Housing & Homelessness

With homelessness reaching what one official calls “epidemic proportions,” the City of Eugene and Lane County have jointly come up with additional funding to keep two services operational. 

Housing Works is the affordable housing provider in Central Oregon. As KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports, the agency has announced the yearly wait list for Section 8 housing vouchers will open for five days next week.

Continued “lawlessness” by some transients in Eugene has hurt downtown businesses over the holiday season.

In May 2018, the Eugene city council amended land use code R1 to allow places of worship to build up to two housing units for low-income residents. Now, the Parkside transitional housing units are welcoming two single mothers and their children.

Homeless advocates are cheering the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear an appeal in a pivotal case out of Idaho.  KLCC’s Brian Bull got reaction from someone living on the streets of Eugene.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded over $38.9 million in Indian Housing Block (IHB) Grants to 52 tribes nationwide. HUD received almost 200 applications from eligible Native American Tribes and tribally-designated housing entities. Of the 12 tribes and villages awarded in the northwest, two Oregon tribes received funds to preserve and expand their affordable housing.

For low income residents with a disability, affording rent can be challenging. But Homes for Good recently received funds to help non-elderly disabled persons in Lane County.

This summer, we reported on an initiative where homeless people were hired to clean up after encampments in the downtown Eugene area. As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, the service is back.

Ongoing vandalism and harassment against area shops and restaurants are straining relationships between businesses and the homeless community. As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, a new group of business owners is imploring officials to confront an issue they say only keeps getting worse.

Dozens of county officials are in Eugene this week, for the annual Association of Oregon Counties conference.  As KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, the keynote issue is housing.

Homeless services in the state have gotten some much needed financial help, including some in Lane County. Oregon Housing and Community Services awarded over $1.7 million to organizations across the state to help aid emergency homeless shelters.

Last week, Egan Warming Center created a pop-up shelter due to an unseasonal cold snap. KLCC spoke with regional warming centers about their preparations as winter approaches.

Every two years, qualified applicants are chosen to receive housing subsidies under the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. Most know it as Section 8. On November 12th the Wait List will re-open in Lane County. KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports how dire straits in the rental market has prompted the public housing authority to “work outside of the box” to get more low-income individuals and families into permanent housing.

Lane County’s public housing authority, Homes for Good, has announced the Section 8 Wait List for rental assistance vouchers will soon re-open. It’s the first time in two years. KLCC’s Tiffany Eckert reports.

The unhoused population in the Eugene area has put the city first in the U.S. for homelessness, according to a new survey that used last year's federal data. 

As temperatures begin to drop, St. Vincent de Paul is continuing preparations for their Egan Warming Center program. This season they’re opening two new shelter sites, including one in Springfield.