Mission Statement

Raven is a peer-led nonprofit collective offering low-barrier, non-coercive support, survival supplies, information and referrals to unhoused and marginalized people in Eugene. Grounded in harm reduction, mutual aid, and trauma-informed care, we meet people where they are – on the street, in crisis, or navigating systems – with compassion and dignity.

Our Story

RAVEN was founded in December 2024 by frontline service workers in response to the closure of a longstanding downtown drop-in center for unhoused and low-income individuals. When that program (White Bird Clinic’s Front Rooms Department) was eliminated due to funding cuts, our team came together to continue the work independently—knowing that for many in our community, these services are not optional, but essential for survival.

Our emergence coincided with a broader and alarming collapse of safety net infrastructure in Eugene. In the past year alone, our city has seen the closure of its only downtown hospital, the shuttering of the Hourglass Crisis Center, and the loss of the CAHOOTS program, all key providers of mental health stabilization services. These losses have left a dangerous gap in care for people already living on the margins—particularly unhoused individuals, those in crisis, and medically vulnerable populations.

What We Do

RAVEN steps in to fill this vacuum with food, human connection, and life-saving stabilization. Five days a week, in all weather, we serve 75 to 150 people per shift, often providing the only meal they will eat that day. Our team distributes around 750 sandwiches, 100 hot breakfasts, and 60 burritos every week alongside hygiene, first aid, basic need, survival, and harm reduction supplies. Each meal and resource distributed is more than just calories or supplies: it is an entry point to connection, to discussing health crises or relapse, and to preventing an overdose. RAVEN is trusted because we are consistent, compassionate, and have a low barrier to entry. We meet people exactly where they are, with no judgment and no requirements. Every day we are present, people eat, connect, and survive.