Eugene weekly., November 21, 2019, Page 10, Image 10

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Men’s Center, he adds, has a capacity of 250 beds, up
from 220.
Smyth notes that Eugene Mission typically sees a
reduction of men, women and families using its services
in the warmer summer months. There was, however, only
a tiny drop in guests this past summer. Since Sept. 1, the
shelter has been at capacity. Even the overflow beds are
being used.
It is, Smyth says, “highly unusual” for the shelter to
be this full almost year-round.
The uptick, Eck notes, includes a rise of the elderly
at the shelter, men and women in wheelchairs or with
dementia or tethered to oxygen tanks. “The silver tsu-
nami,” is how Eck describes it.
According to the most recent data in the Annual
Homeless Assessment (AHAR) to Congress in 2016,
almost 67,000 elderly individuals in the U.S. (people age
62 or older), are in shelters. The report further states
that homeless elderly individuals have increased 48.2
percent (21,549 people) between 2007 and 2016.
The Eugene Mission serves everyone with a limited
staff and with a $3.2 million donation-based budget
that, as one Mission staffer puts it, is the “culmination
of 1,000 small checks.”
It is sometimes overwhelming.
“You have to remember to eat lunch,” Eck says.
“It’s hard, it’s scary and it’s sad,” notes Johnna Wheeler,
Women and Children’s Services manager. “But it’s beautiful.”
And well worth it, says Maria Cortez, the shelter’s guest
services program development analyst. “The meaning-
ful connections you make here,” she says of her work.
“They’re at a better place when they leave.”
The transitional aspect of the Eugene Mission, in fact,
may soon come to Sam and Jessica. Sam is searching
for housing through Section 8. Jessica is working with
ShelterCare. Both are hopeful.
“It’s God’s plan,” Sam says. “It’s day to day.”
And they are thankful for Eugene Mission.
“It helps you build yourself,” Jessica says. ■
The Eugene Mission is at 1542 W. First Avenue. For more information
about its services, or to make donations or volunteer, call 541-344-
3251 or go to EugeneMission.org.
Up the
Ranks
SARAH MEDARY TAKES OVER AS
CITY MANAGER PRO TEM
By Taylor Perse
S
arah Medary has been a bit of a polymath
when it comes to working for the city of
Eugene. Now she is adding more to her
public service record in taking on the role
of city manager.
In October, Mayor Lucy Vinis appointed
Medary as the pro tem city manager follow-
ing the resignation of Jon Ruiz, who held the position for
more than 11 years. Although Medary is now temporary
in the role, she is assigned with picking up where Ruiz
left off — addressing homelessness, preparing for the
2021 International Track Championships and working
on building community.
The city will eventually start a formal process for the
selection of the city manager, and Medary says she is
highly interested in staying in the job.
“I wouldn’t have said ‘yes’ to this if I wasn’t interested
in the role,” she says. “I think being in the role, as we get
deeper into the fall, it will become more clear whether
I’m the right fit.”
In the meantime, Medary says she will be assessing
different ongoing projects and learning how she can help
the city follow through.
To alleviate homelessness, Medary says she stands
behind the strategies of the TAC report, released in 2018,
which outlined how city should address homelessness.
“We have a direction to do an emergency shelter, but
we need to site it and make sure it actually happens,”
Medary says. “So that is a huge priority for me.”
The city has been engaged not only with creating
new affordable housing, she says, but also making exist-
ing housing affordable. Part of that, she says, is being
thoughtful about fees and services people are charged
for in their daily lives and cutting personal costs, like
not owning a car.
Despite the uncertainty of how long Medary will
be in the city manager’s role, she is already looking
ahead to Eugene’s hosting the 2021 International Track
Championship. The event is expected to draw thousands
of people here from around the world.
“That is going to happen whether we want it to or not,”
she says. She adds that having the international track
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Courtesy Sarah Medary
championship in Eugene is incredible. “It just seems
impossible. Just the fact that it is coming to Eugene is
mind-blowing, I think, for most people.”
Medary says the city has a role in making sure the
experience is safe and welcoming for visitors from
everywhere. That creates a sense of financial urgency for
other ongoing projects such as the downtown riverfront
park and the new town square, she says.
“Our goal has been not to build anything that is just
for that event, but instead we are investing our time and
resources into things we know this community already
wants and has been vocal about.”
Medary may be taking over many of Ruiz’s projects, but
she says she has her own passions for community issues.
One of these interests is in mental health and addiction.
Medary sees the issue more broadly as one of community
well-being.
“The community piece is important. Part of it is do
these people feel safe, and part of it is do people live in
a place that’s beautiful,” she says.
Medary wants to focus on creating a community where
people can connect and engage with everyone and the
heart of Eugene is everyone’s local neighborhood.
“Driving around, I’ve seen ‘I love River Road/Santa
Clara’ stickers. I love those stickers. That is the heart
of the community for them.”
Medary grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. She bounced
around colleges for a few years until she transferred to
Colorado State University, earning a degree in horticulture.
After hearing how beautiful the Northwest is, she moved
to Seattle.
Medary lived in Seattle for a few years before going
back to school to get another degree in landscape archi-
tecture. She decided to study at the University of Oregon,
and says she heard good things about working in Eugene.
“With Eugene, it was ‘You can go there and be yourself
no matter who you are,’” she says. “I always felt like I
belonged, and I want others to feel that way too.”
She spent a few years working as a part-time parks
specialist on a maintenance crew. Then she switched
into public service, working in parks maintenance, in
engineering, in recreation, as assistant city manager and
running planning and development. Finally she became
the head of the Public Works department a few years ago.
Medary says she has found happiness in each job she’s
worked at, and says she feels the same way of about her
current post.
“You find your purpose at the intersection of your
talent and the needs of the world,” Medary says. “The
closer you are to the center, the happier you are. I think
I have a lot of talent in terms of creativity and thinking,
and I’m also a good leader.” ■
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M