REDMOND, OR Bethlehem Inn has moved residents out of its Redmond shelter, to Bend. Executive Director Gwenn Wysling says the nonprofit wants to consider ways to fill gaps in regional ser.
Bend s Bethlehem Inn says new hires pave the way to open new Redmond shelter ktvz.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ktvz.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bethlehem Inn asks Redmond City Council to help fund new shelter
REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) At Tuesday evening s Redmond City Council meeting, Bethlehem Inn Executive Director Gwenn Wysling asked councilors to contribute $450,000 to their Redmond shelter project, to help with the growing homelessness problem across Central Oregon.
Wysling says they ve operated a shelter in Bend for years, and have now acquired the Greenway Motel in Redmond for a new high-barrier homeless shelter through the state-funded Project Turnkey program. High-barrier means they have to pass a drug and alcohol test and not be a registered sex offenders.
Wysling added that they are looking to fill $900,000 in funding to complete the project, and if the council can contribute half of that amount, she s confident Deschutes County commissioners will match the rest.
A Piece of the Puzzle
A Redmond hotel will soon become the city s first year-round shelter thanks to funding from
Project Turnkey, the statewide initiative to convert hotel and motels into housing Amid rising housing costs and stagnant wages, Central Oregon s homeless population is growing, and shelter beds are in short supply. But, this June, at least 25 shelter beds will be added to the mix, as Bend-based nonprofit Bethlehem Inn uses state funding to convert a motel in Redmond. On April 27, Bethlehem Inn received a $2.7 million grant to acquire and convert Redmond s 37-room Greenway Motel. The grant is a part of Project Turnkey, a $65 million statewide initiative to convert up to 20 hotels and motels into housing for people displaced by the 2020 wildfires or people who are homeless. The Redmond motel one of 12 projects funded thus far will shelter unhoused individuals and act as the city s first year-round shelter.