What progress has Eugene made in providing people with legal, safe places to sleep?

There's now space for around 200 people to sleep safely and legally in shelters or vehicles in Eugene.

Early last year, officials approved an ordinance allowing the creation of what are being called Safe Sleep sites to give people without anywhere else to go for shelter a place they can sleep, find stability and connect with vital resources.

So far, the City Council has approved five sites and worked with nonprofit organizations to open three of them. The social service providers manage the sites, including taking responsibility for making sure residents comply with rules and community agreements, monitoring who’s on site and being accessible and responsive to neighbors.

City staff and service providers are working together to help people move from places where sleeping in tents or cars is prohibited to the sites as they open.

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For the sites that have opened more recently, they’re taking an extended period to have conversations with people about moving into a shelter and “get people to yes,” said Kelly McIver, the spokesperson for the city’s unhoused response.

“We get it. This is new,” McIver said. “It’s scary.”

With three open and two more in the preparation phase, here’s what we know about the approved Safe Sleep sites.

Earlier coverage: Eugene officials approve the first Safe Sleep sites, more expected after summer recess

310 S. Garfield St.

The first site on Garfield Street opened Oct. 4, 2021.

The roughly 5.2-acre site accommodates up to 55 vehicles used for shelter and space for other vehicles that residents use for transportation.

It reached capacity in mid-October and has been full since then with a waiting list.

According to the city, the site has served more than 130 people since opening late last year.

St. Vincent de Paul operates the site, which the city is leasing from Lane Transit District.

For subscribers: What it takes to set up, operate a Safe Sleep site

Everyone Village

The second site to open started with a pilot group in December but started growing quickly in January.

A mix of pallet shelters, tiny homes and recreational vehicles house around three dozen people on the 3.55-acre site on Janisse Street near Mattie Reynolds Park.

Read more: New Eugene shelter Everyone Village focuses on current homelessness and future goals

Organizers say they hope the site is a place for hope, love and community to spread out and benefit not just residents but also the community as a whole.

The city is helping pay a per-unit fee for operational needs and is providing one-time funding for necessary infrastructure upgrades. Most of the large area needs stormwater and sewer work and electricity.

410 Garfield St.

St. Vincent de Paul also operates a second site on Garfield Street that's just a stone's throw from the first at 310 S. Garfield St.

This one is housed inside a 27,300-square-foot warehouse on 2.88 acres that use to be home to Tyree Oil.

It's mostly filled with pop-up tents that AmericaCorps volunteers helped set up. Each 8-by-8-foot pop-up tent has a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, camp chair, electric heater and bins for storage.

Some tents will accommodate more than one person, McIver said, but only in cases where people have been successfully cohabitating.

Read more: Eugene to close Washington Jefferson Park in a month as third Safe Sleep site opens

Dangling heaters are at the entrance, and St. Vincent de Paul was working to set up a community gathering space with couches and tables and other furniture to give residents a place where they can naturally get to know each other, people who work there and to connect to resources, he said.

There also are shower stalls outside that residents can use — three standard stalls and one accessible unit — as well as on-site restrooms and water. Occupants also will get laundry vouchers and one provided meal each day.

Residents are expected to wear masks indoors as long as mandates are in place, but there is an outdoor gathering space.

Sign-ups started Tuesday, Feb. 22 with first priority going to people moving from Washington Jefferson Park.

Rosa Place

This site, called Rosa Place, is at 2243 Roosevelt Blvd. and is owned by SquareOne Villages.

Work is going to get the site open "as soon as is practicable" this year. The 3.3-acre site is expected to have up to 40 small shelter spaces.

Chase Commons Park

City officials approved this neighborhood park in the Harlow area as a host for up to 20 Conestoga huts.

Staff are working on a best-use model for the site that fits the 4-acre park and the neighborhood.

Contact city government watchdog Megan Banta at mbanta@registerguard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: What we know about approved Safe Sleep sites in Eugene, Oregon