REDMOND, OR -- Dignitaries and volunteers were on hand in Redmond Tuesday for the groundbreaking of Oasis Village. The low-barrier homeless shelter, in the works since 2020, is set to open by January.
“The last several years it's been organized and with the help of many of you here, (a) number of different agencies, the City of Redmond, Hayden Holmes, et cetera this day has finally come,” Oasis Village chairman Bob Bohac credited various organizations for helping fund and build the facility, including Heart of Oregon Corp and Redmond High School students.
Oasis Village Executive Director Eleanor Bessonette thanked the crowd of nearly 100 people, “We're gathered to celebrate a significant milestone in our community's journey to provide transitional housing for our unhoused neighbors. We aim to fill a critical gap of services in Central Oregon by providing immediate low barrier access to shelters.” She added she’s grateful for the partnerships, “All this would not be possible without public private partnerships between government, private builders and community organizations. Oasis Village is a testament to what we can do when we all work together.”
Hayden Homes’ non-profit arm is one of the groups that stepped in. Vice President Deb Flagan says while a lot has happened, there is more work to be done, “Construction makes it feel like it's real… it's a really short time frame. So, we're going to be done by January 10th. We have a lot to do in the next few months.”
Oasis Village sits on three acres northeast of the airport. It will house up to 20 adults in 15 100-square-foot ‘bedroom shelters’, along with communal laundry, kitchen, pet area, garden and RV storage area.
Project leaders plan to expand to 30-bedroom shelters within two years.
In a statement, Oasis Village recognized individual partners that have been involved.
- City of Redmond supported and assisted with state grant applications resulting in the awarding of $975,000 for the construction of Oasis Village.
- Deschutes County Commissioners made approximately 12 acres of land available in east Redmond for Oasis Village and other projects assisting the unhoused. The county also awarded $367,500 in Federal ARPA funds to Oasis Village.
- Hayden Homes and Simplicity by Hayden Homes are working together to play a pivotal role through advocacy for Oasis Village and project management expertise gained from building successful transitional housing projects including Veterans Village and St. Vincent’s Place in Bend.
- H.A. McCoy Engineering and Survey provided invaluable support on site plan development and surveying.
- Heart of Oregon Corps recruited, trained and hired local youth to construct some of the bedroom shelters.
- Redmond High School CTE students built multiple sleeping units for the village.
- Rotary Club of Redmond provided the initial $10,000 for Oasis Village to construct the first bedroom shelter and has been a vocal supporter of the housing project.
Oasis Village is still trying to raise an additional $50,000.
Redmond City officials
