BEND, OR -- Neighbor-Impact and the city of Bend unveiled the newly renovated Stepping Stone Shelter Friday. The 28-unit facility is part of Project Turnkey, a state-funded program to remodel hotels and motels into homeless shelters.

Bend Affordable Housing Coordinator Amy Fraley says renovations on the former Value Inn motel started last May. Now the rooms are ready for move-in. “Neighbor Impact our community partner has identified the 28 families that will be coming over to these units. It’s all going to happen Tuesday. So, we are very excited to have it open and providing resources so people can move to more permanent housing in our community,” says Fraley who told KBND News Bend's model could set an example for the other 19 Project Turnkey sites in Oregon, “If we can make this work, and if we can find sustainable operational funding, this can be duplicated. It’s just that operational funding piece. The City Council has stepped forward and committed to three years. Neighbor Impact has stepped forward, committed to three years of operations here, but that’s just the start.”

In addition to the remodeled rooms, there are laundry facilities, and a lawn for a children’s play area.

Neighbor Impact Executive Director Scott Cooper says the city deserves credit for their efforts to help the houseless, “They’ve gone from a position of having very little engagement to being, I think, one of the leading cities in the state, that not only is making the effort but is getting it right, in terms of how they are addressing what is a problem state-wide that nobody has good solutions to.”

The former Rainbow Motel on Franklin Avenue is next to be renovated in Bend as a Project Turnkey site.