Safe Spot Community member, Elena. |
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Community Supported Shelters
CSS's Monthly eNewsletter for Volunteers, Advocates, & Donors
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Community Supported Shelters has faced our own set of challenges during the worldwide upheavals of the last few years. Our rapid expansion caused growing pains, but with that growth came new opportunities. Over the last few months, as construction on new sites has slowed and we increased occupancy at our Safe Spots, we’ve had the opportunity to take stock of who we are as an organization. At the heart of everything we do is the sense of community; it’s in our name, it’s in our mission, and it’s the driving force behind why CSS was created in the first place. The sense of trust, belonging, and safety, as well as our overarching goal of caring for each other is why our Safe Spot Communities work. Being a part of CSS not only creates a sense of belonging, but also emphasizes that what we do every day matters.
Being community-led isn’t about who is in charge, or even why. It’s about how we work together. We find that the process through which people come together, how they are engaged, treated, and made to feel is more important than who leads or manages. Working this way fosters a sense of ownership and mutual accountability. We are excited to announce that our organization has departed from the traditional top-down executive leadership structure to a shared leadership model. Instead of one executive director, CSS now has three co-directors:
Erik de Buhr, Director of Operations, will lead internal organizational development, personnel management, organization-wide budgeting, and financial accountability.
Karissa Moden, Director of Community Impact, will lead internal relationship-building, culture creation, program operation, mentoring, and conflict resolution.
Heather Quaas-Annsa, Director of Philanthropy, will lead fundraising and communications strategy, public relations, grants and contracts management, and donor stewardship.
Transitioning to this new structure takes time! For these staff members to make time for new responsibilities, we have to reorganize and hire new staff to maintain a healthy work/life balance for everyone. The benefits of this new structure far outweigh the growing pains we’re facing. A shared sense of purpose, investment in the organization’s direction, opportunities for team and individual growth, and stronger efficiencies in operation will create lasting success for CSS. We are so excited to share this new chapter with you and are committed to continuing to learn out loud.
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Erik de Buhr, Karissa Moden, Heather Quaas-Annsa |
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Becoming a “Legal Human”:
Elena Mulroney’s Quest for ID
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Elena Mulroney's hard-won Oregon ID. |
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Elena Mulroney’s identification papers went up in flames in a California wildfire. That has made her life very difficult ever since.
Elena, 35, was born in Australia but her father was American, making her an American citizen. She grew up in Romania before coming to the United States to attend Columbia University. Her travels eventually brought her to Eugene where she was living outside in an open field near some friends’ house. As the end of last summer approached, her friends suggested she find better shelter. She moved into a Hut in the CSS Lot 9 Safe Spot in August—still with no identification.
“I'm stuck here without any identification,” she said last October. “And this is very difficult because of the distance from where I am from. If I can't find any identification, I can’t, of course, be a legal human in the world and be working again.”
The lack of identification papers and the challenge of acquiring new documentation is a common and daunting problem for people experiencing homelessness.
“It’s a very common problem,” says Elle Love, who met Elena very early in her time as a CSS Service Navigator and would spend months helping her acquire ID. “When you've lived on the streets or when you’ve lived in your vehicle, when you've had some sort of traumatic event that's put you in a situation where you need to be in a shelter program, it's really easy to lose identification. If you're living in a camp and a camp gets swept, you can lose all your belongings. There's lots of opportunities for you to have your identification either lost or stolen. It happens to people all the time.
“People who have more privilege and more stability in their lives don't experience that as much of a loss: ‘Oh no, I lost my ID or my wallet got stolen. Okay, I'll just take all the documents I do have. I'll have my birth certificate, or whatever I have, and take it and get a new one. I'll have to sit at the DMV and that'll suck but then it'll be over.’ It's not like I have nothing to show, which is a totally different reality that I think I didn't even have a full grasp of until after going through this process with Elena.
“When you don't have any form of ID, it's really difficult to get one form of ID.”
The lack of ID creates major barriers to people trying to rebuild their lives: they can’t work, get housing, travel, or access many social services.
“Life cannot move forward until I have some form of identification,” Elena said last fall. “I need to get identification in order to get paid, to live and work as a human in this nation.”
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Spotlight On Our Volunteers and Staff |
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Devin Jenkins Brings a Heritage of Empathy and Compassion to CSS Board |
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Many CSS volunteers work behind the scenes to help keep this community-based nonprofit moving forward. Serving as a CSS board member is one way to help bring constructive oversight and vision to the organization.
