BEND, OR -- In response to an affordable housing crisis that reaches nearly every corner of Oregon, state lawmakers have allocated $40 million in bonds to combat homelessness. Gwenn Wysling, Executive Director of the Bethlehem Inn, says it’s money the northeast Bend homeless shelter could really use. "We are finalizing the purchase of this building. We’ve been here since 2007 and we still need a half a million dollars to secure ownership of this particular site so we can look at future development, someday."
Wysling met with State Representative Knute Buehler (R-Bend) and his wife on Friday. She's hoping he will advocate in Salem for the Bend facility to receive at least part of those bonds. The money wouldn’t be available until 2017, but Wysling says, "We need to meet with Rep. Buehler now and explain why that money is needed, the work that we are doing here in our community - the importance of that - and how vital a service and a safety net such as Bethlehem Inn is to all of Central Oregon." She tells KBND, "He has done a lot in our community, understands what some of the issues are. But this is a very complicated issue and we want to get to an understanding for him and for others what difficulties there are for affordable housing, the mental health concerns, substance abuse, all the things that contribute to the difficulties that people have when they finally hit that rock bottom and have no place to go. "
Initially, lawmakers set aside $100 million in bonds for homelessness, but Wysling says that money has been cut to $40 million. "It’s an education process. We always want people to come by and tour the facility and see the work that we’re doing, the people that we’re helping and the overall benefit that it is for our community for a service such as Bethlehem Inn."
