Contact: Jon Skidmore, Chief Operating Officer, jskidmore@bendoregon.gov, 541-693-2175

The City of Bend invites members of the public to participate in an online community listening session on the proposed temporary transitional shelter site at Juniper Ridge. The listening session will provide an update on the feasibility of siting a temporary shelter site at Juniper Ridge and an opportunity for community members to provide feedback to City staff.

The City is hosting two virtual listening sessions to help accommodate attendees’ schedules. Both listening sessions will have the same format. Community members are encouraged to attend only one of the sessions to allow for comments from as many people as possible. Attendees who want to provide comment via Zoom during a listening session will need to register using the Zoom meeting link below. They will be emailed a link to the Zoom meeting. Attendees can also call in to provide comments using the phone number and webinar IDs listed below: 

• First listening session: 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15 

• • • Register to provide comments via Zoom. 
    • Call-in Phone Number: 1-888-788-0099 (To provide comments or listen only)
      • Webinar ID: 957 7694 4125
      • Passcode: 819843
    • Watch on YouTube Livestream (Watch only, no comments) 

• Second listening session: noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16 

• • Register to provide comments via Zoom.
  • Call-in Phone Number: 1-888-788-0099 (To provide comments or listen only)
    • Webinar ID: 936 8583 3619
    • Passcode: 119511
  • Watch on YouTube Livestream (Watch only, no comments)

Links and call-in information to access the online listening sessions will also be posted on the Temporary Transitional Shelter Sites webpage. 

On Oct. 21, the Bend City Council supported a staff plan to explore options for a temporary transitional shelter site on City-owned property in Juniper Ridge. The goal was to respond to increasing needs for safe shelter due to COVID-19 and related hardships. The City is evaluating the feasibility of the temporary site. City staff are working with partner agencies, neighborhood leaders, nonprofit service organizations, contractors and others to determine items like set up costs, ongoing management costs, plans for community safety and on-site services, and timing for the managed temporary transitional shelter site. These details will help to determine the feasibility of the site at the proposed location.

A temporary transitional shelter site at Juniper Ridge is one of many possible short-term solutions to help address homelessness in Bend and is being considered under local COVID-19 emergency orders. 

To learn more about the continuum of housing needed in Bend, visit the Emergency Homelessness Task Force page.