News
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Fall 2025 Newsletter
As we move deeper into fall and prepare for the cold months ahead, we want to share an update on our work and a reflection on what this season means for our community.
Recent policy changes and funding reductions across Oregon are already having consequences for people experiencing homelessness. New SNAP rules are e
Since the inception of the CSS workforce development program in 2024, it has become clear that not everyone is interested or able to work in a traditional workplace. It can be quite the challenge to locate jobs that are part time, supportive, accessible to folks with disabilities or criminal history, to name but a few
When someone moves, they may receive housewarming gifts to celebrate their new beginning, which can help a new house or apartment start to feel like a real home.
Each person who moves into a Conestoga Hut receives something akin to a "Hut-warming" gift.
“A welcome tote is given to new clients when they move into a Hu
All Articles
As we move deeper into fall and prepare for the cold months ahead, we want to share an update on our work and a reflection on what this season means for our community.
Recent policy changes and funding reductions across Oregon are already having consequences for people experiencing homelessness. New SNAP rules are e
Since the inception of the CSS workforce development program in 2024, it has become clear that not everyone is interested or able to work in a traditional workplace. It can be quite the challenge to locate jobs that are part time, supportive, accessible to folks with disabilities or criminal history, to name but a few
When someone moves, they may receive housewarming gifts to celebrate their new beginning, which can help a new house or apartment start to feel like a real home.
Each person who moves into a Conestoga Hut receives something akin to a "Hut-warming" gift.
“A welcome tote is given to new clients when they move into a Hu
Linda Southwood’s handmade jewelry, she said, is a part of her.
Making her beaded bracelets and necklaces from reclaimed wood has been a relaxing constant for Southwood, 52, especially after her home burned down three years ago and she struggled to find housing.
She’s a graduate of a new arts entrepreneurship progra
Because of your support, we’re growing into something bigger—two new spaces designed to better serve our unhoused neighbors.
Community Supported Shelters is in the middle of an exciting transformation. After over a decade at our Grant Street location, we’ve purchased a new building that will allow us to bring our in
“Everyone will have desks,” declares Blake Burrell, CSS Director of Community Impact, anticipating the move of most of the CSS staff and programs from 1160 Grant Street to 2870 West 10th Place, a former Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles facility. The move will take place between now and the end of 2025.
Erik de Buhr fell in love with the building at 1160 Grant long before there was a Community Supported Shelters. He was involved with a group that built things out of salvaged materials (Resurrected Refuse Action Team), including huts that would turn out to be precursors to the CSS Conestoga Huts. “I’d been eyeballing t
In partnership with the Nightingale Board of Directors and the City of Eugene, CSS is ensuring the Nightingale Safe Spot continues to operate in South Eugene. In the month of July, CSS officially began to operate the Nightingale Safe Spot Community in South Eugene. As the organization moves its home to our new building
The Eugene REALTORS® Young Professionals Network had their yearly ‘Sip of Summer’ event to raise money for Community Supported Shelters. A good time was had by all with games, a raffle, BBQ, and great networking at Alton Baker Park. This was their 5th fundraiser for CSS, and they raised $3,300 this year to Adopt-a-Hut.
This summer, we've been collaborating with UO Duck Corps, who have been giving Hut exteriors some good scrubbing. Dustin (the staff member taking the selfie), says, "It's so encouraging to see a younger generation work against stereotypes about the unhoused and have such an interest in helping their community."
Community Supported Shelters (CSS) has been proudly selected as a 2025 Lowe’s Hometowns project, one of only 100 community-nominated, large-scale renovations nationwide. This recognition is part of Lowe’s five-year, $100 million commitment to revitalizing the spaces that serve as the heartbeat of hometowns across Ameri
In the warmth of a late-spring day, in front of the Community Supported Shelters office on Grant Street, Blake Burrell strikes up a conversation with a familiar face. He gives a warm hug and kind words before unlocking the front door to the social service office.
The office is full of resources like clothing, surviv
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.
