Tag: City of Eugene Lane County Oregon

Eugene’s Unhoused Veteran Population

Posted on by Julia Havens

Henry Hearley Eugene Rest Stop and Micro Village Program EvaluationMy first encounters with Eugene’s unhoused population was during my time working at the Veteran’s Affairs Behavioral Health Recovery and Reintegration Services (BHRRS) Clinic in Eugene, Oregon. It is here where I first came across the veterans that had served in the U.S. Armed Services. A 2009 report commissioned by the Veteran’s Affairs estimates that on any given one night there are 107,000 veterans that are homeless across America. The VA has identified ending veteran homelessness as one of its main goals in the coming years, a goal shared with Lane County, Eugene and Springfield.

In 2014, Saint Vincent DePaul (SVDP) secured a 3 million dollar grant from the Veterans Affairs’ Supportive Services for Families program. The new program is called “Operation 365” and will involve a collaborative effort with Lane County, Eugene and Springfield the mission is to provide a home to a veteran each day for the next year with a goal of 365 homes secured by Veterans Day 2015. The program will disperse the funding evenly over the next 3-years with 1 million dollars being allocated each year. SVDP estimated there are between 300-400 unhoused veterans living on the streets throughout Lane County. Operation 365 is seen as a way to ending homelessness among military veterans in Lane County. Click on the link to view KEZI’s newscast regarding “Operation 365” (http://www.kezi.com/collaboration-to-end-vet-homelessness/).

I was excited to work on the issue of the unhoused in Eugene because of the new trend in housing people that experience homelessness called micro-villages, or “tiny-home living”. During the course of the next six-months, our Community Planning Workshop team will be conducting a process evaluation of micro-villages. We intend to look at the current state of Eugene’s rest-stop pilot program, which allows for legal camping on approved sites and its sole micro-village, Opportunity Village, which currently has 30 micro-homes, all funded by a one-time donation of $100,000.

Moving forward in the next few months, my CPW-Community Planing Workshop Team, ‘Eugene Rest Stop and Micro Village Program Evaluation’will start to develop a survey. The first survey will be provided to local residents and businesses near rest-stops and Opportunity Village to gauge their perception and impacts on Eugene’s rest-stop policy and Opportunity Village. A second survey will be distributed to residents of Opportunity Village and users of rest-stops. Our goal of this second survey is to gauge the effectiveness of these programs and provide input on recommendations how to better serve the unhoused population through these programs. My team is looking forward to the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of citizens of Eugene that are homeless.

 

Henry Hearley Eugene Rest Stop and Micro Village Program Evaluation About the Author: Henry Hearley received his Bachelor’s Degree in Geography from the University of Oregon in 2014. During his free time he enjoys hiking outdoors with his girlfriend and doing CrossFit. Hearley, originally from Wisconsin, has fallen in love with Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

Informational Interviews About Local Food

Posted on by Julia Havens

Evelyn Perdomo Lane Regional Food Hub CPW Community Planning

My Community Planning Workshop (CPW) team is working with the City of Eugene Planning Department and the Lane County Economic Development Division to determine the need for a year-round regional public market and food hub in Lane County. We will be conducting a market analysis to determine the region’s potential to host a year-round public market.

For our project, we will conduct a lot of research about local food in Lane County. So far, the most interesting aspect has been our interviews with our Technical Resource Group (TRG) and other key peopled involved with local food. We invited people involved in local food efforts to be a part of our Technical Resource Group to help us process and understand market research data and survey data. Our data will identify and analyze trade areas for the potential public market or food hub. Trade areas represent potential consumers in an area. Members of our group include a farmer, food producers, a distributor, a public health representative, representatives of nonprofit organizations, and restaurant and retailer representatives. The interviews have allowed us to draw on their local food background and identify what is happening in Lane County around local food.

The interviews have been a great learning experience because I knew very little about local food when we started the project. The most interesting thing I have learned is that increasing local food consumption would provide a tremendous boost to Lane County’s economy. Increasing local food consumption would provide new jobs and keep millions of dollars in Lane County.

Throughout the interviews, I have also learned that small farmers face several challenges to get their products in stores or to institutions. However, it has been promising to hear that several organizations make an effort to help small farmers overcome barriers. One of these organizations is the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition (WFFC). WFFC runs an online farmers’ market and has started a campaign (Lane County Food Makes Dollars and Sense) to increase consumer demand for local food. Increasing local food purchases by one percent would result in $11.7 million staying in Lane County. I have also learned how some school districts are making a conscious effort to purchase local food for their school lunches and other catered events. Despite all the challenges local producers face, it is encouraging to see how local organizations and institutions are getting behind the local food movement. For instance, our interviewees have noted that several restaurants are making a strong effort to serve more local food. Also, our interviewees have said that they have noticed consumers become more interested in purchasing local food, which is really promising because Lane County would benefit tremendously from increased local food consumption.

 

Evelyn Perdomo Lane Regional Food Hub CPW Community Planning WorkshopAbout the Author: Evelyn Perdomo is a first year Community and Regional Planning Graduate Student at the University of Oregon. She is originally from Daly City, CA. Her professional experience includes working as a Project Assistant for an affordable housing developer in California.