FBC First Step Village

What Are Those Cabins In Our Parking Lot? How First B Is Helping Families With The First Step Toward Permanent Housing

Caring for young kids while holding down a job can be a challenge for anybody. But imagine how hard it would be while sleeping in your car.

The combination of the recent pandemic and high housing costs in Eugene/Springfield has led to a rise in the number of “unhoused” families. Even when they qualify for subsidized housing, the wait can be weeks or even months.

That’s where the FBC First Step Village comes in. Our seven unit mini-camp provides safe, warm housing for families while they wait to move into a permanent apartment. (Other mini-camp sites throughout our community run by Square One Villages also provide cabins for singles.)

A Safe, Temporary Place For Families
Local non-profit Square One Villages is providing the pallet shelters and site management. We’re providing electricty, water, and a corner of our parking lot. And our own Tom and Betty Berglund serve as our connection with the families.

The cabins are designed to be highly efficient tiny homes with fold-up beds, heat, and air conditioning. The residents use two portable toilets and share a covered cooking area. To ensure the safety and privacy of our guests, the village is surrounded by a fence.

At night the families stay in the cabins. During the day most of them are at work, in school, or in job training programs. They end up staying anywhere from a few weeks to more than a month, depending on their pending housing situation.

How Can I Help?
First of all, know that by your financial support of the First B ministry fund you’re helping to provide the site and infrastructure that makes this mini-camp possible. But there are additional costs involved for the families’ needs that you can help offset by your donations to the First B Cares fund.

The guests need the most helping hands when they move to their new home (usually an apartment). They may need assistance moving and often have little furniture, cooking utensils, cleaning supplies, or other things they need to set up a home. Unfortunately, we don’t have the space at FBC to warehouse furniture donations or other large items. But through our First B Cares fund we’re able to partner with generous local businesses who will allow us to purchase things like beds at a deep discount and deliver them right when they’re needed.

But other needs are always arising.

Stay Informed
Find out what’s happening at the site, how you can be praying for our guests, as well as practical ways to help. Subscribe to our FBC First Step Village email updates. These brief alerts will be sent about once a week and you can unsubscribe at any time.