ShelterCare

In the broadest terms, we seek to end homelessness. ShelterCare's programs play a critical role in Lane County in stabilizing families and individuals who have no other resources or support to help them maintain their housing or recover from homelessness. Our programs alleviate the personal costs of homelessness, untreated psychiatric conditions and trauma, as well as the societal costs in terms of public safety and emergency services.

The foundation of our work is to stabilize the people we serve in housing. Once our clients have a safe place to live, they can begin to work with staff to addresses the causes of their instability.

ShelterCare's mission is client-centered, and the agency actively seeks input from its
clients — also referred to as “consumers" — served by each of its six programs.
ShelterCare adheres to the philosophy of engaging consumers in the “choosing"
process, exploring and clarifying each person's needs and preferences.
This person-centered service delivery philosophy is collaborative and trauma
informed, and informed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration's definition of recovery and “Dimensions of Wellness." Respectful
engagement with individuals gives room for individualized supports and resources.
Working alongside each participant to learn from the individual is key to the
agency's coordinated care strategy.

By individualizing supports to meet the goals of the individual, participants find
value in the support services and consequently maintain involvement. Engagement
is cultivated by creating safety, remaining person-centered and meeting basic needs.
Harm reduction is also part of the approach.

In 1970, ShelterCare opened with a single emergency shelter for families who were
homeless. Since the organization's beginning, it has adapted and expanded services
to meet emerging community needs.

Today, the agency offers housing and services in Eugene and Springfield, Ore., to
families and individuals who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness, along with
adults with a mental illness, a traumatic brain injury, or a medical condition which requires continued care but not hospitalization. Support ranges from short-term crisis
intervention to longer-term housing, and all programs are designed to move clients
through a continuum of care that helps them achieve a maximum level of
independence and well-being.

ShelterCare owns and/or manages approximately 300 units of housing as well as facilitating the rental of apartments in our community. Everyone served by our programs is working with a team of clinicians and skills builders on a recovery plan to improve their psychiatric, medical, and financial health, as well as their emotional and social well-being.

Our clinical staff includes a range of Master's level therapists, counselors, counselor advocates, and peer support specialists, as well as specialized staff in supported employment, housing and health.

In 2014, ShelterCare brought many of our staff together under one roof, the Center for Programs and Services, to enable the people we serve to connect to a range of services and staff with a single visit to one building; and to strengthen collaboration and responsiveness between staff in meeting client needs.

In 45 years, ShelterCare has evolved from an agency that provided emergency housing to four families at a time to a network of coordinated housing, therapeutic and social work services that helps approximately 1,200 individuals annually.

We have been and continue to be a leader in pioneering strategies for stabilizing people's lives, beginning with our ground-breaking brain injury program in 1989, our Homelessness Prevention Program in 2005 and our "Housing First" initiative in 2006. These programs established their effectiveness as "Best Practice" strategies and are adopted and funded by public agencies as well as private contributors in our area because of ShelterCare's demonstration of their value.

ShelterCare is a key partner in Lane County to deliver, sustain and improve the Continuum of Care to address the needs of people in our community who are struggling with poverty, mental illness, poor health and trauma.