As Eugene’s unhoused numbers rise, Blake Burrell helps struggling people dream

In the warmth of a late-spring day, in front of the Community Supported Shelters office on Grant Street, Blake Burrell strikes up a conversation with a familiar face. He gives a warm hug and kind words before unlocking the front door to the social service office.

The office is full of resources like clothing, survival items, food and water. The backyard houses a handful of micro-shelter Conestoga Huts and a yurt for community gatherings. Burrell greets residents as he sees them, asking for updates about pets, hobbies, jobs and how their days have been going.

Burrell is a co-executive director at CSS, operating as the director of community impact. Originally from Ohio, he moved to Eugene during the pandemic and started working at St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, focusing on the agency’s social services, shelter and tenant education programs. Driven by what he called an obvious need for more housing access in Lane County, he found his way to CSS in the fall of 2023…

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