance use rates

Get the Answer

What costs more: providing an individual experiencing homelessness with housing or putting that person in jail?

A) Housing

B) Jail

Get the Answer

True or false: People choose to be homeless.

A) True

B) False

Get the Answer

Homelessness in Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is located in Lane County, Oregon, which has one of the highest rates of homelessness per capita in the U.S.


Is homelessness increasing?

The HBNL shows that homelessness in Eugene is dynamic and fluctuates up and down throughout the year. Numbers vary seasonally, with more people accessing services during cold months and fewer people accessing services in warmer weather.


Are people coming to our area for services?

Data from the HBNL indicates most people experiencing homelessness and accessing services in our communities report that their last residence was in the local area. A large part of Lane County is rural, so some people do go to Eugene from outlying areas of the county because it's where they can access more resources and services. Housed people do the same thing.


Do we have enough shelter beds?

Here in Lane County, if we filled every single shelter bed right now, about 95% of our documented unhoused would still be without a safe and sanctioned place to sleep! It will take the entire community working together to address the immediate needs of the 95% (bathrooms, trash receptacles, safe storage, etc.), as well as quickly increase the number of shelter beds available.


Resources:

Homelessness Glossary

When talking about homelessness, there can be a lot of acronyms and jargon. Refer to this glossary for reference:

  • Camping Ban

    A law that limits or prohibits camping or sleeping in public spaces

  • Chronic Homelessness

    A person experiencing chronic homelessness is defined as "an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition" who has been homeless for more than one year. It’s common for chronically homeless individuals to have debilitating conditions that restrict their ability to escape homelessness, like physical disability, mental health conditions, and addiction.


    Types of Homelessness

  • Continuum of Care (CoC)

    The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It's designed to:

    • promote community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness
    • provide funding to quickly rehouse unhoused people
    • promote access to support programs
    • optimize self-sufficiency among people experiencing homelessness

  • Harm Reduction

    Harm reduction, or harm minimalization, is used to decrease negative consequences of recreational drug use and sexual activity without requiring abstinence, recognizing that those unable or unwilling to stop can still make positive change to protect themselves and others.


    Learn More

  • Homeless-By-Name List (HBNL)

    A Homeless-By-Name List (HBNL) is an ongoing real-time list of unhoused people who access services in a community. Participating service providers enter people into the system at the time service is received and note their exit when service is complete or someone chooses to leave a program. These stats don't provide data on unhoused individuals who do not participate in services.


    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development utilizes the PIT Count. The City of Eugene and Lane County primarily use HBNL.


    Measuring Homelessness

  • Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

    The Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) is an information system used to collect client-level data. It also collects data on the provision of housing, shelter, and services. It tracks services for individuals and families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness. 

  • Housing Inventory Count (HIC)

    The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) is a complete inventory of emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing beds available in a Continuum of Care (CoC) homeless system.


    Homeless Service Programs

  • Housing First

    Housing First is an approach to address homelessness that, in recent years, has become one of the most popular models for serving chronically homeless people. This approach is based on the understanding that:

    1. homelessness is primarily a housing issue.
    2. the fastest way to help a person out of homelessness is to provide them with housing,
    3. followed by wraparound services that help them stay in housing.

    Unhoused individuals live in a constant state of fight-or-flight in order to survive life on the streets. Once their basic needs for shelter, food, and safety are met, people can begin healing from their trauma and rebuilding their lives.

  • HUD

    HUD refers to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD is responsible for national policy and programs that address America's housing needs and enforce fair housing laws.

  • Intentional Community

    That's specific to the shelter program of Community Supported Shelters (us)!


    In broad terms, an intentional community is a voluntary residential community that is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork.


    The main goal of CSS is to support community members in a safe and stable environment so they can reach their personal goals, be it seeking employment or housing. The group-living environment is designed to foster cooperation, respect, and communication.


    Many unhoused individuals experience profound loneliness, isolation, and lack of social support. Having a supportive group of peers can make a huge difference!

  • Low-Barrier

    Although the exact definition of "low-barrier" varies greatly depending on who you ask, it essentially means that the requirements for entry are limited or minimal. With a focus on harm reduction, low-barrier shelters may not screen individuals based on sobriety, poor credit, eviction, or criminal histories.

  • NARCAN®

    NARCAN® is the brand name for a safe medication called naloxone hydrochloride. This medicine can be used to treat someone experiencing an opioid overdose from heroin, fentanyl, and prescription opioids. It can be injected into muscle or given as a nasal spray.

  • NIMBY

    NIMBY = Not In My BackYard. This label often refers to people who don’t want the solution to a particular issue addressed in their “backyard.” NIMBYism isn’t limited to homelessness; it can apply to other topics as well.

  • Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH)

    Permanent Supporting Housing (PSH) is long-term housing with supportive services, such as leasing and rental assistance.


