(Photo | Courtesy of Bethlehem Inn)
Bethlehem Inn’s mission is to transform lives together through shelter, help and hope for adults and children struggling with homelessness and poverty. The Inn provides shelter services in Bend and Redmond that benefit over 1,300 adults and children each year.
After an average five-week stay, residents are stronger based on key gains in stable housing, school placement for children, access to health care and customized supports focused on transition to stability. In a region marked by fast growth and increasing housing prices, Bethlehem Inn is the only emergency refuge for men, women and families in Central Oregon’s Tri-County area.
Here is one dad’s perspective on his stay and how our community of supporters enable Bethlehem Inn to help our community’s most vulnerable population:
Steve’s Gratitude:
“We were safe and surrounded by caring, compassionate people.”
Not everyone who comes to Bethlehem Inn is unemployed. Steve is a long-time Bend resident who works as a wildland firefighter and a roofer. Even with hard work and a steady paycheck, Steve couldn’t find affordable housing and spent months in a motel, which quickly consumed his modest savings. With a young son and an infant daughter whose mother died during childbirth, he was a single father seeking security for his family.
Steve and his children settled into one of the Inn’s family units; the staff worked with him to secure a housing grant through NeighborImpact. While he struggled with past addiction, he has been clean and sober for over a year. Fighting woodland fires allows him to earn a solid income, but it also means he is away from his kids. With his son now enrolled in Head Start and his daughter in safe, reliable daycare, Steve can work without worry and this small family can enjoy the light and warmth of being together.
