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Eugene Approves "Safe Sleep" Sites

City of Eugene

The Eugene City Council has designated two Safe Sleep sites for people experiencing homelessness to park or camp in, at Chase Commons Park on South Garden Way, and at 310 Garfield Street.

  The council also approved an expansion for the rest stop at the Lindholm Service Station, which offers a place to recover from medical treatments.

The sites will provide safe, legal places for people experiencing homelessness to sleep and connect with support services.

Community Relations Manager Laura Hammond says they hope the new sites will alleviate use of temporary camping sites in parks and other public areas, which can pose safety risks.

“Mainly, you know, not safe for folks staying there, and also creates situations where other people can’t access those spaces,” Hammond said, “so we really do want to eventually find ways to make sure people have a place to be and that we can make those spaces available to the community for the uses they were designed for, whether it’s our parks, or our sidewalks or our bike trails.”

The City Council is continuing to look for other locations for Safe Sleep sites, and they welcome community input.

Criteria for a Safe Sleep site include accessibility, site size, shape, natural features, and proximity to social services, public transit and other community resources, according to Hammond.

 

Jen is an intern for KLCC, through the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism. This is her first radio news job. She is Oregon-born and raised and loves writing, reading and recording. Her favorite things to write about are community and social justice issues, LGBTQIA+ news and history, and cultural deep-dives.
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