SAFE CAMP
A ministry of First Congregational United Church of Christ, in partnership with Unity Shelter.

What Safe Camp Is Today
Safe Camp is a community of 19 microshelters located on the property of First Congregational Church, providing safe, transitional housing for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. It is one of six SafePlace sites in Corvallis operated by Unity Shelter, and it is where the whole SafePlace program began.

Each microshelter is a small, well-built room with heat, air conditioning, electricity, and a locked door — offering the safety, privacy, and stability that people need as they work toward more permanent housing. Residents partner with Unity Shelter staff and case managers (in collaboration with Corvallis Housing First) to set goals, navigate resources, and address the barriers that have kept them unhoused.

Need shelter, or know someone who does? Please contact Unity Shelter directly — they handle all intake for the SafePlace program.

-    SafePlace Intake: 541-286-5121
-    Unity Shelter: 541-286-5121 / info@unityshelter.org
-    Learn more: unityshelter.org/safeplace

How Safe Camp Began
On July 15, 2019, a small community of unhoused neighbors — fewer than two dozen people — set up tents virtually overnight on the 118-acre tree farm adjoining the church on SW West Hills Road. First Congregational had a long history of quietly helping people who camped on the property, but this was different in scale.

The congregation faced a choice: ask them to leave, or stay with them.

We stayed.

"We were just reacting with conscience," Pastor Jen Butler told the Gazette-Times at the time. "When Jesus said, 'Take care of the poor and the sick and those without shelter,' that is a commandment that we are going to take up."

The residents named the place Safe Camp — because, for the moment, they were safe from eviction.

What followed was months of complicated, often contentious work: meetings with Benton County and the City of Corvallis (the church property sits in both jurisdictions), conversations with neighbors who had real concerns, conditional use permits, and a 60-day extension that became something much longer. The story drew local and national coverage, including from the United Church of Christ, and it helped change how Corvallis thinks about hosting unhoused neighbors on faith-community property.

From Tents to Microshelters
Safe Camp started as literal camping — tents, tarps, jury-rigged shelters. But Oregon winters are hard on tents, and heating them proved nearly impossible. Out of that practical problem grew a new idea: small, sturdy, insulated wooden shelters with heated interiors and locking doors.

The Housing Action Team of the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition partnered with the church and several other faith communities to develop the concept, and the program took the name SafePlace. Microshelters were designed, built (often with volunteer labor — including, at one point, students from Crescent Valley High School), and placed at host sites around town.

The Birth of Unity Shelter
In January 2020, Unity Shelter was incorporated as a single nonprofit umbrella for three previously church-sponsored programs: Room at the Inn, the Corvallis Men's Shelter, and SafePlace. Bringing them together meant shared leadership, a unified operational structure, and more coordinated services for the same community.

Then the pandemic arrived. Volunteer-run shelters had to scale back; the need for shelter only grew. SafePlace expanded dramatically. Today, Unity Shelter is the largest low-barrier shelter provider in the Corvallis area, offering more than 150 beds on any given night across its programs.

Our Ongoing Role
First Congregational continues to host Safe Camp on our property as part of our commitment to social justice and to caring for our unhoused neighbors. The day-to-day operation of the microshelters, case management, intake, and resident support are all handled by Unity Shelter — they are the experts, and SafePlace residents are their participants, not ours.

What we offer is the land, the welcome, and the conviction that this work matters.

How to Help
The most effective way to support Safe Camp and the people who live there is to support Unity Shelter directly. For more information, please visit Unity Shelter's website at www.unityshelter.org.