Central Oregon Civic Action Project

CIVIC ASSEMBLY ON YOUTH HOMELESSNESS

DESCHUTES COUNTY 2024


September 14-15, October 4-6
OSU Cascades Campus in Bend

This is your seat at the table.

This Assembly will be the first of its kind in Central Oregon. Help our community take on a complex challenge, and be part of our history!

Central Oregon has among the highest rates of homelessness among youth and families in the country, and these numbers have risen dramatically since 2020. You could be part of turning these numbers around.

What is a Citizens’ Assembly?

Citizens’ Assembly is a group of people selected by lottery who are broadly representative of a community. They spend significant time learning and collaborating through facilitated deliberation to find common ground and form collective recommendations for policymakers, decision-makers, and the community. These Assemblies are sometimes called Citizens’ Juries, Panels, or Councils depending on their size and the country where they are taking place.

Watch the Central Oregon Daily News report on the sending of 12,000 invitation letters
Go deeper: On April 18, COCAP Director Josh Burgess spoke at a City Club forum on Citizens’ Assemblies.

A New Means Of Community Involvement

“Central Oregon leaders aim to implement citizen assemblies, promoting more representative decision making”

Read the rest →

Can Ordinary Citizens Solve Our Toughest Problems?

“They are acupuncturists and elk hunters; house cleaners and retired riverboat pilots… these participants have been asked to recommend new strategies for combating youth homelessness”

Read the rest →

A Civic Assembly Considers Youth Homelessness — and Democracy

“Citizens’ assemblies are increasingly seen as a valuable tool for strengthening democratic processes and outcomes. They involve people more directly in local decision-making, potentially leading to more representative, informed, and widely accepted policy decisions.

Read the rest →

“It’s really hard for me as a city councilor to understand how the majority of the people feel about something and what solutions they have without putting absolutely everything to a vote, and I think this is a really excellent way of popping that bubble.”

Megan Perkins

Bend City Councilor

Get the latest

Youth homelessness is not an issue that experts or government officials can solve alone.

en_USEnglish