Sheltercare of Lane County has received a half million dollars to get mentally ill homeless people into housing. That’s as the Eugene City Council passed a resolution calling for a Housing First model to address homelessness.
Ban: “It is housing first.”
Susan Ban is Executive Director for Sheltercare.
Ban: “So that we’ll be taking people who have long histories of homelessness and also a diagnosis of a psychiatric disability and putting them in housing and then wrapping services around them.”
The 556 thousand dollar grant from the Oregon Health Authority will help Sheltercare house up to 30 individuals. Ban says the funds are targeted toward veterans and young adults. Teens coming out of foster care are particularly vulnerable to homelessness. Sheltercare plans to partner with other agencies to provide the housing and services.
Sheltercare already manages 200 units for people who have come out of homelessness in the Eugene Springfield area.
