Lane County Seeks Resident Input on Housing, Shelter, and Basic Needs Services

With 2,004 Lane County residents sleeping without shelter on any given night and a nearly $6 million federal housing grant sitting frozen in Washington, the county's Housing and Community Action division is asking the public which services to protect, a survey that, given the current funding climate, functions more like a triage form than a feedback exercise.

The 2026 Community Needs Survey, open through May 16, covers housing, shelter, employment, transportation, education, and basic needs. The way residents rank these priorities will directly shape how Lane County Housing and Community Action (HACA) allocates its limited budget across programs. Drop shelter to the bottom of the list, and that is where cuts will concentrate when resources run short.

The stakes arrived before the survey did. In early 2025, the Trump administration froze a Continuum of Care grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development worth nearly $6 million, approved funding for 15 Lane County housing projects that has simply stopped moving. Commissioner Laurie Trieger made the case to the Board of Commissioners in plain terms: "A $6 million grant that's been frozen that we've been promised. This is not pending approval. These are approved funds that this current administration is refusing to disperse per the promises that they've made."

The state offered no backup. Oregon Housing and Community Services denied Lane County's emergency funding request, and 60 shelter beds were cut as a result. State-funded capacity now stands at 514 beds, down from 574, and at least one shelter faces potential closure. Governor Tina Kotek's office said her team was working with the county on solutions but gave no specific timeline.

The 2025 Point-in-Time Count, conducted the night of January 29, found 3,509 people experiencing homelessness across Lane County, a 14% rise from 2024's 3,085 and a 24% jump over 2023's 2,824. Despite a 52% increase in the sheltered population compared to 2024, 2,004 of those individuals had no formal shelter at all. A by-name tracking list put the total closer to 4,800 as of February 2025. Among those counted: 237 unaccompanied youth, 210 veterans, and 1,630 people classified as chronically homeless.

The housing market is absorbing none of the overflow. Eugene and Springfield need approximately 33,210 additional housing units over the next 20 years, and the regional rental vacancy rate sits at 3.5%. Trieger has also flagged that federal layoffs are pushing new demand toward transitional housing services, expanding waitlists even as shelter capacity contracts.

Lane County is legally required to conduct this type of assessment every three years as a designated Community Action Agency under Oregon and federal standards, giving the survey a regulatory mandate beyond routine outreach. Officials said they are especially interested in hearing from low-income residents with firsthand experience in these programs. Public feedback will directly determine how HACA distributes support once the assessment is complete.

To take the survey: It is available in English and Spanish through Lane County's Housing and Community Action website and takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. The deadline is May 16, 2026.