Homelessness is a topic that stirs deep emotions—anger, sadness, frustration, and even exhaustion. It’s a problem that feels ever-present and insurmountable, and yet, it’s one we cannot afford to ignore. I don’t have the answers, but I believe that open, truthful conversation about this issue is essential. We need to acknowledge the complexities of homelessness and confront our own complicated feelings about it.

I am angry, disappointed, and heartbroken that we continue to grapple with this problem. It’s devastating to see its impacts on individuals and our community as a whole. It’s equally hard to comprehend that people in our own city and county are living in such dire conditions. And I believe I’m not alone in feeling this way.

At the same time, I understand that for many, the well of empathy has run dry. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or even desensitized when faced with the daily realities of homelessness. But demonizing those who feel this way only deepens the divide. It invalidates their experiences and makes it harder to bridge the gap between compassion and action.  

The truth is, seeing people in the throes of active drug use, a mental health crisis, or panhandling is more than just unpleasant—it can be unsettling. It can make you feel unsure, unsafe, and uncomfortable in your own community. And those feelings matter. They’re valid. Ignoring them doesn’t help us move forward. 

At the same time, the struggles of those who are unhoused also matter deeply. Living on the streets or in a tent must be unimaginably difficult, even on the best days. In Eugene, we face extreme cold, scorching heat, and relentless rain, it’s not just hard—it’s dangerous. Add to that the lack of access to basic necessities like food, toilets, and showers, and the challenges become almost insurmountable. These difficulties deserve our attention and care because they matter.  

It all matters. Every piece of this complicated puzzle matters. And the most painfully honest truth is this: we cannot solve this issue if we ignore the unpleasant realities or simply hope it goes away.  This is why I chose to be part of ACT Now Lane. 

Eugene is not unique in facing this crisis. While we may feel like ground zero for homelessness, our struggles mirror those of countless other communities. The only way to a better future is to confront this issue with honesty and to work together, guided by the values of our community. 

The reality is that any programs or policies we implement must lead to visible, measurable improvement. We need solutions that not only provide support for those who are unhoused but also restore a sense of hope and progress for the entire community. This means holding ourselves accountable to outcomes, not just intentions.

Homelessness is not someone else’s problem—it’s ours. It’s here, in our streets, in our parks, and in the lives of people who are part of this community. We can’t wish it away, and we can’t solve it by turning a blind eye. The only way forward is together – one that reflects the best of who we are as a community because that matters too. 

I chose to work with ACT Now Lane because I believe our best path forward is to come together as a community. Not because I’m naïve or overly optimistic, but because this is a complex challenge that took years to develop. No single person, group, or agency can solve it alone.

Real progress requires collaboration — neighbors, business owners, social service providers, law enforcement, city and county leaders, and our elected officials all working together. When we bring that depth of experience, diverse perspectives, and willingness to think differently to the same table, we give ourselves the best chance to find meaningful, lasting solutions.

That is why I joined A.C.T. Now Lane. 

This presentation offered an opportunity to share why regional coordination, shared accountability, and sustained collaboration are essential to making real progress on housing stability, homelessness, and behavioral health in Lane County.

Rather than spotlighting any single organization or solution, the conversation centered on how alignment across sectors can strengthen outcomes, reduce duplication, and ensure public investments are used more effectively.

Watch the Presentation

Building alignment to move the needle on housing stability and homelessness in Lane County.

Key Themes from the Conversation

During the City Club forum, A.C.T. Now Lane highlighted several core principles guiding the coalition’s work:

• A unified regional approach is critical to addressing complex, interconnected challenges.
• Housing stability, homelessness response, and behavioral health systems must be aligned to achieve lasting impact.
• Data-informed decision-making, paired with lived experience, leads to stronger outcomes.
• Collaboration across government, service providers, business, and community partners is essential for scalable solutions.
• Long-term progress requires coordination, trust, and sustained leadership, not short-term fixes.

These themes continue to shape A.C.T. Now Lane’s strategy, partnerships, and advocacy efforts.

If there’s one lesson to be learned from years of working with boards and organizations tackling poverty and homelessness, it’s this: no single person, agency, or sector can solve these challenges alone. The interconnected nature of housing, mental health, safety, and support systems demands a united approach—one that values every perspective and puts collaboration at its core.

This realization became particularly clear as I deepened my involvement with the Poverty and Homelessness Board (PHB). My initial motivation was simple: to do the work as effectively as possible. But as I engaged with people from various organizations and backgrounds, I began to see the full scope of the challenge. It wasn’t just about adding more housing or strengthening mental health services—though those are critical. It was about weaving together the many solutions, ideas, and resources already in our community.

That’s where ACT Now Lane (Advancing Community Together) comes into the picture. ACT Now Lane provides a platform for community members, service providers, government entities, businesses, and people with lived experience to come together, share knowledge, and create a shared vision. It’s a space where gaps are identified, feedback is welcomed, and different tracks toward a more equitable community can be pursued—all under one roof.

Recognizing Housing as the Foundation

One of the clearest links we’ve seen, time and again, is between stable housing and mental health recovery. Without a safe and reliable place to live, it’s nearly impossible for individuals to address behavioral health challenges or rebuild their lives after trauma. Yet, the demand for housing far outpaces our current supply. We started in a deficit, and that gap has only widened—fueling frustration among those seeking a home and those working hard to help them.

But the solution isn’t only about building more units. It’s about understanding the diverse barriers people face—whether those are related to mental health, economic hardship, or simply the lack of accessible information. Many in our community want to be housed but find themselves up against obstacles that go far beyond their control.

The Power of Collaboration

What makes ACT Now Lane so vital is the way it breaks down silos. Too often, services and supports are segmented, scattered across agencies and websites, leaving those who need help feeling overwhelmed and underinformed. ACT Now Lane’s vision is to gather all these resources into one accessible place, making it easier for people to understand their options and for providers to spot gaps in the system.

At its heart, ACT Now is about building accountability and hope. When people see progress—when they can say, “We’ve housed this many people,” or “Here’s what’s working in our community”—it inspires engagement and optimism, even as we acknowledge the hard work still ahead.

A Community Issue, Not an Individual Problem

One of the most damaging myths about homelessness is that it’s an “us versus them” issue. In reality, housing insecurity and mental health challenges can impact anyone, often with little warning. The faces of those struggling today are increasingly familiar: individuals in their 40s and 50s who lost stable jobs during economic downturns, families who lived paycheck to paycheck and were suddenly forced out of their homes, neighbors and friends dealing with grief and trauma that overwhelmed their ability to cope.

Many of these people had careers and owned homes; a single life event pushed them into crisis. The line between “housed” and “unhoused” is thinner than we’d like to admit, and the stereotypes we hold rarely match the lived reality in our community.

Moreover, the safety concerns expressed by unhoused and housed people alike are often the same. Those without secure housing are exposed to risks that most of us can shut out by closing our doors each night. Acknowledging this shared vulnerability is essential to developing comprehensive, inclusive solutions.

Listening, Learning, and Leading Together

Policy plays a powerful role in shaping our landscape. When direct service providers, government agencies, and businesses join forces from the beginning—discussing policy impacts, learning from each other’s successes, and adjusting strategies collaboratively—real change becomes possible. ACT Now Lane is the first project of its kind in our area to bring all these sectors together in an ongoing conversation.

The result is not just more informed policy, but a more empowered community. When people have access to accurate information, they’re better equipped to hold leaders accountable and become part of the solution. When everyone is invited to share their experiences and ideas, everyone stands to benefit.

How You Can Help

There are many ways to contribute to this work—whether you’re interested in providing direct services, sharing your story, participating in advocacy, or simply staying informed. ACT Now Lane aims to provide an entry point for everyone wanting to get involved, in whatever way feels right and meaningful.

We all want to live in a community where we feel safe, supported, and able to thrive. Achieving that vision means recognizing the many paths people walk to get there, and ensuring that no one is left behind. With ACT Now Lane, we have the opportunity to unite our efforts, celebrate our progress, and continue pushing forward—together.

In the end, the challenge of housing and homelessness is not just a problem to be solved, but an opportunity to build a more compassionate and resilient community. If we can bring all of our ideas, resources, and determination into one space—embracing “my, yours, and ours”—there’s no limit to the hope and change we can create.

“I’m excited! I can’t wait! I mean, I can plug in stuff. I can go to sleep. I can lock my door!” – Joshua

Most of us take these simple things almost entirely for granted. Having access to electricity. Having a place to sleep where you feel safe and secure. But, for Joshua, and the 56 other Lane County households who are moving into Bridges on Broadway this holiday season, these necessities provide a breath of fresh air, a foothold for reclaiming their lives, and a lifeline for reigniting their hope. 

Bridges on Broadway is a new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) complex, providing a rental assistance program that provides housing alongside supportive services with the goal of stabilizing the most vulnerable. In Lane County, Homes for Good Housing Agency partners with the Lane County Coordinated Entry system to identify households that qualify for PSH and to provide housing for those in our community who need it most. 

Aundrea Brauniff, Outreach and Coordinated Entry Supervisor with Lane County Human Services, describes Permanent Supportive Housing as a long term housing solution that combines affordable housing and supportive services to help individuals with chronic illness or disability. She states, “We move people into the housing and then we start to work together on stabilizing. When we refer someone to Permanent Supportive Housing, what we’re looking at is not the need for rental assistance, but it is the need for those supportive services in order to stay housed.” 

Permanent Supportive Housing is one of the many types of housing and wrap-around support available in Lane County to low-income households who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, and it plays a vital role in solving the homelessness crisis. These individuals have been struggling with complex disabilities that can make finding and keeping housing nearly impossible – they have goals to build stability but need their community to circle around them in support of those goals. In instances like these, PSH is an essential, life-saving housing and services intervention. 

Bridges on Broadway, or The BOB, joins two other existing PSH developments in Lane County, The Nel and The Commons at MLK, to provide this vital assistance to the community. Bridges on Broadway initially began with Lane County’s purchase of the Red Lion Inn utilizing grant funding provided by the Oregon Community Foundation, which became Project Turnkey, an emergency shelter project providing temporary housing for people who lost their homes during the Holiday Farm wildfire. In 2023 the project was awarded PSH funding by Oregon Housing and Community Services and Lane County partnered with Homes for Good Housing Agency to convert the former hotel rooms into Single Room Occupancy PSH units. Every step of the way, the Bridges on Broadway project has been a collaborative community effort, with multiple government agencies, shelters, providers, and non-profits playing a role in its successful launch.

And now, the people who will benefit from this housing are moving in!  U.S. Veteran, Greyson S is adapting to the transition of going from being chronically unhoused to housed. This can be a challenging and tricky experience for many. Greyson has been in his new apartment at The BOB for approximately 2 weeks now. He had been living on the streets of Eugene for about 4 years when he got a hut with Community Supported Shelters through the City of Eugene Community Court Program. Once sheltered, Greyson was able to get a Front Door Assessment done with his service navigator and receive the supportive services he needed to go from housing referral to housing. Greyson is grateful for the opportunity. He shares, “When I close the door, it feels like home. I make it my home, as best I can. It’s a good feeling… at the end of the day. Knowing that I’m here and not out there. It’s a step. Something that I intend on continuing on. To get better. To be better.” 

Funding Challenges for PSH and Homeless Services in Lane County

Despite the success of new permanent supportive housing projects, funding for supportive housing and homelessness services in Lane County is under significant strain. Recent federal and state funding changes have forced Lane County and local providers to reassess or reduce planned permanent supportive housing capacity and shelter-related supports.

