News & Events

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If you are a member of the media who is seeking information or would like to request an interview, contact community@cssoregon.org.

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New CSS Director of Community Impact: Blake Burrell

Did you know CSS has a shared leadership model, with three directors? This November, Blake Burrell joined CSS as our new Director of Community Impact. His role supports all of our direct service staff, managing internal relationship-building, culture creation, program operation, mentoring, and conflict resolution. Read on for his introduction:

My name is Blake Burrell, and I am very excited to join the Community Supported Shelters Team as Director of Community Impact. In the past weeks, I have been overjoyed to meet the teams and dive into the amazing work we are doing for our community. I am ready to invest in this organization and lead CSS’ teams! 


I am a nonprofit administrator and public official residing in the City of Eugene. I am a lifelong learner with a diversified educational background. My personal studies led me to research fields such as psychology, anthropology, and urban planning. My professional work in nonprofit administration has centered on developing and implementing homeless and emergency service programs, teaching tenant education seminars, and investing in professional development opportunities for staff, interns, volunteers, and beneficiaries entering the human service field. Overall, I am an open person and passionate leader, and I look forward to connecting with the CSS community. 


As I embark on my new journey with CSS, I will start by supporting our client services teams and collaborating with our leadership teams to implement various projects. I am very excited to further develop our client service models for our communities and to implement a new program model for our upcoming collaboration on the Community Court Program. (Ed: We have more exciting news to come about how CSS is partnering with Community Court—stay tuned for future newsletter and social media updates!) Our leadership team will be working to sustain our current operations and explore new opportunities to serve our unhoused community and partner organizations. 


I feel most alive when I am helping people and investing in making a more just and equitable community for us all to call home. I look forward to this opportunity to serve Community Supported Shelters, and I look forward to the year to come!


Best, 

Blake

You can read more about CSS directors, as well as board members, here.

Community Court Program

04 May, 2024
Community Supported Shelters’ Roosevelt Safe Spot Community has been transformed into a shelter community aligned with the City of Eugene Community Court program. Beginning in January, people charged with minor misdemeanor offenses who have opted into the Community Court system (rather than Municipal Court) can opt into the CSS shelter program and move into one of 16 available Huts at Roosevelt.

Volunteers Boost Energy Systems at CSS Communities

03 May, 2024
During the ice storm that brought Eugene to a standstill in January, all the batteries that stored the energy from the solar panels at CSS’s Lot 9 Community went dead, meaning no lights and no way to charge cell phones. Dave Reuter knew that because of a monitoring system he had set up to keep track of the status of the solar energy systems at eight CSS communities. Dave, a volunteer who has led an effort to upgrade and standardize the CSS power systems, and his wife Janel Erickson, who has worked with him on this project, are intrepid outdoors people. While most of us struggled to get out of our front doors, Dave and Janel loaded a couple of fresh batteries on their Flexible Flyer sled and attached Yaktrak spikes to their shoes and a rope to the sled. With Dave in front and Janel in the rear, they guided the sled the five miles from their Friendly neighborhood home to Lot 9, near Autzen Stadium.

UO Interior Design Creative Storage Collaboration

02 May, 2024
A sixty square foot area. Six feet by 10 feet of space covered by an unconventional Conestoga shaped canvas. This is the simple description of the Hut basic to all CSS communities. How can a safe, comfortable, and efficient habitat be created within this framework using common and inexpensive materials? This was the question posed by Assistant Professor Solmaz Mohammadzadeh Kive to her Architecture 484 class this winter term at the University of Oregon.

Volunteer Spotlight: Sandy and Percy

30 Apr, 2024
For the past several months, a couple of long-time donors to Community Supported Shelters have joined us for two hours a week at our main office to do whatever needs doing. While this may sound like a modest amount of time, Sandy and Percy’s consistent, constructive, and upbeat engagement demonstrates a truth that is often overlooked: big issues can be meaningfully addressed in small increments of time.

Eugene Parking Ban Opposition Testimony

12 Mar, 2024
It's not too late to share your thoughts on this proposed update. Send your written testimony to mayorcouncilandcitymanager@eugene-or.gov .

Incarceration and Homelessness: Breaking the Cycle

15 Jan, 2024
Formerly incarcerated people are almost ten times more likely to be homeless than the general population, according to a study from the Prison Policy Initiative. Jack spent 27 years in prison, from the age of 33 to 60. “It is a long time. It's an entire lifetime,” he says. At first, he thought he might never get out and continued what he calls “bad behavior.” But he saw others who participated in educational programs and were successful in getting their sentences reduced. He realized if he started “acting right,” he might get out. He especially credits a program called “Nonviolent Communication” with helping him. He started using what he learned and realized that “the person we communicate worst with is ourselves.”

From Waste to Wonder - UO's Grey Water Conservation Project

14 Jan, 2024
Lima, Peru, and Eugene, Oregon, are worlds apart in many ways. But spend some time with Kory Russel, an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon, and you will learn there are communities in both places with challenges of access to sustainable and efficient water use. Kory has a photo in his office depicting a highly condensed neighborhood in Lima, a city where he and some of his students work on sustainable water projects.

Volunteer Spotlight: Veronica Paredes

12 Jan, 2024
Veronica Paredes has been helping sew the weatherproof porch coverings ("scrims") for the Huts, recently working 26 hours to complete 34 scrims for us before the holidays.

Bike and Build Volunteers Assist in Refurbishing Huts

13 Oct, 2023
Bike and Build organization was established as a nonprofit in 2003. Its website summarizes its mission: “Bike and Build engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise awareness for the affordable housing cause. We advocate for the need for affordable housing in thousands of communities across the country.” As teams bike from town to town, they volunteer for service projects and give presentations about issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing. Since 2003 Bike and Build estimates that over 3,800 participants have biked over 11 million miles and donated over 255,000 volunteer community service hours to local organizations throughout the country.

October 2023: Letter from the Director of Philanthropy

12 Oct, 2023
In some ways, CSS is going back to its roots, including the re-engagement of clients as volunteers and the focus on hiring individuals from our Safe Spot Communities. In other ways, we’re continuing to branch out—engaging with the broader community in new and unique ways, partnering with outside organizations, and looking for chances to expand our reach outside of Lane County. We encourage you to follow us on social media as we frequently highlight our activities and outreach efforts there.
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