The city of Redmond

REDMOND — Two new safe parking sites will be coming to Redmond.

The Redmond City Council approved Mountain View Community Development to use two city-owned properties off U.S. Highway 97 near Pumice Avenue, as sites where those experiencing homelessness can live in their own vehicles and RVs. They are the fifth and sixth such sites to be approved in Redmond.

Each lot will be able to provide up to six parking spaces open to adults and families.

Participants are screened and approved for a 90-day stay and must agree to participate in housing-focused case management in order to live on-site.

Each location will have sanitation and security services.

According to Rick Russell, executive director of Mountain View Community Development, the organization reached out to neighboring businesses and property owners in early April.

“Most of the businesses responded,” he said. “None of them had any major opposition.”

A couple of them, however, had suggestions to increase safety, such as putting up a fence along the canal and laying down gravel to prevent dust.

According to Russell, the sites require a small amount of preparation and cleanup, but he expects both locations to open to participants by June 1.

“We can serve six family units per property and there are two properties here,” Russell said. “We will probably start with three or four (units) with each location, pause to make sure everything is running smoothly, and then proceed.”

The lot west of Highway 97 currently has three unauthorized campers living on the property. According to Russell, families currently living there will be given the first opportunity to participate in the program. If they decline, Russell said they will have to leave.

Tessa Sherman, a full-time lube technician at the nearby Valvoline Instant Oil Change, is one such resident. She has lived at the site with her husband in a trailer for the last year and plans to join the safe parking program.

The couple had actually met with Sierra Hopper, the safe parking program director, a few months ago and were waiting for a spot to open up at Mountain View Fellowship Church. But a spot never appeared. It’s lucky, she said, that the program came to her.

“(I) really like the way that they’re centered around keeping people safe,” Sherman said. “It’ll be nice.”

Sherman, 36, had housing when she worked at the Chevron off Highway 97. She noticed an older couple lived next to the gas station in an RV for nine months.

“I didn’t think I’d ever need to use this spot,” Sherman said.

Everything fell apart for Sherman, her husband and three children, however. They were living with family and paying rent until their family became aggressive toward them, she said.

“Instead of keeping my children there, we chose homelessness over that,” Sherman said.

Sherman, who has lived in Central Oregon off-and-on for most of her life, has considerable experience with cars. She has always done her own mechanical work because it was cheaper than paying someone else to do it. She said she rebuilt her first motor when she was just 14.

But, even with Sherman’s experience and both her and her husband working full time, it has been difficult to find housing. Many apartments require renters to earn three times the rent.

However, Sherman said the main problem has been credit. When she was younger, she didn’t understand her credit score and it dropped precipitously. She recently started working on her credit and building it up, but even now most landlords would still deny her housing.

“If people don’t have good credit, that is the main thing where people will say yes or no,” Sherman said.

The housing market, she said, doesn’t always take into consideration that people can make mistakes when they’re young and be paying for it later on in life.

“It sucks,” she said.

A ladder out

According to Russell, many business owners were glad to see that some structure will be brought to the already occupied sites. And, since the city of Redmond enforces a 500-foot no-camping ordinance around all parking sites, only vetted participants will be allowed on the site.

The program includes multiple check-ins per week, security cameras, garbage service and port-a-potties. Meanwhile, participants work with a case manager that may help them access health care or obtain government documents such as vehicle registration.

Winston Risser, a manager at Smile-a-Mile Painting located next door to one of the sites, said initially there was a little uncertainty about how the program worked. But, he felt more comfortable and open to the idea once he learned more about it.

The program gives people a step to help them into an apartment or more stable living arrangement, he said.

“It’s kind of a road map to get out of the situation,” Risser said. “I think it’s good.”

Risser said he felt like the program takes direct action to address the rising rates of homelessness in Central Oregon and provides avenues for those struggling.

“It’s hard for the city to solve the problem without someone willing to do the work,” he said. “It’s not an easy subject to take on, and it’s not an easy job to do.”

Mountain View Community Development still aims to open more safe parking sites in Redmond and, for those who may be presented with a nearby site proposal in the future, Risser said to talk with the organization and get information before coming to a decision.

“Don’t just assume,” Risser said.

According to Hopper, the program director, five households have moved through the safe parking program into stable housing in the last year.

In the last week, Russell said, two participants were able to find employment and one participant was able to move from living in a personal vehicle to an apartment.