Amid neighbor concerns, Lane County renews contract with homeless services provider

Lane County commissioners approved a one-year renewal of a nearly $4 million contract with Equitable Social Solutions to run the River Avenue Navigation Center, which offers shelter to homeless people and works to connect them with permanent housing and other services.

The commissioners’ unanimous decision came Tuesday, July 22, after they heard testimony from nearly a dozen people concerned about open drug use, homelessness and crime in the neighborhood surrounding the center. The 75-bed facility at 100 River Ave. in Eugene, shelters people who are homeless and who often are suffering a mental health or drug addiction crisis.

Area residents agreed that services for vulnerable people are necessary, but argued the center’s location creates public safety risks. North Eugene High School is about a half-mile away. 

“Where is the equity for the children in the neighborhood?” said Rayla Campbell, who lives near the center. “Where is the equity for the parents who are afraid to allow their children to go out?”

The center’s presence in Eugene emerged out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Lane County purchased the site, a former Veterans Administration clinic, and used it as a quarantine shelter during the pandemic. The Navigation Center opened in September 2022 and hired the same company, Kentucky-based ESS, to run it after seeking proposals to run the facility. 

Low-barrier center

The center operates 24/7 and people enter it through street outreach workers who identify possible residents. It offers meals, transportation and case management, so residents can connect with providers for other services, including permanent housing and drug addiction treatment.

The center is “low-barrier,” meaning people can come with their pets, and that sobriety and treatment are not mandatory. That low-barrier status also makes it eligible for state funding that covers most of the county’s costs, which can rise up to $3.98 million for fiscal year 2026, which started July 1.

The center’s model is different from a traditional homeless shelter, which may have limited case management services and stricter requirements.

At the navigation center, there are still rules: Residents cannot use or possess drugs on site and they need to respect the belongings of others. Residents also are required to follow a “good neighbor” agreement, meaning they need to act in that same way when they are in the neighborhood outside the center’s property.

In the past year, the center has served 170 individuals, according to a county presentation about the facility. Most of those — 92% — had at least one mental or physical disability.  

Of those 170 people, 99 have left the center. Nearly 71% remained in stable housing 12 months later. 

Some leave after failing to follow the rules. In the past year, 39 residents have left the center due to rule violations and another five have left due to violating the good-neighbor agreement.

Eugene police calls for service to the center’s neighborhood have increased since it opened nearly three years ago, though officials say other factors are also driving that. In 2022, there were 600 calls for service. In 2024, the area had 891 calls. Drug overdoses have increased, from seven in 2022 to 49 in 2024. 

Campbell and others said they are concerned about what would happen if children and others are exposed to fentanyl, which can easily cause fatal overdoses.

“Students should feel safe walking through our neighborhoods,” said Sarah McKinley, another resident. 

Grant Johnson, who returned to Eugene after a 44-year absence and a career in the Air Force, said he was dismayed to see his community deteriorate. He said people facing deadly addictions need help and treatment — not a low-barrier shelter that doesn’t require that.

“They’re dying, and so we’ve got to put a stop to this,” he said in an interview.

County management, including Lane County Health and Human Services Director Eve Gray and County Administrator Steve Mokrohisky, suggested the county keep up-to-date with the number of reported concerns and how the contractor responds.

“We can follow-up with that for tracking and accountability and what is happening in the area,” Mokrohisky said. 

After the vote, Lane County Commission Chair David Loveall said he was pleased with plans for increased accountability and quarterly updates.

“I think that’s going to help everybody raise a level of awareness and safety and accountability to what’s going on,” he said in an interview with Lookout Eugene-Springfield. “There isn’t a quick fix. I mean, for us to say all of a sudden we’re just going to vote ‘no’ and pull the plug on this would be really irresponsible to the people that have these needs.”