Lane County Faces $4 Million Shortfall, Homeless Services Cut

Lane County and the City of Eugene announced a roughly four million dollar shortfall in funding for local homelessness services after the region received far less than it had planned from the state. The gap, disclosed November 20, has already led to the loss of at least sixty beds across the region and puts at least one longer term shelter at risk of closing, officials said.

County leaders said the region had been planning for more than eleven million dollars from the state but instead received about seven point six million dollars. The difference forced immediate reductions in bed capacity and prompted job cuts for workers who provide case management and other supports that help people exit homelessness. Many programs had already been strained by reductions in federal support and other pressures on the social safety net.

One site at the center of the uncertainty is The Sandbox, a longer term shelter operated by the nonprofit Carry It Forward. Founder and assistant director Arwen Maas DeSpain said her organization lost funding for beds and for the services that help people transition out of homelessness. “It just impacts the whole population to not have funding for case management,” Maas DeSpain said. “It means that the success rates of all of our agencies that are doing shelters are going to diminish.” She said she was still searching for placements for three Sandbox residents before funding runs out at the end of November and hoped to find a private donor to prevent a closure.

Eugene officials warned the loss will likely mean roughly a thirty percent reduction in funding to local shelters across the system, with many providers already pared down to basic operations. “They’re really down to the bare minimum, and really essentially only providing a place to sleep, shower, use the restroom, those basics, but not the additional supports,” Amber Allan, Eugene housing and homeless communications manager, said.

County officials are appealing to private donors and state leaders for short term aid as they coordinate service prioritization for the winter season. A statement from Governor Tina Kotek’s office said she was aware of the situation and her team was working with the county on solutions. Meanwhile St. Vincent de Paul reported a donation that will allow operation of several warming sites including the Lane Events Center, The Zone on Highway 99, the Mohawk site and a youth site at First United Methodist Church as community leaders brace for a difficult winter.