REDMOND, OR -- The first people to move in to Redmond’s Oasis Village say the new shelter opened just in time.
17 people are now living in 15 small cabins, getting settled just before last weekend’s winter storm hit.
John was living in an area north of Bend known as “Dirt World”, and says Oasis Village is a big improvement, “500 times better. Yeah, Dirt World’s just about gone now.” He knows many of the others now staying at Oasis Village from “Dirt World” and other camps, “They get to bring their pets with them, too…just like it was before. So, it’s like it’s their own small community.” He says the heated bedroom shelters are a huge improvement, “Well, we have a good bed… in a place by ourselves. It is nice. Because it gets so noisy at places like we were staying that you can hardly sleep. I maybe got two or three hours of sleep at night because people were arguing and fighting, carrying on, all kinds of noises.”
He tells KBND News he appreciates the case-workers and volunteers offering support to get them into permanent housing, “They’re neat people. They are great people. They help you all they can.” And he appreciates the community building. “That's pretty nice because it’s got the laundry room and shower over here and they got two showers over this way.”
There’s also a kitchen with refrigerated storage, a dog run, and community garden at the East Redmond facility off Highway 126.
Residents began moving into the transitional housing Wednesday, January 10th. Oasis Village was funded and built by government grants, private donations, businesses, churches, civic groups, and schools.
