While many in Central Oregon enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at home with their families this year, some of Redmond’s homeless residents gathered at the city’s first 46-bed low barrier homeless shelter for a warm holiday meal and a respite from the cold.

On Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving, a group of Redmond’s homeless waited patiently — bundled up against the chilly fall night — in front of the Shepherd’s House Redmond Center to claim a bunk bed and a seat for Thanksgiving dinner.

The new shelter opened Nov. 15 at 1350 South Highway 97 and offers guests a safe, warm place to stay overnight with good food, hot showers, and other amenities. But most importantly, Shepherd’s House hopes to offer a sense of community.

On Thanksgiving Eve and on Thanksgiving proper, the shelter hosted holiday dinners complete with the traditional feast. The shelter currently allows guests to stay overnight on a first-come, first-served basis. By 7 a.m. guests must leave the shelter and then return starting at 5 p.m. to claim a bed for the night.

On Thanksgiving Eve, some of the

Shepherd’s House guests spoke with the Spokesman about what it is like being

homeless over the holidays.

‘This is not the way it should be’

Debi Bynum, 57, was a guest along with her oldest son at the shelter. She said this year she is thankful for having survived a spinal fusion surgery she had last month. She pulled her hair away from her neck to reveal a scar and said prior to coming to the homeless shelter, she was recovering in the hospital until her stay was cut short.

Until Shepherd’s House opened she had been living in a tent for most of 2023, with a 5 -week sojourn at the Bethlehem Inn, which has since closed. Bynum said it has been a difficult past few years. She was

diagnosed with cancer in 2018.

She is now in remission, but the cancer made it difficult for her to find a job that would accept her, she said. And now her doctor recommended she not work post-surgery. Even when she is working, Bynum said it difficult to survive in Central Oregon.

“You’ve got housing prices going up, and then you’ve got utilities going out of control, food out of control, fuel out of control, and we are just supposed to just sit back and go ‘Thank you sir, can I have another?’ Bynum said. “This is not the way it should be.”

Bynum said she is glad the shelter is there to take her in, but she also believes there are a lot of flaws in how the homelessness crisis is dealt with in the region.

“Central Oregon doesn’t want to admit that there is a homeless problem. It is a denial,” Bynum said. “Homelessness has changed. The problem is we haven’t changed with it. It is no longer just ‘He had an alcohol problem, he had an addiction to drugs and maybe a combination.’ No. It is now, the government has run housing prices out of reach.”

Bynum said she also believes there is poor communication about what limited resources are available for people like her and how to access them.

“I know there’s got to be help out there. But none of us know where. Or how to get to it. Or who to go see,” Bynum said. “And most people just walk away (and say) ‘I’ll just stay in the homeless world because that is obviously where I am supposed to be.’”

‘It’s a hard life. And we are hoping it’s over with pretty soon.’

John Breen, 81, of Redmond said he is thankful this year just to be alive. And to have his wife and son by his side. He said prior to the Shepherd’s House opening, he, his son and wife were all living in a tent together after losing their apartment about four years ago.

At his age, Breen said that life on the streets is difficult. On a typical day, he said he walks about five miles. Being homeless means being constantly on the move and searching for the essentials to survive.

“I have to move around. I couldn’t handle just sitting. I would have already keeled over a couple years ago. Both of my knees are shot, completely. But I still get around,” Breen said. “It’s rough on people. It is rougher on the women than it is on the men I think. The men can take it better. But it’s rough. It’s hard. It’s a hard life. And we are hoping it’s over with pretty soon.”

Breen said his wife and son are both unable to work due to medical conditions. On top of that, he said he hasn’t been able to access his Social Security benefits for the past four months. He said he is grateful for a place like the Shepherd’s House, but said he wished the shelter stayed open throughout the day.

“Because it gets cold out there,” Breen said. “And it is going to get a lot colder.”

Breen said his goal is to get him and his family into some affordable housing. But it is easier said than done, he said. One apartment he had a lead on requested $6,000 to move in. He recalled that rent for his former apartment rose from $865 a month to $2,000.

“What I would like to see is for them to get low income housing. Get it down there to where people can really afford it,” Breen said.

‘Support myself better than I am supporting myself now’

Will Spohn, 48, of Redmond, said this Thanksgiving he was thankful for what he has now and his aspirations for the future.

“Right now, I am thankful for having a roof over my head. Because things would be a lot worse if I was out on the street right now,” Spohn said. “I do appreciate having a warm bed to sleep in. And I do appreciate having a warm dinner.”

Spohn, a veteran of the Navy, said he has been unemployed for the last 11 months. And in May, he became homeless after a dispute with his housemates. He said his goal is to gain employment and eventually become self sufficient and independent again. While being in the shelter helps, he said it is difficult to work a job and make sure he has a bed to sleep in each night.

“Working on the time schedule here at the Shepherd’s House, I can’t support working at a job and staying here at the same time,” Spohn said. “If I can get some type of program or assistance where I can get into a living situation that can actually support me finding employment that would be a huge benefit for me.”

Spohn said in order to be able to work while at the Shepherd’s House, he would need to find a job within walking distance that would allow him to get back to the shelter to claim his bunk by 5 p.m. on the dot. Otherwise he might find himself back out on the streets. His goal is to get back on his feet.

“Being able to support myself much better than I am supporting myself now. That would be a dream future, to be able to support myself better than I am supporting myself now,” Spohn said.