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Shields House Opens Doors for Clients and CSS

Oct. 23, 2020

An amazing confluence of vision and hard work and something that seems like destiny has given four Safe Spot graduates a home of their own in a bright yellow house in West Eugene. A pilot project in CSS’s effort to provide a new level of shelter, the Shields House offers Donna, Chris, Wes, and Mark the next step in their transition out of homelessness.


“This has been a rock star team in that camp for a long time,” says Erik de Buhr, CSS executive director, “so to be able to provide that next step up when there was not another option for them, it feels like we’re really taking care of our people.”


The Shields House tenants pay rent to cover the mortgage and establish a rental history, the absence of which is a formidable roadblock for people trying to break into the rental housing market. 


All were residents of the Roosevelt Safe Spot, all part of the volunteer management team, and all have taken full advantage of the helping hand that CSS has extended to them. 

They look forward to rooms of their own, heat, indoor plumbing, and a full kitchen.


“It’s just going to be so nice,” Donna said, shortly before moving in. “I feel like I’ve died and went to heaven.” She will continue to volunteer at the CSS office. Chris has become a CSS employee, as facilitator of the Mission and Skinner City Farm Microsites.


The Shields House is right around the corner from the CSS Grant Street office. Erik had been eying it for years as he fantasized about CSS providing housing for people who were ready to move on from the Safe Spots. Then, a couple of years ago, he attended a funeral for Ray Shields, a friend who had lived at the Roosevelt Safe Spot for a while and had brought solar lights and battery chargers to the camp using his genius-level tinkering–and he learned that Ray had built that house for his family when he was a young man. When the house came up for sale earlier this year, Erik was determined to buy it to launch CSS’s cohousing program.

“Ray was always proud that his family is fourth-generation Oregonian,” Erik says, “and that they came out with the Skinner family. Ray definitely had a pioneering spirit. And I feel that’s the spirit behind pioneering this new dimension for CSS to further our purpose in helping people find homes.”

Wes speaks to his experience with CSS and finding a supportive community.


CSS thanks the donors who made it possible to purchase the Shields House and to The Mission for providing the furniture. We will provide more coverage about this house and the cohousing program in a future newsletter issue. 

Eugene Parking Ban Opposition Testimony

12 Mar, 2024
It's not too late to share your thoughts on this proposed update. Send your written testimony to mayorcouncilandcitymanager@eugene-or.gov .

Incarceration and Homelessness: Breaking the Cycle

15 Jan, 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.”

From Waste to Wonder - UO's Grey Water Conservation Project

14 Jan, 2024
Lima, Peru, and Eugene, Oregon, are worlds apart in many ways. But spend some time with Kory Russel, an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon, and you will learn there are communities in both places with challenges of access to sustainable and efficient water use. Kory has a photo in his office depicting a highly condensed neighborhood in Lima, a city where he and some of his students work on sustainable water projects.

New CSS Director of Community Impact: Black Burrell

13 Jan, 2024
Did you know CSS has a shared leadership model, with three directors? This November, Blake Burrell joined CSS as our new Director of Community Impact. His role supports all of our direct service staff, managing internal relationship-building, culture creation, program operation, mentoring, and conflict resolution. Read on for his introduction:

Volunteer Spotlight: Veronica Paredes

12 Jan, 2024
Veronica Paredes has been helping sew the weatherproof porch coverings ("scrims") for the Huts, recently working 26 hours to complete 34 scrims for us before the holidays.

Bike and Build Volunteers Assist in Refurbishing Huts

13 Oct, 2023
Bike and Build organization was established as a nonprofit in 2003. Its website summarizes its mission: “Bike and Build engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise awareness for the affordable housing cause. We advocate for the need for affordable housing in thousands of communities across the country.” As teams bike from town to town, they volunteer for service projects and give presentations about issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing. Since 2003 Bike and Build estimates that over 3,800 participants have biked over 11 million miles and donated over 255,000 volunteer community service hours to local organizations throughout the country.

October 2023: Letter from the Director of Philanthropy

12 Oct, 2023
In some ways, CSS is going back to its roots, including the re-engagement of clients as volunteers and the focus on hiring individuals from our Safe Spot Communities. In other ways, we’re continuing to branch out—engaging with the broader community in new and unique ways, partnering with outside organizations, and looking for chances to expand our reach outside of Lane County. We encourage you to follow us on social media as we frequently highlight our activities and outreach efforts there.

Not Quite All-in Funding

12 Oct, 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.

Q&Q with Community Supported Shelters

09 Oct, 2023
This new program will allow us to support our unhoused clients in developing new skills, building confidence, and eventually reentering the workforce. This starts with encouraging clients to volunteer with our staff in various roles, including maintenance, kitchen, laundry, and peer support work. Once have developed the skillset necessary to perform the functions of the job, they’ll be able to apply...

Chris Teasdale: Being A Neighbor

21 Jul, 2023
As Community Supported Shelters staff and volunteers have been busy creating the physical infrastructure for five new Safe Spots—preparing lots, providing access, building Huts and common buildings—the service team has been going through a transformation to better meet the needs of people in all the CSS camps, including almost 100 people who are beginning to move into the new camps.
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