Devin Jenkins has served two years on the CSS board and is currently the board president. He brings a broad understanding of what is needed to maintain strong, community-based opportunities for people facing challenges that come with living without a place to call home.
The CSS board supports the three-person administrative directors team to help guide the organization towards its short- and long-term goals.
“I have a real passion for a community-based model helping people, and CSS does this in a pretty amazing way,” Devin says. “This organization is a model for building collaboration and using resources in a cost-effective way.
“We’re not heavy with administrative expenses. That allows us to stretch our funding to make the most of everything that comes to CSS. Most funding comes from our donor base, and lately the City has stepped up to support the recent expansion of Huts and Safe Spots in 2021.
“We’re very grateful for that support from both private and public contributions.”
Devin brings a unique perspective to the CSS board from his work at Laurel Hill Center, where he is director of facilities and housing programs.
Laurel Hill serves people with social, emotional, and cognitive challenges. One of its programs provides low-income housing for eligible people. The wait list to move into a Laurel Hill apartment or living unit is very lengthy. He understands very well the uphill challenges many people face in securing safe housing.
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Giving Gratitude to Our Supporters |
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Thank you to our Facebook followers and supporters who have recently held birthday fundraisers for CSS:
Sree Thakkun
Lauri Watkins
Heather Quaas-Annsa
Mariah Acton
Amy Perdue Burrows
Jim Hukari
Combined, these folks raised over $1700 through Facebook Birthday Fundraisers. Wow!
It’s easy to create your own fundraiser on the platform. There are no transaction fees or charges for nonprofits, which means 100% of the donations you raise through your social network will go directly to fund our work. What a great way to celebrate your special day. Just visit the link below, choose a goal, and share with your friends to invite them to donate.
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Support Worker
Supports our clients by routinely visiting CSS Safe Spot Communities, building trusting relationships & modelling positive social skills with new/existing community members. Helps set a social tone that is aligned with organizational values and expectations, while helping clients transition from street life to community life.
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Kitchen Coordinator
To service the Safe Spot community kitchens while building partnerships with clients interested in the kitchen and community food needs. The primary goal is to expand Safe Spot clients’ food resources, create potential for shared community meals, and support clients in building skills related to cooking and maintaining a clean and organized kitchen.
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Community Support Specialist
Supports the general public as they reach out to learn more about CSS’s programs, services, and needs. Helps internal communication by providing relevant and helpful connective communication between staff and departments.
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Cotton twin sheet sets like these are a year-round need. 100% cotton sheets are ideal, but if you find clean cotton sheets in good condition at local thrift stores, those are also welcome. Please contact headquarters by calling 541-683-0836 Monday through Friday between 1 pm and 4 pm to coordinate drop-off.
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Batteries and Storage Bins |
Please consider ordering from our Amazon Wishlist for these specific items, and others! |
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Leave your mark on the future.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Do you want to make a significant gift that will transform the work of Community Supported Shelters for generations to come?
You can do it today - with a legacy gift through your will.
- Costs you nothing during your lifetime.
- Can be changed or revoked as needed.
- Preserves your savings and cash flow.
- Allows you to be far more generous than you ever thought possible.
- Easy to arrange. A simple paragraph added to your will is all it takes.
For more information about this and other planned giving opportunities, contact:
Heather M. Quaas-Annsa, CFRE
Director of Philanthropy
541-514-9335
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Safe Spot Laundry Volunteer
We will be looking for volunteers to support our Safe Spots in continuing to have Laundry Services. We will be looking for volunteers to help pick up and drop off laundry for each of our Communities on a monthly basis.
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Shower Steward Volunteer
We are looking for more support around our shower program. This will include tasks such as supporting our shower steward in keeping up our clothing closet, keeping the space sanitized and prepared for the next person, as well as being a friendly face to connect with.
If interested in volunteering for either of the positions above, please reach out to our Director of Community Impact, Karissa, at karissa.csseugene@gmail.com for more information. |
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Newsletter Volunteer
Do you enjoy meeting with people and learning their stories? We're looking for someone who likes to engage with folks and write to join our newsletter team. If this sounds interesting to you, please email pujita.csseugene@gmail.com. |
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Community Supported Shelters is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
(EIN #: 46-2377054). All donations made to CSS are tax-deductible.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
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