Nearly 1,000 unsheltered men, women, and children were counted in Lane County on a single day last January in addition to the 500 who were accessing emergency and transitional housing services.  The lack of sufficient emergency shelter in our community is both a human rights and public safety issue. We must not criminalize or endanger those who have no place to sleep but a park, a riverbank or a storefront. Rest stops gives people who have lost housing a safe, legal place to live while they get back on their feet. Residents who live there work hard and follow the rules to stay in the program.

The City of Eugene released a short video about the program to help dispel myths and provide community education. You can watch it at https://youtu.be/yWQ0qcKXsBQ.