According to local housing officials, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revised its Continuum of Care (CoC) funding rules for 2025, capping permanent housing project funding at about 30% of Tier 1 grant funds — a steep drop from the roughly 85–90% funding share communities like Lane County previously relied on. This shift has forced county planners to cut or scale back an estimated 180 planned permanent housing units and prioritize a smaller number of projects under a compressed application timeline.

At the same time, state funding allocations for homelessness services fell short of expectations, leaving Lane County with roughly $3.4 million less in shelter and housing support than planned. This shortfall has resulted in fewer year-round shelter beds (about 60 fewer) and reductions in case management and other housing exit services, which are vital for moving people into long-term housing.

These funding shifts illustrate a challenging context for both existing supportive housing programs and future expansion, even as PSH models continue to show strong outcomes in reducing chronic homelessness.

Lane County ranks among the highest in the nation for homelessness among similarly sized communities. More than 4,400 of our neighbors are unhoused, and over 75% of them are living without shelter. This crisis did not arrive overnight. And it’s not one we can solve with quick fixes or one that any single sector can solve on their own.

As the CEO of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, I didn’t expect that homelessness would become one of the most pressing issues of my tenure. But over the past several years, it’s become impossible to ignore the deepening impacts on our economy, our neighborhoods, and—most importantly—our people. In 2021, the Chamber took the unusual step of diving deep into this issue. We ultimately published the “State of our Homeless Crisis report”, not because we had all the answers, but because we believed the business community needed to better understand the challenges, so we could be part of the solution.

What we discovered in our research and in hundreds of interviews with service providers, government staff, nonprofit leaders, law enforcement, and unhoused individuals was clear: we need a strong public safety system, adequate shelter resources and strong nonprofits to provide addiction and behavioral health services to address the symptoms of homelessness. But if our goal is to solve this crisis and truly end homelessness in our community, we cannot arrest, shelter, or manage our way out of this crisis. We must build our way out. The root cause of our homeless crisis is a housing problem.

The data confirms it. In their book, Homelessness is a Housing Problem, researchers Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern examined why some cities face much higher rates of homelessness than others. Their analysis found that the strongest predictor isn’t poverty, mental illness, or substance use—it’s housing market conditions, particularly high costs and low vacancy rates.

Here in Eugene-Springfield, decades of underbuilding have led to a rental vacancy rate of just 3.5%—the lowest among Oregon’s major metros—and rising housing costs that put stable housing out of reach for too many. Addressing homelessness starts with addressing housing.

But this isn’t just a story about underproduction. It’s a story about coordination. About capacity. About gaps in our system and the shared recognition that no one organization—public, private, or nonprofit—can tackle this alone.

That’s why we joined forces with partners across every sector to form A.C.T. Now Lane. This coalition—Advancing Community Together—was created out of a simple but powerful idea: that collective impact, aligned goals, and cross-sector collaboration are our best chance at making real progress.

A.C.T. Now Lane is not just another plan. It’s a commitment. One rooted in the belief that Lane County can—and must—do better. Our shared Roadmap outlines the comprehensive approach needed to reduce unsheltered homelessness in the short term while investing in the housing, services, and system improvements required for long-term change.

We’re focused on:

• Dramatically increasing housing production across the income spectrum
• Expanding and maintaining shelter options for those who need a place to land
• Improving support services, employment pathways, and behavioral health responses
• Addressing street-level issues with compassion and accountability
• Strengthening the capacity of our nonprofit partners
• Advocating for policies and funding that support systemic change
• Rebuilding public trust through transparency, education, and engagement

From the business community’s perspective, this isn’t just a humanitarian issue. It’s an economic one. It affects worker retention, downtown revitalization, customer safety, and investor confidence. But more than that, it’s about who we are as a community. About whether we’re willing to come together, embrace our differences, to make sure that no one gets left behind.

