Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake:
A 26-bed shelter that serves homeless youth in Lane County may need to cut its service in half as Measure 110 funds decline.
Spencer Landerking is mapping out a life for himself — one that keeps him off the streets of Eugene.
The 22-year-old is working on obtaining a food handler’s card so he can work in a restaurant. Eventually, he’d like to go to a school for tattoo artists.
Earlier this year, Landerking was in dire straits. He moved to Eugene from Salem after a relationship ended, but had nowhere to go.
Landerking found a place of refuge at the Looking Glass PEER Shelter in Eugene; the letters stand for persevere, enlighten, empower and renew. The nonprofit Looking Glass Community Services operates the 26-bed shelter, which serves homeless youth 16 to 24 years old. Landerking is among nearly 400 youth the shelter has served since it opened in October 2023.
The need is high: its 26 beds are full every night with youth from across Lane County. Some are victims of traffickers. Others aged out of the state’s foster care system and have nowhere to go. The shelter offers that service in Lane County, sheltering youth and connecting them to other services like health care, job assistance, counseling and help with obtaining long-term housing.
Despite the need, Looking Glass may have to cut the shelter service in half – to just 13 beds in July. That would mean 13 youth every night would have to go elsewhere — and face higher odds of becoming another lifelong member of Oregon’s homelessness population. It’s the only shelter this size in Lane County for youth.
“It would be a huge hit to the community,” Chad Westphal, CEO and president of Looking Glass, said in an interview.
Looking Glass gets funding for the shelter in part from the state’s Measure 110 program, which puts a share of cannabis revenue into organizations and services that aid recovery, including addiction treatment, housing and other social services. Cannabis revenues have dropped, leaving the state with a smaller pool of funding for Measure 110 recipients, including Looking Glass.
Looking Glass saw its state Measure 110 funding allocation drop significantly for fiscal year starting July 1. For the next four years, Looking Glass was awarded a $7.6 million allocation, which funds the shelter and related services. That amounts to $1.9 million annually and it’s for the shelter and other services at Looking Glass, including Station 7, a separate shelter in Eugene for adolescents.
The PEER Shelter, which has 47 employees, costs $3.5 million a year to run at full capacity.
Westphal said he’s looking for alternatives to keep the shelter running at full capacity after the fiscal year ends June 30. That could include state funding from other sources, including the Legislature.
Spokespeople for the Oregon Health Authority, which runs the Measure 110 program through a committee, didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment.
Statewide challenges
Looking Glass isn’t the only program facing this particular funding challenge. The decrease in cannabis revenues, which fund Measure 110 services and programs, has squeezed funding for programs across the state that tried to renew their state grants.
Devon Downeysmith, executive director of the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance, said Measure 110-funded programs in Oregon face challenges as their funding has decreased.
The alliance, a statewide organization, backed the implementation of Measure 110 and supports providers. The alliance is helping providers look for other funding sources and providing technical assistance so they can navigate the uncertainty of federal funding as well.
“It’s really sad,” Downeysmith said. “I’m on the phone with providers every day listening to them talk about closing programs down or laying people off.”
Oregon voters in 2020 passed Measure 110, which put money toward recovery and related social services and decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs that include cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. The goal was to steer people toward services to get help instead of jail.
In 2024, lawmakers recriminalized low-level drug possession and put so-called deflection programs in place, which allowed people to avoid court charges if they enter programs and treatment services.
That change, through House Bill 4002, also left funding in place for Measure 110 services, which still help people in a variety of circumstances, including homelessness, and regardless of whether they are in deflection programs.
High demand at PEER Shelter
The shelter has accountability requirements in place for guests. They need to check in daily by 4 p.m. so the shelter staff keep their beds available and know they will be there that night.
The shelter goes out of its way to accommodate youth. Youth who have infants can stay here. Two dog runs are in the yard, and youth can bring their pets to the facility.
The goal is to remove obstacles that may make a young person more inclined to stay outside the shelter — and access services that help them lead productive lives.
“Youth on the streets are really protective of everything – for anything they have, they’re incredibly protective,” said Travis Patterson, the shelter’s program manager.
Staff take things in stride: One guest had a pet tarantula. The eight-legged pet briefly escaped.
Two cooks prepare meals in the kitchen, and guests can prepare snacks themselves.
The staffing represents the diverse nature of the work and the vulnerable population. It includes case managers and others — including a trafficking specialist who works with trafficked youth. Case managers help youth look for jobs and get identification, if they need them.
They also develop routines to improve their lives. Landerking wakes up at 7 a.m. each day and exercises in the gym. Then he works on job applications.
He’s looking for permanent housing and planning a life. He said youths need a way to stay away from bad influences, including drug dealers who prey on teens and make them runners.
“Sadly, the youth is being attacked like that,” he said.
But he credits the PEER Shelter with getting him the help he needed – and he encourages others to speak out.
“Ask for help,” Landerking said. “Don’t be scared to ask for help, because if I didn’t ask for help, I’d probably be dead.”
