Before Ben Hinkle moved into Desert Streams Village, a shelter in east Bend with units the size of garden sheds, he lived out of his truck. That lifestyle was difficult, Hinkle said, especially on cold nights.

“It’s not really comfortable in there, but it was my own little space,” Hinkle said, referring to his 2009 Dodge Dakota. “I was getting used to it when it started getting cold at nights, and I can’t have my truck running all the time with heat.”

Every week he would get a hotel room for the night to shower, watch TV and relax. At least it was better than living in his now-condemned former apartment.

In Central Oregon, there are about 1,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night, yet there are few shelters in the region. In the city of Bend, one of the largest shelters is the Lighthouse Navigation Center, with 100 beds. But Central Oregon Villages, which runs Desert Streams Village, offers a more autonomous model for the homeless community by giving residents their own tiny home.

“We thought the missing component in the services we provided for the unhoused was some transitional shelter that was non-congregate, and where pets could be allowed,” said Nicky Merritt, the executive director of Central Oregon Villages. “(It’s important) having the individual unit that they can lock up their belongings and that they have more freedom to address some of the barriers to their housing needs.”

When Merritt called Hinkle to explain there was a unit for him at Desert Streams, he had been living in tent because of the cold. He was so excited by the news that he didn’t even roll up the tent. A month later, it’s still unfurled in the bed of his truck.

“The thing about living here is that it’s great. Nobody bothers you. You’re safe; you’re secure. And you can’t complain because it’s a roof over your head,” Hinkle said.

His tiny home was empty when Hinkle arrived at Desert Streams Village, located behind Desert Streams Church at the corner of 27th Street and SE Bear Creek Road. But in the time he’s lived there, he’s managed to turn the approximately six-foot by 10-foot shed into a home. He has a mini fridge, a few shelves for storage and a bed that is as long as the unit is wide.

Even if the temperature outside is 25, the heater installed in his unit keeps the place a cozy temperature.

The first residents at Desert Streams Village moved in on June 5. According to Merritt, Desert Streams is Central Oregon Villages’ second tiny homes community since 2020. With 20 units on the property, each resident has a private dwelling with access to a mess trailer, showers and restrooms.

The requirements to qualify for Desert Streams are broad: a person must be homeless and drug/alcohol-free. Although the average time for residents to stay in the tiny home shelters is four months, they are welcome to stay as long as they need. All management asks, Merritt said, is that residents continue working toward their goals.

Hinkle’s goal is to save up enough money to buy a piece of property where he can park a trailer and eventually a mobile home.

Every morning, he wakes up and heads to work at 3 a.m. at LB-WE company, where he paints windows and doors. Hinkle said he has been at the company for three years. Although he wasn’t comfortable disclosing his exact salary, Hinkle said he makes around $22 per hour, nine dollars more than Oregon’s minimum wage.

“Things are getting way too expensive now,” Hinkle said. “Even when I go to buy food, I just buy a few things, and all that’s a hundred and some dollars. It’s getting crazy out there.”

Hinkle is one of two residents at Desert Streams Village who has a full-time job, said Merritt. Although there isn’t a template for what each resident looks like, many of them are older women with health problems living off social security, like 73-year-old Jacquie Lee.

Lee had already been homeless for several months when she was in a car wreck. During treatment, her doctors discovered she also had kidney cancer.

Lee’s doctor knew she was living out of her car at the time and arranged for her to have a bed at the Lighthouse. After her surgery in June, she moved into Desert Streams with her dog, Lacey Baby. Lee was declared cancer-free on Sept. 27.

Health is a significant barrier many Desert Streams residents face, Merritt said.

“A lot (have) medical health conditions that have been unaddressed while they were unhoused, so the first thing that they’re addressing is their health needs. Once they’re stable health-wise, then they can start to look at getting solid income,” Merritt said.

Despite the troubles Lee has faced, she has the utmost faith that she is exactly where she is meant to be. Her days are often spent uplifting the other residents and, if they want it, bringing them the word of God.

“The Lord put me here to talk to people. That’s my belief,” Lee said. “Everything happens to you for a reason. There’s a reason I’m here. There was a reason for the wreck, which was to discover that I had cancer.”

When Lee spoke with The Bulletin she was on a waitlist for subsidized housing.

Merritt said she has seen growth in the residents who come through Desert Streams. Many of the women arrive with incredibly low self-esteem, she said, but leave feeling like they understand why they deserve a better life.

It’s not just a place for people to get back on their feet — Desert Streams is a place of warmth and community, Merritt said.

“We have ups and downs living in a community environment. It takes patience and growth — empathy for one another. Everyone’s at a different stage of how they engage with other people (but) overall, I think when people are down and out, their neighbors are coming to their aid with encouragement,” Merritt said.