This work is hard. It’s complex. But it’s also filled with hope. I see it every day—in the shelter providers who never give up on their clients, in the local governments working to fast-track housing, and in business leaders who are stepping up to support solutions.

We are not here to point fingers. We are here to roll up our sleeves and get to work. The Chamber helped found this coalition because we believe in practical, durable solutions. Because we know that economic vitality and community wellbeing are deeply intertwined. And because we believe that homelessness in Lane County can be rare, brief, and non-recurring, if we have the courage and coordination to make it so.

I invite you to be part of this movement. Whether you represent a business, a nonprofit, a local agency, or you’re simply a neighbor who cares, there’s a place for you in A.C.T. Now Lane.

We’re here. We’re ready. And together, we’re shaping the road ahead.

Conclusion

Homelessness is a crisis — but it’s also an opportunity to show what kind of community we want to be. One that turns away, or one that steps up. Your action, however small, helps create the kind of Lane County where everyone is seen, heard, and housed.

For more than a decade, I have served as the Executive Director of Homes for Good, the public housing authority serving Lane County residents.  We build and manage affordable housing and we administer rent assistance programs, which currently provide a home to over 5,000 households across Lane County.  We currently have 168 new units under construction and we’ve added 284 units of Affordable Housing to our community since 2019.

In August of 2022, we had the grand opening ceremony for The Nel.  This 45-unit apartment community was built to provide a home for people experiencing homelessness.  The celebration was full of heart, with many community leaders attending and speaking alongside me.  Afterward, I was reflecting on why there are so many people experiencing homelessness, started studying our housing market, and came to the conclusion that our housing market is very unhealthy.  For the past 30 years, we simply haven’t built enough housing to meet the needs in our community or keep up with population growth.  The result is that lower-wage workers are paying too much of their income on rent and when these lower-wage workers can’t afford to pay rent, they are becoming homeless at an unprecedented rate. 

The shortage of affordable housing in Lane County is acute.  We have watched rental prices increase by 40% between  2017 and 2024 for 1 and 2-bedroom units. At the same time frame, home sale prices skyrocketed, and the average cost of buying a home increased by $215K or 88% over the last seven years. While existing homeowners benefit from having their biggest asset increase in value, those who weren’t lucky enough to buy a house ten years ago struggle to compete in the homeownership market or find a home in the rental market.  At Homes for Good, we experience how unhealthy our housing market is when 25% of the rental assistance vouchers that we distribute are returned because units are not available.

With this background in mind, I began discussions with the Homes for Good Board, the business community, local jurisdictions, community-based organizations and the broader community about what it would take to create a healthy housing market.  We build about 1,000 units of housing yearly in Lane County.  If we want our housing market to meet the needs of our community and not push more people into homelessness, we need to dramatically increase housing production by 500 to 1,000 units per year.

This is what led me to support A.C.T. Now Lane.  For me, having a cross-sector coalition is about creating a unified voice.  Being unified on key strategies that we need to accelerate, on how we work together, on the policy changes needed, and on where additional resources will be directed.  A.C.T. Now Lane has been a table to rumble with tough conversations, find points of collaboration and how we can lift up each other’s work, and dive into the nitty gritty details of how we are going to dramatically increase housing, from mapping out available land to creating a suite of cost-effective models to looking at innovative funding.  

We need affordable and private developers building a variety of housing across our community, while advocating for needed policy change and additional resources.  Working in silos has left us years behind with one of the highest homelessness rates per capita in the nation.  No one entity can do this alone – the size, scale and urgency of this crisis need us all.  

A.C.T. Now Lane is creating a unified voice at a critical moment.  It is providing hope that we can and will do better for our neighbors and community, and I urge you to join us. 

Conclusion

Homelessness is a crisis — but it’s also an opportunity to show what kind of community we want to be. One that turns away, or one that steps up. Your action, however small, helps create the kind of Lane County where everyone is seen, heard, and housed.

Building housing—but where?

