The Oasis Village transitional housing project for homeless people in Redmond will be full when it opens Jan. 10, and its waiting list grows by the day.

The village, built on 12-acres of land donated by Deschutes County, is located on U.S. Highway 26 near Redmond Airport. The community is centered around a building that includes a communal kitchen, bathroom, showers and laundry facilities. Near that, 15 tiny homes just 100 square feet in size are lined up, sparsely outfitted with electricity, heating and a bed.

The homes will serve as a place for people experiencing homelessness to sleep, store belongings and get out of the cold. They will have shelves, a desk, a chair and storage totes. Five of the small shelters will have double beds to house couples, and the other 10 will house individuals with single beds, Oasis Village officials said. Residents can come and go as they please and will be permitted to bring pets and park vehicles on site. Alcohol and drug use will not keep people from being able to live at the property.

Oasis Village was the culmination of a long collaboration between the city of Redmond, state and county governments, as well as a variety of community organizations and individuals. The project has been funded by a nearly $1 million grant from the governor’s office, in addition to another $967,500 from the American Rescue Plan Act funneled through the state, Deschutes County and the Central Oregon Health Council. Financial support and volunteer work has also come from community organizations like the Zion Lutheran Church, Redmond Community of Christ Church, Rotary Club of Redmond, NeighborImpact and private individuals.

James Cook, who sits on the Oasis Village board, said a few years ago he could never have dreamed of something like the village coming to fruition. He said political officials and segments of the community had been resistant to taking on the issue of homelessness, but that is no longer the case. Oasis Village, he said, is the right move for the city and for its homeless residents.

“These are people who for whatever reason have fallen out of touch with community … society has not been there to support them,” Cook said. “It takes a lot of trust-building to get people to be willing to come out of the junipers,” the Bureau of Land Management land to the east of Redmond.

Redmond City Councilor Clifford Evelyn said he believes Oasis Village garnered so much support from the city, the county and the community because it was thoughtfully developed to address the issue at hand. He also said the village is long overdue in Redmond.

“We have no other option. If we do nothing it (homelessness in Redmond) is just going to get worse. People are in need of this,” Evelyn said. “The fact of the matter is that it needs to be successful, which it is going to be because we aren’t going to let it fail. And it is our only option to ensure our city doesn’t look like other cities that have homeless people all over the place.”

Evelyn said the need for Oasis Village is much more clear when considering the 27 individuals who died homeless in Central Oregon in 2023.

“These are our citizens. These are people who live in our city,” Evelyn said. “We don’t want anybody to die from homelessness. And whatever we have to do to make sure that doesn’t happen again, that is what we are going to do.”

Staffing the project

Allison McKinney was hired in October by the nonprofit Oasis Village to serve as a case and program manager for the village. McKinney, who has worked with the Redmond-area’s homeless population for more than eight years, said she gets calls every day from people inquiring about space in the village. For now, she puts them on the waiting list.

“When you consider the number of people without housing, it is a small dent in a huge issue, but we are part of that continuum,” McKinney said. “We are working with Shepherd’s House and Bethlehem Inn and it is part of that continuum of how we can get them (Redmond’s homeless) into permanent, stable housing.”

McKinney said she and others will work with village residents to access stable housing, Social Security and disability entitlements. Residents also have the opportunity to learn essential life and job skills at the village, including how to cook healthy meals and budget resources. Residents will have access to a community garden where they can grow their own fruits and vegetables, McKinney said.

“What we are wanting them to access is their individual ability to move forward at their pace,” said McKinney. “At what they think they can do so they are not overwhelmed. Change, whether it is good or bad, is not comfortable for anybody. Your stress levels always change whenever there is change in your life.”

McKinney said people can stay at the village for a maximum of two years as long as they are actively working toward permanent and stable housing. She hopes some leave for better housing in just a few weeks. While residents will have to check in and out of the village, they will be largely free to come and go as they wish, and they will be in charge of maintaining their individual tiny home as well as contributing to the overall order and cleanliness of the entire village.

The median age of those who will move in to the village on Jan. 10 is early 50s, McKinney estimated. She said the majority are living on a fixed income and many supplement that by collecting bottles and cans. A lot of them work, she said, but typically the only jobs available are low paying and unreliable. But she said some time at Oasis Village may change that.

“The biggest thing is now that you are warm, safe and dry, you look more appealing to a potential job,” McKinney said.