BEND — Even in a city with a growing, visible population of homeless individuals, a growing reality was on display at the Lighthouse Navigation Center in Bernd on Thursday morning. A couple and their two young children were sitting at a table at the homeless shelter, eating breakfast.

They had nowhere else to go. But it’s worse than that. There is no place to go.

The options for homeless families with children in Central Oregon are virtually nonexistent, said Evan Hendrix, the associate director for the Lighthouse Navigation Center, which is operated by Shepherd’s House Ministries.

“We’re seeing more families, young families, hitting the street and even reaching out to us in anticipation of that and kind of asking what the options are. There’s a couple, but, really, they’re probably going to end up here,” Hendrix said.

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Shepherd’s House has been standing by for months, waiting for the city of Bend to secure funding so the nonprofit can open the old Rainbow Motel and transform it into a shelter for homeless families with children and people who are medically fragile.

The city of Bend and Deschutes County forged an agreement last week to partially fund and fully re-open the motel that is now known as the Franklin Avenue Shelter.

Deschutes County commissioners approved $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to be allocated to the city of Bend so Shepherd’s House can operate the 50-room, 60-bed shelter.

This comes after an informal agreement between the two governments to open an established outdoor campsite for homeless people fell through last month.

The Franklin shelter is an opportunity for Shepherd’s House to explore a ”housing first” model, Hendrix said.

“Which is to say, let’s take the most vulnerable people and give them the best housing possible and see what happens. The data that we’ve seen nationwide would say that’s the way to go,” he said.

Decades of research on the housing first model, which provides permanent, stable housing and voluntary services to people who are homeless, shows higher housing retention and cost savings among emergency department visits, in-patient hospitalizations and within the criminal justice system, according to Portland State University.

In March alone, Shepherd’s House transitioned 34 people out of the shelter and into some form of housing, Hendrix said. He attributes it to hiring more case managers and peer support mentors.

Despite the county commissioners’ approval of the funds for the shelter Wednesday, there was discord among the three on how homelessness should be addressed in the region.

Commissioner Patti Adair isn’t convinced by the housing first approach.

“We need to know what is really working. If it’s money — if you look at Portland, money is not the answer. We have people that need more help,” Adair said.

After the failed attempt to open an outdoor managed homeless camp on the south side of Bend, the county put out a request to multiple state agencies for flexibility in Oregon’s land use system so a managed camp can be placed elsewhere.

Chair of the county commission, Tony DeBone, was frustrated with the lack of tangible results as homelessness only increases in numbers and visibility .

“When are we going to turn the corner on unsanctioned camping?” DeBone asked repeatedly during the Wednesday meeting.

“You have been in office for 12 years,” Chang said to DeBone. “Homelessness has almost tripled in this county during that period. Who is responsible for that? Who could have done something about that during that 12-year period?” he said, raising his voice and pounding his fists on the dais.

The city of Bend initially purchased the Rainbow Motel last year for $4.55 million. It’s been used as a temporary space for residents of another motel shelter, the Stepping Stone Shelter, which was previously the Bend Value Inn, during renovations. However, the city ran out of funds to operate the shelter.

The county-approved funding is just one piece, said Amy Fraley, the city of Bend’s houseless services program manager.

The city is also requesting funds under Gov. Kotek’s executive order, which allocated millions to regions throughout the state to bolster efforts to address homelessness with shelter beds and permanent housing. Central Oregon received $13.9 million from the order.

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On top of funding woes, city has identified the area as prime for redevelopment within the next three to four years, said Fraley.

The Bend City Council could soon deliver final approval of the funding and operations of the Franklin Avenue Shelter once a contract is drawn up.

The goal is to open the shelter within the next six weeks, Fraley said.