Volunteer Spotlight: Veronica Paredes

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.

Scrims add a layer of insulation from rain and cold for the Huts and help make the front porch into a sunroom in the winter. For our clients who live in Huts with 60 square feet, every bit of extra space helps.

When asked why she volunteers her sewing skills for CSS, Veronica replied that she wants to give back to the community that has been her home for the past ten years. “When I moved here from Guatemala, there were kind people who helped me. Now it is my turn.”

You can learn more about CSS Volunteer opportunities here.

News & Events

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Could Oregon Trail wagons provide an unlikely solution to the housing crisis?: Season of Sharing 2025

November 19, 2025
Zechariah Boesman was homeless for most of his life. He spent his childhood touring practically “every homeless shelter across America” and landed as an adult in Oregon, where he lived on the streets until a workplace injury convinced him to apply for a tiny home with Community Supported Shelters.

Community Supported Shelters takes on 20 more Conestoga Huts, will expand food efforts

November 16, 2025
Blake Burrell: "For anyone that's ever moved in with roommates, moving 20 people in at one time can be really challenging. So we are taking that incremental approach and are looking somewhere by probably about  July or August, having 20 folks on that property."

Hope in a Difficult Time

October 31, 2025
As we move deeper into fall and prepare for the cold months ahead, we want to share an update on our work and a reflection on what this season means for our community. Recent policy changes and funding reductions across Oregon are already having consequences for people experiencing homelessness. New SNAP rules are e

Turning Art Into Income

October 30, 2025
Since the inception of the CSS workforce development program in 2024, it has become clear that not everyone is interested or able to work in a traditional workplace. It can be quite the challenge to locate jobs that are part time, supportive, accessible to folks with disabilities or criminal history, to name but a few

Warming Hearts with Welcome Totes

October 29, 2025
When someone moves, they may receive housewarming gifts to celebrate their new beginning, which can help a new house or apartment start to feel like a real home. Each person who moves into a Conestoga Hut receives something akin to a "Hut-warming" gift. “A welcome tote is given to new clients when they move into a Hu

Class aims to help unhoused people learn to make and sell their own art

October 27, 2025
Linda Southwood’s handmade jewelry, she said, is a part of her. Making her beaded bracelets and necklaces from reclaimed wood has been a relaxing constant for Southwood, 52, especially after her home burned down three years ago and she struggled to find housing. She’s a graduate of a new arts entrepreneurship progra

The Future: A New Building For CSS!

July 26, 2025
Because of your support, we’re growing into something bigger—two new spaces designed to better serve our unhoused neighbors. Community Supported Shelters is in the middle of an exciting transformation. After over a decade at our Grant Street location, we’ve purchased a new building that will allow us to bring our in

The Present: CSS to Make a Big Move

July 25, 2025
“Everyone will have desks,” declares Blake Burrell, CSS Director of Community Impact, anticipating the move of most of the CSS staff and programs from 1160 Grant Street to 2870 West 10th Place, a former Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles facility. The move will take place between now and the end of 2025.

The Past: A History of Heart at 1160 Grant

July 24, 2025
Erik de Buhr fell in love with the building at 1160 Grant long before there was a Community Supported Shelters. He was involved with a group that built things out of salvaged materials (Resurrected Refuse Action Team), including huts that would turn out to be precursors to the CSS Conestoga Huts. “I’d been eyeballing t

CSS is Now Operating the Nightingale Safe Spot

July 23, 2025
In partnership with the Nightingale Board of Directors and the City of Eugene, CSS is ensuring the Nightingale Safe Spot continues to operate in South Eugene. In the month of July, CSS officially began to operate the Nightingale Safe Spot Community in South Eugene. As the organization moves its home to our new building
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