In the Fall of 2024, thirty every-day residents of Deschutes County came together to help find solutions in the region’s first-ever Civic Assembly.

Central Oregon’s historically high rates of homelessness among youth and families have risen dramatically since 2020. In the Fall of 2024, thirty every-day residents of Deschutes County came together to help find solutions in the region’s first-ever Civic Assembly.

After five days of deep learning and deliberation, the delegates found supermajority consensus on twenty two recommendations. Local officials are turning many of those suggestions into real policies and programs in an inspiring act of citizen-led democracy.