County extends contract with for-profit homeless shelter operator amid questions over costs 

Lane County commissioners voted 3-2 on a one-year contract extension with a homeless shelter operator after hearing criticisms about the provider’s costs compared to other shelters that rely upon the same limited pool of funding.

The commissioners’ decision Tuesday, June 2, means that River Avenue Navigation Center will continue to be operated by Equitable Social Solutions, a Kentucky-based for-profit company that runs similar programs across the nation. The company first received the contract to run the 75-bed shelter for adults in 2022.

For its work, the company will receive about $2.3 million for the fiscal year, which starts July 1.

In comparison, Everyone Village, a nonprofit provider in Eugene, will receive $722,000 to run its 70-bed shelter community, according to a preliminary draft of county allotments.

That amounts to $30,700 per bed for River Avenue Navigation Center and $10,300 per bed for Everyone Village, according to figures presented by Gabe Piechowicz, executive director of Everyone Village, during the public comment portion of the commissioners’ meeting.

“We can do better, absolutely. I have zero doubt in my mind,” Piechowicz told commissioners. “Furthermore, we can do better” for a more affordable price.

County officials didn’t dispute the figures, but they defended the difference in costs between the River Avenue Navigation Center and others like Everyone Village. For example, they say the per-bed cost difference can be explained in part because the navigation center accepts people with complex needs.

But the status quo could change next year: County commissioners also plan to develop metrics for a new request-for-proposal process for homeless-services providers seeking a share of the state funding the county receives for shelters.

That new process, after it is developed, will guide funding for homeless shelters after the one-year contract extension ends June 30, 2027. The metrics could potentially take into account factors like the acuity and needs of people who enter the shelter.

In his remarks, Piechowicz didn’t ask the county to change the funding allocations for Everyone Village for the fiscal year that starts in July. But he did ask county officials to start mapping out a better way to steward public tax dollars.

Overall, about a dozen facilities in Lane County are slated to get state funding for emergency and seasonal shelters, a preliminary draft shows.

Before county staffers spoke to commissioners, Piechowicz said the county’s rationale for the differences — that the navigation center has residents with more needs – is not enough to justify the gap in funding.

“They’re going to start talking to you about acuity,” he said. “It’s not enough to explain the discrepancy between our funding allotment. … That gap is too large to be explained solely by acuity — a little bit, not all of it.”

Piechowicz said the county should be more thoughtful in how it doles out funding, especially in tight economic times with reduced dollars. The state funding for homeless shelters has been reduced for the upcoming fiscal year, a trend that is expected to only worsen.

“My suggestion is let’s roll up our sleeves,” he said. “Let’s be deft. Let’s be strategic. Let’s be a little bit risky because demanding times require that kind of leadership.”

County staff lays out options 

The navigation center’s origins go back to 2020, when the county purchased the former veterans clinic off River Road and used it as a quarantine shelter during the pandemic. After the pandemic faded, the building became the navigation center after more than $5 million of rehabilitation work. It opened in 2022 with Equitable Social Solutions as the operator.

The navigation center takes in people who often have high medical and behavioral health needs, said James Ewell, the county’s homelessness and community action manager.

In a presentation to commissioners, Ewell showed the differences among shelters. At the navigation center, about 45% of participants are considered “highly vulnerable” in assessments that look at health factors and a person’s likelihood of death if they remain unhoused. At Everyone Village, the figure is 17%.

The navigation center’s rate of highly vulnerable clients is the second highest among county-funded shelters. The high acuity also means that the navigation center needs around-the-clock staffing, Ewell said.

Ewell said other factors, like turnover of residents in shelters, are also part of the equation beyond a cost-per-bed calculation. The average length of stay at the navigation center is 217 days, while the average stay at Everyone Village is 446, according to the county presentation.

Other shelters vary from as low as 90 days to 219 days.

“We need to look at it more as a cost per person sheltered versus cost per bed,” Ewell said.

County staffers gave commissioners three options:

1. renewing the contract for a year and putting out a new request for proposals;
2. not renewing the contract with Equitable Social Solutions and closing the navigation center;
3. renewing the contract with Equitable Social Solutions for another year and not issuing a new request for proposals. Without a new request for proposals, the current arrangement allows the county to renew its contract with the company for another year in 2027 if it wishes.

Commissioners weigh options 

Commissioner Laurie Trieger said the county needs to remember the big picture — that there are many different models of shelters to match the different needs of the population. 

“I really do not want this conversation to become a referendum on a particular model of shelter or a particular provider,” Trieger said. “It’s not appropriate, and it’s not helpful.”

Commissioner Heather Buch said it’s crucial for the county to make sure it has the right metric. 

“For me, that begs the question: Are we utilizing the right metric to analyze the type of services that we’re funding and the community is providing, knowing that that is not the only metric necessarily that needs to be considered?” Buch said.

Commissioners Ryan Ceniga and David Loveall voted against the one-year extension.  Loveall said he wishes the county had taken more action to get a new request-for-proposals process in place following a December discussion about the issue. 

“I’m disappointed we’re not there, so I’m just going to put that out there, because now we’re going to punt this down the road another year,” he said.

Loveall said he’s not in support of shutting down the center immediately, but would “almost be inclined” to give a 90-day notice to Equitable Social Solutions and shift the work to other providers while the county works on a long-term request-for-proposal process.

Commissioner Pat Farr insisted that he would only approve a one-year renewal for the navigation center’s contract if the county looked at the request-for-proposal criteria. 

“Once again, I’m not going to vote yes on this unless I know that we’re going to take a really aggressive look at how this navigation center is functioning and what is going to be a better approach for the future,” Farr said. 

Equitable Social Solutions representatives couldn’t be reached for comment.

After the meeting, Piechowicz told Lookout Eugene-Springfield he remains disappointed with the disparity in contract funding between the navigation center and other programs, but is looking forward to the work ahead.

“It seems like over the next year we’re going to get into this for real, and we should arrive at this point next year with a much better path forward and a much more equitable use of the funds for our tight local economy,” Piechowicz said.