We know the solution to homelessness is housing (paired with a strong shelter system and support for people on the pathway to being housed).  We need to increase our housing production across all income levels and through the entire housing continuum. Access to safe, stable housing that is affordable is essential to supporting a pathway out of homelessness, ensuring housing choice for growing families and creating access to homeownership that builds generational wealth.

One problem we face with increasing production is the supply of land. And, there is no centralized inventory of available, buildable land throughout the community. So A.C.T. Now Lane made one. Our Housing Production Action Team, led by Homes for Good and Better Housing Together with representatives from Lane County, the City of Eugene, and a variety of businesses, including local contractors, created a GIS mapping tool to identify buildable land in cities around Lane County. We found more than 75 lots that could be sites for new housing, and we’re refining the list to locations that already have services like water and sewer, are close to public transit or major roads, and are the right size to build housing that meets the needs of the people within their community. That doesn’t mean we’re going to create affordable homeownership or rental housing in 75 places throughout the county overnight; there’s a lot of work ahead before a shovel meets dirt, including talking with the current owners to see if they’re open to selling or partnering with us. The list will get narrowed down considerably, but now we know where it might even be possible to build new housing, and that’s huge.

Hope begets hope—building skills and self-confidence on the pathway to housing

In late 2023, A.C.T. Now Lane piloted a job training program for people living in shelters, with the goal of helping them gain skills and find employment. We partnered with warehouses and industrial sewing operations to create guided training programs, and matched those opportunities with 47 shelter residents who were ready to dive in. 75% graduated from the training, and our shelter partners (including Community Supported Shelters, EveryOne Village, SquareOne Villages, and St. Vincent de Paul) have shared that trainees gained both skills and confidence—which in turn helped the shelter communities. When you see someone like you succeeding, you know you can succeed too, and hope begets hope. In fact, several graduates are now fully employed, some housed, and one of our graduates even found a job with HOPE Community Corporation building affordable factory-built homes. We’ll tell their story in a later blog post, but this is just one example of A.C.T. Now Lane’s efforts to connect people experiencing homelessness with meaningful professional skills and employment opportunities.  So far this year, 13 of 15 (87%) of shelter clients have graduated from a training program with a half-dozen more enrolled—building on the successful pilot to empower residents toward self-sufficiency.

Building this coalition

This may seem a bit self-congratulatory, but a major success is bringing together this coalition in the first place. Where else do you see the local governments sitting down with nonprofits and, importantly, business owners, digging into our most pressing challenges and working together on solutions? (If you’re shouting examples at the screen, great! But allyship is often hard to spot in the way we go about addressing community challenges.)  If there are few examples, it’s because it is hard to coordinate this vast set of stakeholders with varying (and sometimes competing) interests. We all share a desire for increased community safety and livability, more affordable options for renters and homeowners, and more people living sheltered rather than unsheltered.  Who doesn’t want to live in a place where homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring? But getting all these groups working together towards agreed-upon solutions requires each player to look beyond the status quo, let go of past grievances, and commit to action outside their comfort zones. And let’s be honest, nobody likes getting outside their comfort zone. But every member of this coalition has come to the table, agreeing to step outside their usual perspectives to consider the bigger picture and do what is best for the community rather than themselves or their organization. That in itself is a win.

I’ve worked for more than a decade to create pathways for housing stability and asset-building opportunities that create generational wealth. I’m currently the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Strategic Relationships for DevNW, an affordable housing developer and asset-building organization, and I’m intimately familiar with the barriers to making real progress on the housing crisis. I believe housing should be our North Star, that everyone deserves a safe, stable and affordable place to call home. I am excited by the real progress we’re making with this cross-sector coalition, and I hope you’ll stay tuned to see what A.C.T. Now Lane does next—and how you can be involved.

Conclusion

Homelessness is a crisis — but it’s also an opportunity to show what kind of community we want to be. One that turns away, or one that steps up. Your action, however small, helps create the kind of Lane County where everyone is seen, heard, and housed.