Kirsa Smith, a 36 year-old lifelong Central Oregonian, remembers well the night she became houseless. How could you not? “I didn’t feel like I could reach out for help, so I just set out in my car,” she recollects. It was March of 2021. Smith is still houseless today, yet she has found shelter and a path to stable housing at Central Oregon Villages.
Many of our Central Oregon neighbors have a similar story, one about the “one last thing” that pushed them over the edge and into homelessness. For some, their rental home sold and the new owner moved in or raised the rent. For others, a medical emergency and missing work set the downward spiral in motion. And addiction — while more often an effect of homelessness — can also be a cause. After doing the work in treatment, what if you have nowhere to live when you graduate? How much harder is it to remain drug-free when you are sent back out on the streets?
Between March of 2021 and October of 2023, Smith lived in her car and worked delivering restaurant meals with her boyfriend to survive. Things that were bad took a turn for the worse when her partner was arrested and their car impounded. Suddenly Smith was alone, without a car/shelter, and feeling vulnerable. This was the turning point.
The Bethlehem Inn was her initial safe haven. While in their care, Smith made some hard yet firm decisions including one to kick drugs and alcohol. In December of 2023 she entered the Turning Points residential program. Once well on her way to lasting sobriety, she set additional goals: a job, a plan to be with her children again, a plan to be self-sufficient. She graduated from the program in October of 2024 and celebrated one year of sobriety in November.
Central Oregon Villages (COV) was there when her resident program at Turning Points was over. The promise of a campus where all participants agree to live drug and alcohol-free and engage in regular professional case management check-ins was the next step Smith knew would keep her moving forward. Especially important was the fact that she would be able to have her children with her regularly as she worked to regain their trust.
A temporary outdoor shelter program initially stood up by dedicated volunteers and the City of Bend, Central Oregon Villages now operates 28 shelter units in Bend with plans for more in the works. Participants have their own heated individual or family shelter unit with a mini fridge and access to toilet facilities. The village site has on-site showers, a kitchen trailer, and a yurt available to gather for meals, games, or to just hang out. In the summer, a vegetable garden grows, thanks to the green thumbs of volunteers and villagers working together.
Amy Fraley is the Senior Program Manager for Houselessness Solutions for the City of Bend. “Critical to the solution is a continuum of shelter services and types,” she states. Central Oregon Villages provides two types: safe parking and non-congregate shelter. “By offering guests individual space, robust case management and housing navigation services, COV meets clients where they are with the compassion and accountability necessary to stabilize for their next steps,” Fraley continues.
For Smith, the emphasis Central Oregon Villages has on making connections in the community is key. She has found strength through her involvement with the nonprofit, Mperfectly. She has found hope for future homeownership through working with Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity. She has found a church that helps feed her soul.
The future is looking as bright as the gleam in Smith’s eyes. Her hard work has paid off. She has married her also now sober boyfriend, she has her goals in front of her at all times. “The holidays were so different this year,” Smith says with a smile, “My family didn’t invite me last year and they did this year. They’re proud of me.”
CentralOregonVillages.org
Kirsa Smith’s Recommendations for Success:
• Be willing to do hard things while you have support. • Make amends. • Be grateful. • Remember how it was and where you’re going. • Set goals. • Be open and kind. • Get connected. • Engage in educational opportunities and learn new skills.