BEND, OR -- Central Oregon’s council of governments hopes to soon begin doling out funding from the Governor’s Emergency Homeless Relief Package. The region is slated to receive $13.9 million, to add 111 new shelter beds and rehouse 161 unsheltered households. The city of Bend has applied for some of that money. Mayor Melanie Kebler says it would help extend the contract for operation of the new Franklin Avenue Shelter. "We were hoping for some additional funding from the Governor’s emergency homelessness money; that didn’t come through," she tells KBND News, "There is some kind of bureaucratic rules and a little bit of red tape involved with it. That's been a bit frustrating so we’re trying to just run up the chain that it’s important to get this money out quickly and get it on the ground so people can be helped."

COIC Executive Director Tammy Baney says the city’s application is among 11 currently in a holding pattern, "It’s not a denial. It’s that your application had questions that a grants committee was unable to answer. It’s called ‘process,’ and we’re going to be as transparent and expedient as we can be, knowing that time is of the essence."

Baney tells KBND News the goal is to have decisions on at least some of those applications by next week, "And so we are outreaching to - not just the questions, but gather the information from each one of those project applicants."

Seven other applicants advanced:

• J Bar J Youth Services, to add eight beds
• City of Madras to add 29 beds
• Shepherd's House Ministries, to add 44 beds in Redmond
• City of Redmond & Oasis Village, to connect utilities and operate 15 units
• DAWNS House, for cabins and eight beds
• Mountain View Community Development, to rehouse 18 people
• Central Oregon FUSE, for rental assistance

Those seven applications are now in contract negotiations with COIC. Baney says that involves making sure they'll meet goals based on the state-mandated timeline, "They have to commit that they can achieve January tenth, or they have the possibility that they might have to pay back the money."

Very vew applications addressed the rehousing goal, "So, we’re going to finish this first grouping of projects, which means the 11, and we’re developing right now a secondary round of funding, identified for rehousing projects. And so, we want to make sure we don’t overspend right now, because we have not met our rehousing goal." Officials are also working with a provider in Crook County, to make sure that area receives assistance.  

Baney says just one of the 19 applications submitted was rejected, from the nonprofit Home More Network. 

file photo