A community forum is planned to better understand homelessness in Central Oregon.
DATE: Tuesday, March 03, 2026
TIME: 5:00 – 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Westside Church, 2051 NW Shevlin Park Road, Bend, Oregon
PROGRAM: The Forum seeks to help people better understand the complex experience of being homeless, developing greater empathy for people who are experiencing homelessness and support for those who are working to solve these issues. This is the second year that the Central Oregon Homelessness Alliance has organized this event and has a special focus on the issues and solutions unique to Central Oregon.
From 5:00-6:00 p.m. there will be an opportunity for the public to speak with staff from forty agencies working to address homelessness. Attendees will be able to tour mobile outreach vans from Mosaic Medical, Shepherd’s House, and the COIC Workforce team.
From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. a moderated program will review how things have changed in the past year for our homeless population, as well as preliminary data from the local Point-In-Time (PIT) count. This will be followed by a panel discussion including two individuals with lived experience being homeless, Dr. Josh Reiher from Mosaic Medical’s street medicine program, and Jezza Neumann who produced the documentary “Born Poor” and is currently working on a second documentary about homeless families.
Finally, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. attendees will be encouraged to revisit agency booths, continuing the conversation, and learning how they can contribute to alleviating homelessness in our community.
SPONSORED BY: The Central Oregon Homelessness Alliance, Westside Church, Mountain View Community Development, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon, and Bend Church Open Door Ministries.
RSVP: Requested but not required; sign up using the following link or QR code: www.com homelessness alliance.org.