    Homeless Service Programs

  • Point-In-Time Count (PIT)

    This count is a one-night estimate of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people nationwide. Local groups conduct one-night counts during the last week in January of each year. It's voluntary, and many unsheltered people decline to participate. It can be challenging to locate people who are living in hard-to-find places in only one day.


    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development utilizes the PIT Count. The City of Eugene and Lane County primarily use HBNL.


    Measuring Homelessness

  • Rapid Rehousing (RRH)

    Rapid re-housing provides short-term rental assistance and services. The goals are to help people obtain housing quickly, increase self- sufficiency, and stay housed.


    Homeless Service Programs

  • Sweep

    A homeless sweep or “clean-up” is the forced disbanding of homeless encampments on public property, and the removal of both homeless individuals and their property from that area.

Solving Homelessness

To solve homelessness, a community-wide coordinated approach to delivering services, affordable housing, and programs is needed.


One essential approach to reducing homelessness is to prevent it. Another is to ensure that unhoused people can gain stability:

  • Provide short- to medium-term rental assistance and services (Rapid Re-Housing)
  • Provide longer-term rental assistance and services for the most vulnerable (Permanent Supportive Housing)
  • Support programs that help low-income people find employment and increase their incomes
  • Fund mental health and drug rehab services
  • Provide alternatives to prosecution
  • Establish collaborative relationships with shelter organizations, local government, law enforcement, and local businesses

How Can I Help?

We're so glad you asked! There's a lot of work to do, and there are many ways you can be part of the solution:

Donate.

Shelters and organizations (like us!) always welcome donations of cash, clothes, and basic supplies. Need is highest during winter months and periods of natural disasters.

Donate

Volunteer.

Everyone has talents and skills they can utilize to help people experiencing homelessness. When offering your time through volunteering, be honest about what you’re capable of, whether it’s one event or a regular shift at the shelter.

Volunteer

Research your local candidates.

Politicians can dictate your community or city’s policies and funding levels for homeless services and affordable housing. Take the time to learn candidates’ proposals on homelessness and the issues that lead to it, and support those who echo your values.

Fundraise.

With social media and crowdfunding options like GoFundMe, it’s never been easier to solicit support for a cause. Don’t underestimate the power of in-person communal events like bake sales and school campaigns, too.

Give job opportunities.

Encourage your company, school, or place of worship to hire people experiencing homelessness. Many unemployed unhoused adults desperately want to work but need an employer to give them a chance. That help-up could be exactly what someone needs to help them rebuild their life.

A simple smile.

Making eye contact, saying a few kind words, and smiling can reaffirm the humanity of a person at a time when homelessness seems to have stripped it away. These small gestures take but a moment but have a lasting positive impact.

Advocate.

Get involved in your local community. Help organizations in your area whose policies and initiatives support the goal of solving homelessness.

Donate.

Shelters and organizations (like us!) always welcome donations of cash, clothes, and basic supplies. Need is highest during winter months and periods of natural disasters.

Donate

Volunteer.

Everyone has talents and skills they can utilize to help people experiencing homelessness. When offering your time through volunteering, be honest about what you’re capable of, whether it’s one event or a regular shift at the shelter.

Volunteer

Measuring Homelessness

Stats, by nature, only show one side of complex issues. One stat is not enough.


Indirect Estimation: This is when surveyors ask different establishments, government facilities, shelter providers, etc. to estimate how many people are unhoused in the area.


Point-In-Time Count (PIT): This count is a one-night estimate of both sheltered and unsheltered homeless people nationwide. Local groups conduct one-night counts during the last week in January of each year. It's voluntary, and many unsheltered people decline to participate. It can be challenging to locate people who are living in hard-to-find places in only one day.


Capture-Recapture Methods: This method uses surveys, done at least twice a year, whose results are compared to draw conclusions about the number of unhoused individuals. It’s more accurate and reliable than PIT but can be costly and time-consuming.


HBNL: A Homeless-By-Name List (HBNL) is an ongoing real-time list of unhoused people who access services in a community. Participating service providers enter people into the system at the time service is received and note their exit when service is complete or someone chooses to leave a program. These stats don't provide data on unhoused individuals who do not participate in services.


The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development utilizes the PIT Count. The City of Eugene and Lane County primarily use HBNL.

Types of Homelessness

An unhoused person may be sheltered (in a homeless service program) or unsheltered (residing in a place not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, or abandoned buildings).


There are four types of homelessness defined by the U.S. federal government:


Transitional: Transitional homelessness is “a state of homelessness that’s a result of a major life change or catastrophic event.” These life changes might be job loss, a health condition, divorce, domestic abuse, a substance use disorder, or personal or family crisis, among many others, resulting in people being in unhoused situations for less than a year.


Episodic: Episodic homelessness is experienced by individuals who have had at least three periods of homelessness within the last 12 months. 


Chronic: A person experiencing chronic homelessness is defined as "an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition" who has been homeless for more than one year. It’s common for chronically homeless individuals to have debilitating conditions that restrict their ability to escape homelessness, like physical disability, mental health conditions, and addiction.


