Cold Weather Shelter organizers address concerns

Following an incident involving a guest outside the Cold Weather Shelter earlier this winter, neighbors raised some concerns about the shelter and its proximity to schools and neighborhoods among other things.

Shelter leadership convened a public meeting with professional facilitation in early February to hear comments and questions from the community concerning the shelter. Some brief answers were provided that evening, but the meeting’s main purpose was to collect the concerns so they could be fully addressed at a later date by the shelter steering committee.

After a number of meetings and careful consideration of all concerns, the committee recently released a five-and-a-half page document that addresses in detail all questions and concerns.

Part of the document states: “The Steering Committee will continue to meet regularly throughout the summer. The summer months are utilized to evaluate the shelter season, adjust and improve systems and services, and plan for the next winter’s operations. Meetings will include a debrief session, review of the annual volunteer survey, creating a budget, updating systems and policies, and setting the 2019/2020 shelter schedule.”

A majority of the questions dealt with shelter-specific topics including concerns about reported increased trash in the neighborhood, shelter proximity to schools and churches, background checks or drug tests, out of town shelter guests, assisting guests to secure services, training for volunteers, availability of crisis teams, and numbers of returning guests from year-to-year.

The committee also provided information on concerns not related directly to the Sisters’ shelter. Those included number of year-round shelters in Bend, number of deaths attributed to houselessness in last two years, total number of crimes in Sisters in 2018, the role of Sisters City Council in addressing houselessness, availability of community services, and whether there has been an increase in houselessness.

Each of the concerns was discussed by the steering committee, with the primary mission of the shelter in mind: “As an emergency cold weather shelter, our mission is to provide a hot meal and a bed, and to save lives during cold weather.”

Plans have been made for keeping the grounds around the shelter free of trash while the shelter is in residence. The document provides information on background checks and drug screens, explaining the procedures in place for everyone’s safety — guests and neighbors.

Most guests are in transition and in need of only temporary shelter. Although no records are kept specifically for deaths among the houseless in Central Oregon, the SCWS is confident that people have been prevented from dying due to exposure by coming to the shelter. Days before the shelter opened, a Sisters McDonalds employee died in his vehicle from hypothermia. There have been no weather-related deaths of a houseless member of the community in Sisters since then.

According to records provided by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, total crimes reported in Sisters for 2018 numbered over 300. “Homeless or transient” people accounted for five to seven of those crimes. Sheriff’s records provide no differentiation between local houseless individuals or people just passing through.

There is another group in town, the Sisters Homeless Networking Group, which has been meeting for the last year working to address the larger issues and needs of the local houseless population and the community. They are also working to develop strategies to move people out of, or to help prevent, houselessness.

The group has broad representation, including the City of Sisters, the U.S. Forest Service, Family Access Network, Sisters Library, Sisters Park & Recreation District, Sisters Cold Weather Shelter, and many other community members and organizations. George Myers is coordinating meetings of this group and can be reached at [email protected]