EUGENE, Ore. — From its beginnings in 2021 through it continuing plans for the future, Everyone Village has been guided by God’s plan. Village founder and Executive Director Gabe Piechowicz ’19 highlights that “God is opening doors I didn’t even know I was looking for.” These words, shared years ago, still resonate today, as Everyone Village continues to expand its reach and grow its vision.
Discerning our Callings
Piechowicz has been wise in discerning his calling to reach out to vulnerable individuals within his community, first through informal pizza gatherings and ultimately through founding and growing the village. Discerning our callings can be quite difficult, though, as our pathways are often circuitous. For Piechowicz, 20 years in the logging industry and a return to college in his thirties ultimately led him to care for those at the margins. For Operations and Administrative Lead Joseph Washburn ’23, the layout and rhythm of Everyone Village strongly resonated with his desire to be part of a close-knit community, having previously served for 13 years in the military.
Gabe Piechowicz
Joseph Washburn
Both organizational leads recognize the importance of people and institutions discerning and following their vocational calls. They recently expounded upon the interrelated themes
of purpose, calling, and vocation during the 2025 NetVUE Regional Gathering hosted by Bushnell University.
“I see calling as congruence between our purpose and actions,” shares Washburn. “Calling means a tangible expression of God’s heart through me here today. This means being who God created me to be regardless of what I am doing or where I am doing it.” This purposeful dedication to be who God created us to be can, of course, be fostered or challenged through our surrounding communities, so it is fortunate that both Washburn and Piechowicz have been called to serve in a way that deeply aligns with who they are.
Serving the Unhoused with Purpose
“I feel at home working with the unhoused,” Washburn continues. “I have come to realize that being unhoused doesn’t have to make you homeless, and just because you live in a house doesn’t mean you aren’t homeless. Home is an idea with a portfolio of meaning bigger than four walls and a roof. Home means belonging to a place and a people, like God intended.”
For Piechowicz, God slowly opened doors and nudged him through, sometimes in ways he didn’t anticipate. “Over the years, through ministry work, conversations, and friendships, I began to realize that my heart came alive when I was walking alongside people experiencing homelessness. It wasn’t about “fixing” anyone; it was about being present, building trust, and helping create spaces where people could rediscover dignity and hope.”
Looking Ahead
God continues to open doors for this transformative organization. The newest venture at the village is a single-room occupancy neighborhood that will provide cost-effective, community-oriented housing for individuals moving from transitional to permanent housing. This neighborhood will be the first of its kind in the entire state and will serve as a pilot project. The goal is to deliver a scalable housing model that communities all across Oregon could replicate, one that could support the state’s growing homeless population.
Piechowicz describes the project as “one of our most ambitious steps yet toward offering more stable, dignified, affordable housing for people moving out of homelessness.” What makes it so vital is that it aims to bridge a critical gap: many people who move from emergency or transitional shelters into permanent housing struggle and may even fall back into crisis. The micro village provides a middle option, one that balances autonomy – as each unit offers personal space and an individual bathroom – with communal support from the village community and shared spaces.
Currently in its planning and funding phase, the project will provide 40+ small, permanent homes for individuals in Eugene. Piechowicz is leveraging strategic partnerships with the City of Eugene, Oregon Housing and Community Services, and other community-based organizations to make this project viable. Yet it is ultimately guided by the dedicated drive of the Everyone Village team and God’s grace to open pathways, as he already has for the village.
Leading Alongside Others
One of the key values that makes the village so successful is that residents co-create the community. It is not a one-way, top-down delivery of some service. Rather, village staff walk alongside residents, learn their strengths, and invite them into creating the community and maintaining the space.
That attitude of humble guidance is echoed in the advice the leads have to offer. Washburn suggests that we should not ask God to bless what we want to do but should instead ask God to do what He wants to bless us with, as He knows what he has in store.
Piechowicz offers some practical guidance for introspection: “Pay attention to what breaks your heart, what brings you deep joy, and where your skills actually help others. That’s where calling has lived for me. And don’t expect it to be comfortable — vocation will stretch you, but it will also bring a sense of purpose nothing else can.”
To learn more about what’s going on at Everyone Village, visit their website.