Companion Animal Medical Project (CAMP) is Central Oregon’s only animal-focused support organization for people with pets who are experiencing homelessness. CAMP is instrumental in helping these people navigate the logistics of gaining shelter in lockstep with their animal companion. CAMP hosts monthly clinics and a Ready Together program with nonprofit and veterinary partners; services include vaccinations, spay and neuter, county licensing, pet food assistance, and more.
“I’ve always set up CAMP to fulfill a need where services didn’t previously exist,” says Johannah Johnson-Weinberg, CAMP Founder and Executive Director.
In order for someone experiencing homelessness to gain shelter in Central Oregon, they must meet with a social worker, who performs a Housing Equity Assessment Tool (HEAT) to gauge the person’s vulnerability and determine shelter options and priority. The houseless person is then placed on a database of others seeking shelter, which is reviewed regularly by the Coordinated Entry System, a function of the Homeless Leadership Coalition. That group collaborates across support organizations and intergovernmental agencies to prevent and end homelessness. CAMP is the only pet-focused organization in the coalition, and their participation has helped to reduce barriers and improve efficiencies, such as adding a step in the HEAT assessment to determine whether the person seeking shelter would be bringing their animal companion(s).
“We are filling this niche where human service providers can now refer to us directly to provide that full wraparound support for the family, the person, and the pet,” says Johnson. Her team hears success stories weekly from people recently placed in shelters or transitional housing who say they got accepted after their pet received CAMP services; it was their main barrier to housing.
CAMP mostly encounters dog and cat pet-companions, but that’s not all. “We have seen a gerbil, a turkey, goats, pigs, and a bearded dragon,” says Johnson.
Through Ready Together, CAMP serves Bend and Redmond, and with a grant from Roundhouse Foundation, they are now able to extend and maintain services in rural areas of Sisters and La Pine. They’ve found that working in rural Central Oregon is different than working in larger cities such as Bend and Redmond.
“With the rural communities, we have to be a lot more intentional,” says Johnson. “It’s always about relationship building, but there’s an added level when we’re in the rural communities about relationship building and helping people trust the process.”
CAMP has found what works in one rural community, works in one rural community. For example, in La Pine, they work closely with Deschutes County Behavioral Health’s Homeless Outreach Services Team (HOST), who often initiates CAMP appointments and offers transportation for the person-in-need and their pet. In Warm Springs, CAMP focuses on veterinary services, in partnership with Fences for Fido, for all pets who are brought to their wellness clinic events. And in Sisters, where CAMP partners with CORE, they’ve found that often the better approach is to let people come to CORE during drop-in hours, so folks can access multiple services at once.
However, CAMP is also able to flex to unique scenarios. “We got a call from Forest Service saying that there was a family that was living pretty far [outside Sisters], and they had a minimum 15 dogs that were causing some nuisance for the the forest workers, and we had not worked with the Forest Service before, so we met them and drove out there, and started working with this family,” says Johnson. Subsequently this multigenerational family is receiving ongoing support from CAMP and CORE, with a portion of the family moving into shelter with their pets, and getting those pets’ needs met.
CAMP consistently meets people experiencing homelessness who prioritize their pet over their housing. The animal is so dear to them that the owner will sacrifice their own health for that of their pet’s. The human-animal bond is well known, but in times of housing uncertainty, the bond can be more evident.
“It’s a sense of security—mental and physical security—and safety,” explains Johnson. “[The pet] is a reason to get up in the morning and get going; they’re a reason to find a place [where] they’re safe; and they’re a reason that they feel safe.”
In dispersed areas, the pet’s needs can unlock isolation and open the door to services for their owner. The pet is a reason to come into town and get food and services for both of them.
With CAMP working in Central Oregon, the human animal bond is honored. “If you’re a pet owner, [think] how much you love your animals,” says Johnson, “If everything else seems to be in a constant state of unknown…their animal is the one thing that they can rely on.”