Hidden: Those who lack access to housing support resources and cannot be identified are 'hidden' from national statistics on homelessness. For example, individuals who live with others temporarily without a permanent home are considered to be among hidden homeless.

Homeless Service Programs

Here's a breakdown of programs in Eugene that offer support for the homeless population:


Street Outreach: Engage with people who are experiencing homelessness in an effort to connect them to essential services.


Overnight Parking: Provide legal camping, free trash disposal, and portable restrooms to individuals living in their vehicles.


Alternative Shelter: Provide a safe and secure place to be, stay dry, get basic needs met, and receive support to increase overall stability. Safe Spot Communities (that's us!) are alternative shelter programs. (Fun fact: Conestoga Huts are legally defined not as 'shelter,' but as 'vehicles' in City of Eugene code!)


Emergency Shelter: Provide short-term temporary shelter, often for no more than 60 days. For example, cold and hot weather shelters that open during extreme temperatures are considered emergency shelters.


Transitional Housing/Safe Haven: Provide temporary shelter and supportive services, often for no more than 2 years, with the goal of transitioning the unhoused to more permanent living situations.


Permanent Housing: Community-based housing without a designated length of stay, in which former unhoused individuals live as independently as possible. There are two types: Permanent Supporting Housing (long-term housing with supportive services) and Rapid Re-Housing (short- and medium-term rental assistance and case management). 

Incarceration and Homelessness: Breaking the Cycle

January 15, 2024
Formerly incarcerated people are almost ten times more likely to be homeless than the general population, according to a study from the Prison Policy Initiative. Jack spent 27 years in prison, from the age of 33 to 60. “It is a long time. It's an entire lifetime,” he says. At first, he thought he might never get out and continued what he calls “bad behavior.” But he saw others who participated in educational programs and were successful in getting their sentences reduced. He realized if he started “acting right,” he might get out. He especially credits a program called “Nonviolent Communication” with helping him. He started using what he learned and realized that “the person we communicate worst with is ourselves.”

Not Quite All-in Funding

October 12, 2023
Seventeen Lane County organizations running 28 programs addressing homelessness recently received a total of $18.4 million from Governor Tina Kotek’s emergency homelessness program through an effort called “All-In Funding.” Community Supported Shelters was not one of them.

Eugene’s Revised Camping Ordinance Raises Concerns

July 1, 2023
“It’s impossible for me to be in compliance with them,” says Karen Balle, an unhoused person on CSS’s waitlist, about the new regulations in Eugene’s revised camping ordinance.

Becoming a “Legal Human”: Elena Mulroney’s Quest for ID

March 26, 2022
Elena Mulroney’s identification papers went up in flames in a California wildfire. That has made her life very difficult ever since.

Partnership with the City: Dramatic Growth Propels CSS into 2021

November 27, 2020
The Covid 19 pandemic is the primary force driving this push by the city. Shelters that crowd homeless people into shared indoor spaces—known as “congregate housing”—are less favored with an infectious virus on the loose. Covid has also greatly reduced the available spots in the Egan Warming Center program, which provides refuge from the coldest winter nights. And the city had federal funding available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security program that has to be spent by the end of the year.

Missing Rungs: The steep challenges of climbing out of homelessness

May 11, 2019
Felonies, physical disabilities, mental illness, racial differences, spotty rental histories, lack of family connections in the community, a history of homelessness and all its complication, a rental market stacked against you: any one of those will knock a rung out of the ladder that people experiencing homelessness are trying to climb toward housing opportunities. Combine a few of those and there isn’t much ladder left.

Challenges in the Transition to Housing

June 14, 2018
“Homelessness is trauma,” says a brochure promoting a training session on housing retention for people who have been homeless. “And one of the biggest problems is that if you already have trauma, it isn’t just a new trauma,” says Elaine Walters, executive director of the Trauma Healing Project and co-leader of that training, “it triggers all the old trauma and can make it very complicated.”

Challenges of Getting a Job While Homeless

June 21, 2017
“Once they find out that you’re homeless, it’s ‘you can leave the establishment now,’” says Shawn Cooper, a 40-year old who moved into the Veterans Safe Spot in January. “They don’t even want you to come in the door.”

Homeless Winter Safe Spot residents talk about what it takes to get through a winter.

February 7, 2016
“Number one is you have to fight for your right to keep your body dry and your belongings dry, especially your clothing,” says Praise. “If you go out and get soaked, you’ll be so cold,” Sherri says, “and you’ll get very sick.” Mack agrees. “It’s definitely key keeping dry,” she says. “Last winter, I didn’t have a rain suit but I got blessed with a rain suit this year and I’ve been a hundred times warmer and I haven’t got sick yet.”

Support Us

Your support provides shelter and hope for a better tomorrow. No amount is too small to give. $20 can make a real difference in the lives of unhoused individuals—it can fund an Outreach Kit, which provides someone in need with water, snacks, and hygiene supplies.

Donate Today