The non-profit group Neighbors Feeding Neighbors, a faith-based organization, has taken constitutional legal defenses as justification for its lack of permits. The organization, formerly known as Breakfast Brigade, serves the community by providing free meals to people in need. 

In December 2024, NFN was threatened with arrest and citations by the Eugene Police Department for operating without a permit. NFN has continued to serve meals despite not having the permits to do so. 

According to Marion Suitor Barnes, Public Affairs Manager with the City of Eugene, the permits NFN applied for were appealed and subsequently denied in September 2024. The permits would have permitted them to serve food in the southern part of Washington-Jefferson Park. 

“There is some pretty decent legal precedent for the fact that serving the hungry as an expression of your faith is something supported by the First Amendment,” Board President for NFN, Lisa Levsen, said.

NFN’s primary defense lies in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which refers to the freedom of speech. NFN has also used Article I sections 2, 3 and 26 of the Oregon constitution, which relate to freedom of freedom of worship, religious opinion and to assemble in a peaceful manner for the common good. 

NFN announced during its press conference on Jan. 28 that it would continue to serve meals at Washington Jefferson Park through the constitutional rights it claims and through the representation of attorney Matthew Watkins.

In a legal letter sent to city officials, including Mayor Kaarin Knudson, Watkins stated, “In performing its work, NFN and other members of the community assemble together in a peaceable manner to consult for their common good. NFN believes that by feeding the needy, its members are engaging in their natural right to worship the Almighty, according to the dictates of their own consciences.”

Watkins added, “If the city continues its current attempts to limit, restrict or prohibit NFN’s performance of its mission, the organization intends to use every legal tool at its disposal to seek relief from the city’s actions.” 

According to Levsen, EPD has stationed “guardian trailers” in Washington Jefferson Park since December 2024 to survey the area where NFN serves its meals. 

Melinda McLaughlin, EPD’s public information director, stated in an email that “guardian trailers” with cameras are placed when there are issues, neighborhood complaints, concerns or if the area is determined to need attention through data collection. 

McLaughlin stated that EPD did not have any new information to share about future enforcement activity regarding NFN. 

“I’m always nice to the guardians,” Levsen said. “Matt referenced the harassment of not only the police circling the blocks while we were doing our press conference, there were four police cars that circled the blocks filming us, as well as the guardian trailer filming us.”

Levsen said the day after Watkins acknowledged EPD’s presence, which she described as “troubling,” the guardian trailer was removed from the area and NFN hasn’t seen it since. 

Levsen said NFN not having proper permits was due to miscommunications with city officials regarding NFN not having certificates of insurance, despite their attempts to obtain them. Levsen said she attempted to appeal the permit, but was denied in September 2024.

According to Levsen, the response from the city was to make NFN pay for a permit which would cost over $75 per day, which would amount to over $15,000 per year for the four days they serve food each week. 

“We don’t raise that much money as a nonprofit. Maybe we can this year because we are fundraising, but we have never raised more than, I don’t know, $8,000 in a year,” Levsen said. 

Watkins’ letter ended with a statement that NFN is “no longer willing to compromise its constitutional rights in order to placate the city.”

The post Local non-profit Neighbors Feeding Neighbors continues to serve meals without permits appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Greenhill Humane Society and leadership from a non-profit organization, Carry it Forward, are calling for more services for unhoused people and their pets.

CIF helps people experiencing homelessness with pets at their Tom Campbell Safe Sleep Site, at 175 Commons Drive, a pallet shelter for people with special needs. 

Greenhill Humane Society connects with people and pets experiencing homelessness through programs like their pet food bank, where individuals with financial needs can come to get food for their pets and when pets get separated from their owners.

“Carry it Forward works closely with the city of Eugene, which sponsors vet clinics at our camps, providing basic health check-ups, vaccinations, wound care and scheduling for spay and neuter,” Arwen Maas-DeSpain, assistant director at CIF, said. “But, I would like to see more pop-up clinics in high-traffic areas and camps.” 

According to Maas-DeSpain, unhoused pets are more at risk for illnesses like parvovirus, a disease with a high mortality rate, getting stolen and separated from their owners. 

Owners are often separated from their pets when they are arrested or removed from an encampment. Maas-DeSpain and Executive Director Kris McAllister said they encountered a situation where they found a dead dog in a car after their owner was arrested and separated. 

Rod Grissom has been unhoused in Eugene for 15 years since moving from California. His dog, Frederick, sleeps with him in his truck or in a tent when Grissom wants to sleep outside. 

“Fred needs me,” Grissom said. “I would rather have him than some human be my best friend, to tell you the truth.” 

Grissom said that pets provide unhoused people with mental support, keep owners out of trouble and help them “function on a day-to-day basis.” 

“There are a lot of people out here, some of them better as a pet owner than others. Some are short, but for the most part, the dogs all get fed. They get attention,” Grissom said. “I think in a lot of ways, people out here give animals more attention than somebody with a home and a backyard.” 

On cold nights, Grissom said he and Fred sometimes build a fire and “bundle up” together. Grissom gets most of his materials to stay warm from Home Depot and White Bird Clinic, an organization that helps many unhoused individuals with resources and survival materials. 

“Not all people who are experiencing homelessness are irresponsible pet owners and many of them put their pets’ needs before their own,” Community Engagement Manager Kelly Fleischmann said. “The bond between a person and their pet is just as strong as those who are housed, and in some instances, unhoused individuals actually spend more time with their pets.”

Fleischmann said Greenhill’s goal is to ensure that people and their pets stay together. To do this, workers at Greenhill have to make sure there is enough room in their cattery, kennel, fosters and Crisis Care Boarding, which helps people in crisis or in need of emergency health care to have a place to temporarily board their pets. 

“Many unhoused (individuals’) pets are incredibly well cared for,” Fleischmann said. “But it’s not to say that they’re still needing additional support.” 

Some of the most common health issues she sees with unhoused pets are matted hair, flea treatments, dental care, long nails and vaccinations. 

Fleischmann said she would like to see places where people experiencing homelessness can take their pets for vaccinations and medical care. She also thinks these services should be brought to them in the event that people cannot get to Greenhill, since many travel by foot or bike. 

Fleischmann said there needs to be a call to action for the community and wants to see more pet-friendly homeless shelters and donation services for pet food and essentials.

“Unhoused people often get pets for emotional and mental health,” Maas-DeSpain said. “Some animals have been trained to be service animals. To have and care for an animal is very humanizing.”

The post Greenhill and Carry It Forward call for more services for unhoused pet resources appeared first on Daily Emerald.

The first time Georgia Quinn encountered an unhoused person was when she was six years old and living in Arkansas. She now believes what her mother said about the man, that he came from a wealthy home, was to teach her a lesson that anyone could end up in his position. 

Quinn has worked as White Bird Front Room volunteer coordinator since August 2023 and although she is no longer clocking in for work, she is still technically employed. Quinn has dedicated a part of her life to helping the unhoused community and still continues to feel anxious about what will happen to White Birds’ remaining services after WBFR closed in December 2024.

“I look at pictures sometimes and it’s heartbreaking to think that that place isn’t there anymore,” Quinn said. “I’ve never had a big family. I feel like a lot of us are traumatized people for lack of a better term. We come to this work even if we haven’t been houseless because we’ve been through some hard sh—.” 

Quinn sat in her living room dressed in all black, wearing a WBFR T-shirt. She flipped her red hair back with her long maroon nails as her black cat, Bruce, rested on his heating pad beside her.

Quinn came from a liberal lower-middle class family in Arkansas. It was just her parents, her sister and herself. Years later, from 2019 to 2020, she found herself experiencing homelessness just like those she helped while working at WB later in life.

“I am very well aware that I have gotten lucky in terms of that,” Quinn said. “It’s always been luck and privilege that has kept me from sleeping on the street.”

Quinn said that while she was living in Paris as an au pair in 2019, she became unhoused after the family’s home underwent renovations and they asked her to leave. When Quinn was able to get back to the United States, she was unhoused again in Colorado. 

Quinn said that experience has helped her understand the unhoused community. 

“All of a sudden, I was like ‘oh sh—, no wonder I like doing this work.’ I actually have been houseless before,” Quinn said. 

Quinn said the closure of WBFR has been difficult to navigate and still feels anxiety and stress when thinking about the potential future for WB and its other programs.

“I had the nice side of not technically being in front rooms. I was in administrative work. I didn’t have the fear of losing my severance if I said the wrong thing,” Quinn said. 

Quinn looked down as tears welled up in her eyes as she shared some of her favorite moments working for WB. 

“It’s really hard when you know certain clients are really vulnerable. I was going to go run some errands and I saw them in a nice warm, safe space, just in passing by,” Quinn said. “It’s so nice to be able to see, even if I can’t say hi, just to glance and be like, ‘thank God.’” 

The post Georgia Quinn’s Fight for the unhoused appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Joshua Frank walked into Espresso Roma cafe feeling nervous, knowing he was about to relive parts of his life for an interview. Not long ago, he lived on the street in the same neighborhood struggling with addiction and homelessness. 

Frank lived homeless since he was 17 years old and recently became housed in September 2023 after a series of drug relapses and run-ins with the court system. Frank now goes by the stage name Yoda MC. He uses his story to inspire people who struggle with addiction and homelessness.

“I’ve always been into music and I’ve been writing since I was like 15, but it was just something to pass the time when you don’t know what you’re doing with your life,” Frank said. 

Frank wore a beanie, a shirt with a logo for his business, Lion in the Lamb Entertainment, and a backpack. His mustache was in a state of regrowing into its signature walrus-handlebar style. 

Frank spends most of his time working, writing lyrics and sometimes going to the University of Oregon to rap for students. Frank owns LITLE as a business and has a number of videos on his Instagram account. 

When Frank was homeless in Salem, Oregon, he panhandled and saved money to hire a professional videographer to film a music video for his song, “Red Water.”

Frank grew up in Fontana, California. His mother was religious and did “anything” to get him “out of her hair.” When Frank was 16 years old, his father died and his mother sent him to a rehab facility in Utah. 

“I drank a lot with my dad before he died, and I just kept drinking,” Frank said. 

The first shot of whiskey Frank took was with his father and uncle at the age of 11. His uncle committed suicide after suffering heroin withdrawals and his father died shortly after.

“That was an important detail of what led me always running to f—g drugs and alcohol,” Frank said.

At the age of 23, Frank hitchhiked back and forth from California to Washington and Idaho. Frank said he had no hope or motivation during this time. 

“I knew I was good at music, but I had no direction for it,” Frank said. “I would meditate on how I could contribute to bettering things, and I would go crazy because you can’t. Everywhere you go there’s a giant reminder of how f—ed everything is.” 

Frank experienced multiple relapses and times when he would use drugs with the intention of taking his own life.

“I was to the point where I was hallucinating,” Frank said. “I would hear voices say ‘you have a gift that was given to you and you are murdering it.’”

Frank said the voices told him to pop his eardrums with his fingers. 

“I was thinking, ‘oh my God, I’m going to be in hell forever because I am never going to be able to hear music,’” Frank said. 

In 2023, Frank was accepted into the Oxford House program, a sober-living home.

Frank became overcome with emotion as he recalled the day he learned that he would finally have a home. 

“One of the goals with my music and my business career is to create a program in which you can inspire homeless people with your story,” Frank said. 

Some of the songs he wrote focused on the topic of inspiring others. One of his most recent releases, “Mr. Good Mourning,” is a message to one of his friends who told him his story of getting sober and housed inspired him to do the same. 

These days, Frank often gets lunch at Qdoba on East 13th Avenue where the employees recognize him from the days he used to camp near UO. He says he’s on a low-carb diet, and when he walks up to order a bowl of meat and cheese the workers greet him as if they are long-time friends. 

“I hope what we get out of this is more people wanting to go to an Oxford house, wanting to get sober and wanting to get off the streets,” Frank said.

On campus, the University Health Services provides free counseling for anyone and an After-Hours Support and Crisis Line at 541-346-3227.

The post MC Yoda uses music to help others appeared first on Daily Emerald.

A local advocacy and outreach organization claims the city’s alleged ongoing response to people experiencing homelessness is against their cold weather policy. Advocates claim authorities have slashed tents and destroyed belongings. 

Volunteers from Black Thistle Street Aid, a nonprofit that provides services to people experiencing homelessness, have been speaking out about city workers and the Eugene Police Department’s alleged “violations” against their cold weather policy. 

“None of these people were committing any crimes besides simply existing in a city that doesn’t make it legal for them to exist. If you don’t have housing, that’s the biggest crime, really,” BTSA Co-Director Bridgette Butler said. 

BTSA’s volunteer teams conduct outreach services every Wednesday. Butler said that in the past two weeks, they have heard multiple reports from people experiencing homelessness of sweeps during freezing weather. 

BTSA encountered one person who was experiencing symptoms of frostbite. Butler said this person was at an encampment where EPD visited hours earlier for eviction and “slashed” tents and destroyed unhoused campers’ property. 

According to EPD Public Information Officer Melinda McLaughlin, authorities are not typically involved in the clean-up of tents, but their presence is to deal with safety or criminal enforcement. If they encounter biohazards or substances that can harm people, they will get involved and cut the tent. 

According to Amber Allan, housing and homeless communication manager for the City of Eugene, the current cold weather protocol states that during extreme cold weather, “the City of Eugene may pause or otherwise alter its process for assessing reports of unsanctioned camping in public spaces.” 

Extreme cold temperatures are defined as at or below 32 degrees that persist for more than four hours. 

Allan said cold weather protocols do not stand when a person is camping on private property. 

“It didn’t use to have all those details, but they basically made it one giant loophole where they can keep sweeping people regardless of weather,” Butler said. 

Current Oregon law states that unclaimed personal property after sweeps must “be stored” unless they have been deemed to have no “apparent value or utility or are in an unsanitary condition.” Items that are stored are kept in storage for a minimum of 30 days.

“That’s not the first instance of tents being slashed by EPD that we’ve heard,” Butler said. “Last Wednesday the other team, the ones that saw the sweeps, talked to a person earlier that day who also said his tent was slashed.” 

Butler said there was a change in the language of the city’s cold weather policy which used to state the city would not “post unsanctioned camps with removal notices” or “remove campsites previously posted.” 

Jason Davis, Lane County’s Health and Human Services Communications Director, said he was aware of the change, but the only thing that changed was the “formatting.” Davis said if the city changed the main criteria for the protocol, the county and HHS would have been notified.

“We plan to continue to be a thorn in their side,” Butler said. “Slashing tents in general should not be a practice of police, but most especially in evenings and freezing temperatures when to do so is potentially deadly and a person has no chance of replacing the item.” 

The Daily Emerald attempted to contact those whose tents were allegedly slashed but was unsuccessful in reaching them due to their lack of a phone or other contact method.

The post Homeless advocates allege EPD sweeps during freezing weather despite city policy appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Hundreds of people gathered this morning to march in solidarity and celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The annual event was organized and facilitated by the Eugene-Springfield National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 

The NAACP is one of the largest civil rights organizations in the United States. One of the primary causes it champions is the equal treatment of people of color and educating the public about the effects of racial discrimination. 

“It means the struggle is as old as the nation, and it’s not over yet,” Eugene-Springfield NAACP President Emeritus Charles Dalton said. “We have yet to achieve liberty and justice for all and equal protection under the law. So we have work to do.” 

Before the march commenced, members of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP, including Dalton, welcomed the crowd and discussed the impact of Luther King’s legacy. Clouds of breath were visible in the 31-degree weather as the audience observed and reacted by cheering for speakers on stage. 

“I am really happy about the turnout,” Andiel Brown, assistant director of operations at Eugene-Springfield NAACP, said. “It’s very cold, but yet people still bundled up and came out.”

Speakers quoted Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and discussed American exceptionalism and how to create a spirit of justice and equality in Eugene.

The march began at approximately 10 a.m. at Autzen Stadium, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, weaved through Coburg Road and ended at the Shedd Institute on East Broadway. Eugene Police Department was present to ensure the safety of the march as it progressed through downtown.

Community member Jazzmen Manning, Eugene resident since 1999, has never missed a march. Manning said the event was a way of “honoring” her ancestors and elders. 

Manning expressed some concern over President Donald J. Trump (who had been inaugurated as the 47th president a mere hour earlier) and said she hopes the community stays “unified and not dispersed.”

“We have a small Black community here, and I feel like we need support,” Manning said. “It’s important for us to come together and say we’re here and we’re not going anywhere. We’re raising our families here. We’re building our businesses and we need the same support as bigger communities.” 

According to the 2020 United States census, the Eugene population is 78% white. To some attendees, the disparities have not gone unnoticed and have caused contention in the past. 

“I think Eugene, as far as handling social issues, it can be a hit or miss,” Brown said. 

Brown said he thinks the city is making a “concerted effort to change the narrative of the history” of how people in Eugene treated “non-white people in the past.” 

Once at the Shedd Institute, attendees gathered inside the building awaiting the celebration that ran from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

“We have too many lies that pass for truth, and we have to get honest,” Dalton said. “We’re not there yet but we can still make it. It’s a multi-generational job. No one generation is going to straighten this out. Lord knows, I try.” 

The Junior League of Eugene hosted a speaker event on Jan. 6 at Capitello Wines to discuss anti-trafficking awareness. 

The JLE is a non-profit women’s advocacy group that promotes social change in the community. It is an international group with locations primarily throughout the United States and Canada. 

“This month is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, so it made sense to do a training focused on that issue,” JLE Chair of Training and Events Committee Kristin Michalowski said. 

Lane Transit District’s Community Resource Liaison Sarah Koski and rural-area trafficking expert Marion Pearson gave a presentation about topics that included elements of trafficking, local efforts being made to combat the issue and recent local trafficking and sexual assault cases. 

“Any time we can provide a helping hand, I am all about it. Task forces cannot do it alone. The more we spread this information, it can only benefit a community,” Pearson said. 

Pearson works primarily in Douglas County and rarely educates in other areas. Koski said she saw an opportunity to bring the information to the junior league and convened Pearson with JLE which holds anti-trafficking as one of the top issues it champions.

“It is an issue that people don’t like to look at closely because it’s uncomfortable,” Michalowski said. 

According to Pearson, some of the most vulnerable to trafficking or sexual assault are children, women and young people. In Eugene, this means college students are at risk for trafficking or sexual “indecencies.”

“A vast urban area with an influx of people that come in, things like sex trafficking can occur when Duck games are happening. Any sort of large community event can bring in traffickers,” Pearson said. 

Pearson’s presentation examined stories of local perpetrators of sexual misconduct and trafficking that occurred within the last five years. According to Pearson, the last time she encountered a trafficking case was in November 2024. 

Pearson said she encounters and addresses a trafficking case every few months, including other forms of trafficking such as labor trafficking. The partnering police task forces she works with encounter cases far more regularly. 

Other communities at risk for trafficking are people experiencing homelessness. 

“There is a high sexual assault possibility within the homeless situations, from people who are unsheltered and people who are not,” Pearson said. “You would never expect that someone would go to these homeless encampments just to rape or abuse other people and get away with it in our county.” 

Several actions are being taken to combat trafficking in Lane County, although Pearson and Koski declined to publicly announce what those will be. 

“There are so many opportunities in Eugene to make an impact,” Pearson said. “There’s not a lot of places for people to go, especially youth. I’d like to see some sort of comprehensive plan to raise awareness.” 

White Bird Clinic is bringing portable mobile charging stations to homeless encampments in 2025. 

Representatives from White Bird Clinic and Wrico Generators met in October to discuss the engineering, funding and possible locations for charging stations. 

White Bird Clinic, whose website states their mission to be helping people “gain control of their social, emotional, and physical wellbeing,” was convened with Wrico Generators through Sarah Koski, homelessness and community resource liaison for Lane Transit District. 

“Our ability to go out and engage folks in camps, getting them connected to mainstream service is really critical in terms of access,” Mike Yoshioka, director of programs at White Bird, said. “Having this device will allow us to further that vision and values of bringing services to folks so we can have a better impact on them.” 

The program is currently in the works as no prototypes have been built, but there are concepts of what the charging stations would look like. 

Hogon Mulgrave, president of Wrico Generators, envisions charging stations equipped with a portable generator capable of storing 10 hours of battery life. Mulgrave said generators must be light enough for bike transport and recurring replacement when power runs out. 

Mulgrave said he is waiting for leadership from White Bird to dictate what direction to drive the program in. Funding sources have yet to be established.

“We have a concept now and the concept is simple,” Mulgrave said. “But there needs to be a call for action to all the stakeholders in the city and the county.”

White Bird is contracted with the city of Eugene and the fire department for their nationally acclaimed Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets program, or CAHOOTS. For White Bird to get funding from the city, City Councilor Lyndsie Leech said they may consider negotiating their contract to include the charging stations to get funding. 

“Right now we are just exploring it and trying to figure out the cost point for that asset. Then once we have it we’ll probably go and look at our community donors to sponsor that,” Yoshioka said. 

An issue in the homeless community has been and continues to be finding viable ways to charge phones. Phones for unhoused people represent autonomy and connection to the world. Without phones, those individuals may risk missing health appointments and other vital, potentially life-saving resources. 

“It can be stressful,” Jim, a man experiencing homelessness who also goes by the name Cowboy, said. “The people I talk to worry about me and I am not able to connect with some people to make money. I miss appointments because I don’t have something to keep time with.” 

Jim reflected on encampment sweeps and phones’ essential role in communication between other unhoused campers. When a sweep is underway, phones leverage communication with others affected to keep their belongings that would otherwise be stored or thrown away by city workers. 

Yoshioka said outreach workers at White Bird communicate with the city, county and property owners to locate and assess the needs of each encampment. 

Leadership at White Bird announced the closure of its Front Rooms department on Nov. 21. However, Yoshioka said the charging stations program will not be affected by the closure. 

“We’re really trying to insulate other services as much as we can,” Yoshioka said. “We want to keep striving to be the best we can and striving for excellence in terms of service delivery.” 

The Eugene Police Department is threatening the non-profit Neighbors Feeding Neighbors, a service to the unhoused previously called Breakfast Brigade, with arrest and citations due to “permit violations.” 

According to Lisa Levsen an NFN board member, NFN’s permits were expired. 

The nonprofit was met by police on Dec. 5 while volunteers served meals to the community at Washington Jefferson Park.

According to EPD Public Information Officer, Melinda McLaughlin, the reason for the police interaction was because of the permit violations and NFN’s failure to comply with event requirements in the park. 

“They have refused to work with the city for alternative locations, lost their appeal in court for the permit, are blocking the sidewalk and are violating park rules,” McLaughlin said. 

Volunteers from NFN said they will continue to serve food to the unhoused, despite the warning from authorities. 

“We are not going to stop serving, but if they want to arrest us, we will go to jail if we need to,” Levsen said. “We have been serving for over 10 years and we’re not going to stop.” 

According to McLaughlin, special use permits provide “critical” information to the city about the potential impact on traffic, trash, sprinkler schedules and other events in the area. 

Levsen said that there were “minor” reasons why the permits expired such as miscommunications with city officials. NFN was asked for certification of insurance which included the entirety of WJ Park.

Levsen said the permit was denied because a financial sponsor did not respond back with the certificate within the allotted time. 

According to Levsen, the original permit price of $40 per month was raised to $40 per day. 

Levsen said NFN will be going back to the city council to contest the fees.

“We are at the center of Eugene where there are no other food services,” Levsen said. “They [EPD] like to drive the homeless out to Highway 99 and there are places there, but in the center of Eugene, there’s no other place that is under cover.”

Diana Estrada, a volunteer for NFN, was at WJ Park and said she felt “really bothered” about the police encounter on Dec. 5. 

“We are giving the best that we can to the people that are hungry, that are living and dying on the streets, that we don’t hear about because local papers don’t post,” Estrada said. “Why are police draining money, wasting their time here, when all they’re doing is eating?” 

According to Levsen, NFN serves around 1,000 meals to 500 people per week. 

City Councilwoman Emily Semple was walking her dog at the neighboring dog park when she came across the event. 

“We have very warm hearts, but we also have to have warm hearts for the businesses and the people who get inundated, because it’s a vital service and an attractive nuisance. It’s a really difficult time to figure out,” Semple said.

On Nov. 21 White Bird Clinic leadership announced the closure of its Front Rooms department after apparent budget cuts.

WBC Front Rooms was one of the primary resources for people who cannot access mainstream services, many of which are unhoused. Workers in the Front Rooms provide mail services, food, water, referrals to service providers, hygiene supplies and cold weather gear. 

The closure comes after the announcement that some funding from PacificSource is set to “expire” soon. According to Mike Yoshioka, director of programs at WBC, the PacificSource funding amounted to $1.8 million.

“The PacificSource Per Member Per Month funding, a cornerstone of our budget and accounts for over 20% of our revenue, will expire on Dec. 31,” the press release stated.

Although the announcement was officially made by leadership on Nov. 21, workers have known about the imminent closure since Nov. 13. 

Krysta Delfino resigned from White Bird’s Nest Department the day after leadership made the announcement and subsequently sent a press release on Nov. 18.

The press release stated, “The decision has come as a shocking surprise to Front Rooms employees as there was no previous indication of impending closure.” 

Some workers in Front Rooms have expressed concerns over the closure and what will happen next.

“A lot of changes have happened around the clinic in the past few years that made us feel uncertain around the workplace,” Delfino said. “The workers feel that management might not understand what it means to work in the front rooms and how difficult the training is.” 

Delfino said that Front Room workers function as crisis workers and receptionists, and that they also provide information, triage and give out survival supplies to people in need. 

“Who is going to train the new people, and where are these services going to go?” Delfino said. 

Delfino also said that workers who rely on rental assistance remain uncertain about what WB will provide in lieu of layoffs. 

In the days leading up to the announcement of the Front Rooms closure, Delfino said WB leadership kept the Front Rooms closure a “secret.”

The work environment was primarily democratic with a “consensus-based model,” where WBC workers from different departments would collaborate to make decisions for the company. Delfino said leadership stripped their ability to be a decision-making body, ultimately leading her to resign. 

“Instead of trying to improve it or try to put forward a different type of democratic decision-making, management told us we would no longer have the ability to be a decision-making body,” Delfino said. 

Delfino said it was a “big blow” to have the closure passed without a democratic consensus. 

“The decision was made to take action that would have less harm on the rest of the organization,” Yoshioka said in response.

The closure has been met with disapproval from community members and Front Room workers. A post made by the WB Front Rooms and NEST Union on Instagram was commented on by a number of users expressing their upset over the closure. 

Clients have also expressed concern about resources that will potentially be impacted by the closure. 

Yoshioka said there will still be mail, food, and “other service operations” available at 341 E. 12th Avenue, the old Front Rooms department building. The difference is there will be a reduction in the hours of operation. 

White Bird Clinic Front Rooms has been operating since February 1970.