Nightingale Hosted Shelters’s mission is to provide temporary shelter and a healthy supportive community for people who are unhoused. NHS is a 501(c)(3) organization.

 

Nightingale Supported Shelters: An Overview

As a part of Eugene’s Rest Stop Program, NHS provides Conestoga huts, port-a-potties, and garbage and recycling at our camp. Our goal is to offer people a transitional place to be and recover from the trauma of the street as they work their way to more traditional housing.

Our management philosophy is self-governance with oversight and a focus on skill building. Self-governance provides residents with autonomy, responsibility, and dignity. Oversight is provided by our two camp managers, the Site Council, and the Steering Committee.

  • Our two camp managers, Nathan Showers and Tracy Joscelyn, have lived experience and relevant skills in social services, advocating for vulnerable populations, counseling, and mediation. They both worked in the food industry: Nathan as a chef at a Best Western kitchen, and Tracy in Food for Lane County’s Dining room. Nathan also holds a culinary arts degree. Both Nathan and Tracy are knowledgeable about food storage and preparation, treatment and handling of water, heating, waste management and illness prevention.
  • The Site Council consists of our two camp managers as well as the residents of the camp. The Site Council addresses challenges that arise at camp on a daily basis.
  • The Steering Committee consists of seven board members and the two camp managers. The Steering Committee raises funds, takes care of legal and administrative matters, and is available for problem solving, support, and mediation.

What makes NHS unique?

  • We have 24/7 onsite, trained, professional, caring, supportive, responsible camp managers with lived experience.
  • We have rules to come into camp, stay in camp, including the need for a plan and a trajectory.
  • There is a sense of community among camp residents through:
    • Weekly camp meetings,
    • Gate duty,
    • Work parties, and
    • Residents working together.
  • Residents are given a YMCA membership and a bus pass, and, through a partnership with DariMart, use the kitty-corner DariMart as a “pantry.”
  • NHS successfully helps transition people off the streets into housing and the community. Since its beginning in 2017, more than 240 NHS residents have moved out of NHS and found adequate housing.
  • We have a strong and committed Board of Directors and are deeply rooted in, and supported by, our Southeast Eugene neighborhood.
  • Located at 34th Alley and Hilyard, we are well positioned for a calm atmosphere and easy access to local businesses and bus routes.