Looking Glass Community Services

At Looking Glass HYS, summer time is busy – the heat keeps our day use and overnight shelters busy with youth trying to keep cool and utilize resources. Station 7 is undergoing renovations to expand capacity - but we need more funding! New Roads is doing laundry - but we hope to do more! And important annual clothing drives are right around the corner - Braugust - Shoetember - Socktoberfest!

In early 2025 Looking Glass New Roads homeless youth drop-in center received funding from Eugene Water & Electric Board to purchase a new electric vehicle that the program will use to run errands, provide outreach and assist youth clients with various needs.

In January of 2025, after months of renovations, hiring, training and preparations, Looking Glass opened it’s 2nd Regional Crisis Center (RCC) location. The Looking Glass RCC provides residential, subacute mental health treatment services for youth of all genders, ages 11 to 18. Looking Glass now offers RCC West (River Road) and RCC East (MLK Blvd).

After several years of start and stop fundraising, Looking Glass staff members and supporters gathered to celebrate the recent opening of a newly renovated building in Cottage Grove. The previous program facility was located just down the street from the new location but was roughly 4 times smaller. The larger space will allow for broader services and offerings to youth aged 11-21 in rural Lane County including laundry, showers, a large beautiful kitchen and space for on-site therapy.

The 6th annual “Socktoberfest” sock donation drive for homeless youth was again a resounding success bringing in thousands of pairs of (mostly new) socks. The New Roads outreach team hands out socks on a daily basis to unhoused youth they encounter. Socks go fast at New Roads and this annual sock drive aims to sustain us year-round (but we usually run out by summer time).

Thank you to all of our amazing donation location partners and to the generous community who donated so many wonderful socks!

The 14th Annual Looking Glass Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures breakfast fundraiser event, held Tuesday, October 15th at Venue 252 in Eugene, focused on Education programs with a panel of Looking Glass teachers from the agency’s alternative schools. In addition, Looking Glass recognized and honored this year’s Community Partner of the Year - Jennifer Montgomery, the Secondary Special Education Consultant for the 4J School District.

The Trafficking Prevention Specialist and Survivor Advocate plays a crucial role in providing trafficked youth with a safe space and assistance with extricating themselves from a dangerous situation. For the safety of the employee in this unique role, we are not identifying her by name. For the importance of the education of this community, we are sharing some of her experiences.

Trafficking of youth comes in many forms, but most often comes down to a vulnerable young person trading favors or services in exchange for housing, food, or other basis needs. Or, in some cases these services are traded for drugs or alcohol, which, in turn help these victims endure the assault or abuse at the hands of those holding power over them.

Looking Glass New Roads Kitchen Remodel is underway and we need YOUR help with temporary outdoor kitchen services. Beginning in May the New Roads day program for homeless youth services will begin construction on the current kitchen to enable cooking of full meals. To-date, the New Roads staff have been without adequate ventilation and equipment to provide a full kitchen and thus meals have been quite challenging to provide 3 times per day to homeless youth.

Looking Glass Community Services has opened a new, low-barrier homeless youth shelter called the PEER Shelter (PEER stands for Persevere, Enlighten, Empower, Renew). The 24-hour accessible low-barrier shelter is for youth ages 16 – 24 years old who are unhoused or otherwise in crisis. The shelter provides youth at risk of being victimized on the streets, a safe, supervised living environment, medical care, basic needs, case management, and substance abuse and mental health treatment access to assist them in moving towards stabilization.

New Roads homeless youth drop-in center (off 7th and Blair Blvd) has a clothing closet for youth clients ages 16 to 21. At this time, the shelves containing clothing for male-identifying youth are quite bare. Looking Glass is seeking donations of clothing in a variety of sizes including pants, shirts, shorts, socks as well as shoes of various sizes.