The Eugene budget committee and city council members announced they will be renewing the safe sleep sites in Eugene through July 2025. City Council members and city officials share their thoughts on the renewal. 
On Monday, Feb. 26, the city council announced in a meeting that they will be renewing the safe sleep sites designed to help those experiencing homelessness for another year. The extension of the sleep sites will come after the sunset date of June 2024 and extend to June 2025. 
The safe sleep sites are renewed yearly only because the city lacks permanent funding. The infrastructure of the safe sleep sites was built on the American Rescue Plan Act, a program enacted by the Biden administration in 2021. 
City Councilor Emily Semple was at the City Council meeting held on Monday. 
“We don’t have permanent funding,” Semple said. “We now have one-time money to run the sires for one more year. I imagine that if more funding is found, the sunset would be extended or lifted next year.” 
Kelly McIver of the community development division unhoused response said that until the legislature decides to make the funding for shelter a regular part of the state budget, Lane County will continue to see a temporary renewal sequence for the safe sleep sites. 
According to Semple, the city council has reviewed the data from the safe sleep sites and has discerned a high success rate of unhoused to housed. An average of 25% of safe sleep site residents have moved on to acquire stable housing.
“The entire issue of both homelessness and the need for creation of housing across the entire spectrum is definitely a priority for the city, for residents, I think that’s reflected in the decision of council and city leadership,” McIver said. 
Although the decision was unanimous, there were some dissenting votes at the city council meeting. City councilor Mike Clark proposed an analysis and discussion of the larger issue of homelessness in Eugene. 
“It’s hard for me to just extend openly without understanding those implications or having information about what it means or whether or not that’s the wisest way for us to be addressing the horrible issue of homelessness in our community,” Clark said. 
Although there was some concern over the costs for the renewal of the safe sleep sites, Eugene city councilor Randy Groves said that unhoused Eugene residents and business owners would all be affected without the extension of the safe sleep program. 
“When I took office we had businesses leaving west Eugene because of all the problems that were out there,” Groves said. “I don’t know what the alternative is other than to continue down this path.” 

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Isaac Wasserman

The Sleep Safe site at 310 Garfield St., which opened in October 2021, in Eugene, Oregon, as seen on Oct. 30, 2021. Sleep Safe sites are city owned or leased areas that are legal for people to sleep. (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald)