Redmond plans to welcome a new RV park aimed at providing a transitional community for unhoused individuals or those at risk of homelessness. Mountain View Community RV Park is a planned development that will provide paid parking spots, offering full utility hookups, access to showers and laundry, and case management intended to help move people into more permanent housing.
The development plans to charge a subsidized rent of about $300 to $600 a month, though the final amount is still under discussion. The RV park will serve unhoused individuals living out of their RVs, cars or moveable trailers, giving them a safe and stable place to live while transitioning them into alternate housing options.
While Redmond and Bend both have low-barrier shelter options, Rick Russell, the executive director of Mountain View Community Development, noted there isn't much beyond that.
"We were trying to create something that really filled a gap there, that begins to kinda reorient people back into a little bit of self-sufficiency, creating a move of opportunity," Russell said. The site is not meant for permanent placement. The managers of the development, Mountain View Community Development, are considering a maximum of 12-month stays on the property.
Mountain View currently runs the Redmond Safe Parking Program, which provides parking spaces around Redmond and case management for families and individuals living in their vehicles. The safe parking program has seven locations that allow 24/7 parking while monitoring and working with guests to transition them into more permanent housing.
Last winter, the City of Redmond provided funds for Mountain View to decide which housing model could be successful for future development. The team visited several projects, searching for managed camps or parks that coincided with their goals.
They found a development in Austin, Texas, that closely resembled what they hoped to accomplish, providing subsidized living structures and sites. According to Russell, most individuals he's seen in the safe parking program can afford some amount of rent, just not the high prices typical to Central Oregon.
The development, according to Russell, has almost everything it needs to get started, except for building and operating costs. The project received about 70 to 80% of the operating income it needed from PacificSource, a local health care provider that's willing to help fund case management services.
Mountain View needs about $4 million in building costs. Once the funding is established, Russell said the construction should take six to eight months.
"At the end of the day, we have got to get funding," said Russell. He expressed enthusiasm for the City and County's efforts to increase shelters, but thinks more could be done.
"If I have one critique about the region, it's that we are not taking funding seriously," he said. "If we look at other regions in the state, there are some places where they understand the real cost of serving a very vulnerable community, and I just feel like we're not getting yet, but we are moving in the right direction."
The property will sit on 10 acres of land within the Urban Growth Boundary in east Redmond. While Mountain View plans to start with a community of parking spots, the land allows for eventual expansion, which Russell thinks could be useful down the road. According to Russell, once the infrastructure is built, it's possible to convert some sites into living structures, becoming a potential permanent housing solution.
The site is adjacent to Oasis, a new housing project that broke ground on Oct. 3. Oasis Village is a low-barrier shelter that will supply between 15-20 sleeping units and hopes to add an additional 15 units within the next two years, housing about 30 to 40 people. The site will have a community center with restrooms, showers, laundry and kitchen facilities, a computer area and gathering rooms.
According to Eleanor Bessonette, the executive director of Oasis Village, individuals living on site will be offered case management and wraparound services to help with a variety of needs, from substance abuse help to job training.
The village, which will allow individuals to stay anywhere from six months to two years, is intended to be a stepping stone to more traditional housing. "It's a stop between being out in the dirt in the junipers, to getting into someplace more independent, safe and secure," said Bessonette.
The plan for Oasis has been developing for years, said Bessonette, but only really started to come together when it received just under $1 million of the governor's emergency funds. Other grants and fundraising gave them the opportunity to finally start construction.
Bessonette said the village will start taking applicants in November and December, and will be open before the end of the year. "We hope to have folks in beds by the end of December so they don't have to spend the winter outside and we'll be up and going by the first of the year, for sure."
