TELL US YOUR HOUSING STORY: Rick, Executive Director of Mountain View Community Development

We hear countless stories every day of our friends, neighbors, and community members struggling to afford homes in Central Oregon. Today, we hear from Rick Russell, Executive Director of Mountain View Community Development, who shares a story about John, a community member who has struggled to find affordable housing after aging out of the workforce.

My name is Rick Russell, and I lead a sheltering and housing program through Mountain View Community Development in Redmond and Bend.

I want to tell you a story of John. John has been in our program living in an RV for about two years now, waiting on housing list so he can find a place to call home.

He was a contractor in our community for decades, a painter climbing up and down ladders until his body couldn't do that anymore.

Then he became an in-home care provider, until his last patient, his last client, passed away. And then he lost his housing, too.

We need places for people like John - and other older people in our community - who have aged out of the workforce but they need a place to call home that isn't free, but a place that they can afford. That's why I’m a part of Partners for Affordable Housing, and I hope you will be too.

We need more housing for our professional workforce, more housing for our labor and service industry community, more housing for people who have aged out of our workforce.

Until we address that, we have people stuck in places that are not meant for long-term human habitation. I hope you'll join this work.

We would love to hear about your experience with finding and affording housing in Central Oregon. Telling real stories supports our vision to educate the public and our elected leaders on bold solutions that increase housing supply and lower housing costs in Central Oregon.

Please fill out the form below and we will reach out to coordinate on telling your story on social media and in outreach campaigns.

Tell us your housing story