Central Oregon Veterans Outreach

COVO began in 2005 as a group of Vietnam Veterans reaching out to other Veterans they met who were homeless and living on the streets of Bend. They provided food, survival gear and clothing and just as importantly, companionship and socialization. From that simple start, COVO has become a regional and state-wide recognized leader in ending Veteran homelessness with the capability of moving homeless Veterans from a tent, to emergency shelter, to transitional housing to permanent housing while providing advocacy and case-managed services along the way.

COVO has four major areas in which we provide direct services: an active Homeless Outreach program serving both Veteran and non-Veterans houseless neighbors; a Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program which provides intensive wrap-around case management to address all barriers a Veteran faces to becoming stably housed; Central Oregon Veterans Village, a place to provide up to 22 homeless Veterans at a time safe living environment while they receive support services to  help them build stability and move to their own housing; and our Veterans Housing Program, which provides 14 affordable housing units, including apartments and single family homes, for homeless Veterans and their families.

Mission: Serve, assist and create support for the Veterans of Central Oregon, and to aid houseless, jobless and disadvantaged military Veterans, as well as the non-veteran homeless community.

Motto: Respect, Support and Advocacy:

These words are important and reflect the management mind-set of the organization and the depth of services we provide to those seeking our assistance. The organization’s community reputation is built around this philosophy.

 Core Values:

• We believe the community owes a debt of gratitude to its military Veterans.
• We believe in actively advocating for rights of all Veterans.
• We believe in the importance of providing a voice for homeless Veterans.
• We believe it is important to promote public education and increase public awareness of the long-range physical and    emotional scars of war.
• We believe in independent outreach performing essential services for an often under-serviced Veteran population.