Grants Pass, Oregon, homeless shelter opening delayed by several weeks

The opening of Grants Pass’ new homeless shelter, Parker’s Place Village, has been delayed by several weeks, pushing back its original June 1 launch date. Nuttall said delays involving site plan approval and international shipping disruptions pushed back the project timeline, and the site plan was approved more than a month later than originally expected.

Under a lawsuit settlement reached last year, Grants Pass must provide space for 150 homeless people, many of whom currently camp on public lots downtown. To meet that requirement, the city awarded a $1.2 million grant to the developer Elk Island Trading Group to build a shelter site designed to house 150 people. The site will use converted shipping containers.

The city expects the site to open in the coming weeks, which would allow it to close its downtown resting sites while still meeting court mandates. About 40 beds are expected to become available shortly after June 1, with the remaining capacity added in phases to avoid overloading intake services.

On Wednesday, the City Council authorized the city manager to adjust the capacity of the downtown sites as the new shelter gets up and running. One official explained the plan: “If they give us 40 beds, we can drop down to 110 capacity for our resting sites and be able to slowly shift that capacity to the low-barrier shelter as opposed to the city unmanaged resting sites.”

Councilor Victoria Marshall recalled a earlier commitment from the operator’s representative. “Mr. Woodard [Elk Island’s operations manager] stood at that podium … and said ‘I will have 150 beds by June 1,'” Marshall said. “And now we’re not having that.” Nuttall assured the council that if there were a breach of contract, she would schedule an executive session to discuss it with them. Councilor Joel King said, “We have an existing written contract that we’re going to enforce and move ahead in a manner that is legal, socially acceptable and economically responsible.”

Under the terms of the grant, the site must be managed around the clock and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It must also provide security, restrooms, trash disposal, handwashing, safe drinking water and parking, along with on-site or easily accessible case management, substance use recovery or mental health support, workforce development, housing navigation and medical services. Basic provisions like water, handwashing and restrooms reflect hospitality toward people without a stable place to sleep (Matthew 25:35).

The nonprofit MINT and other local organizations will help provide those services. MINT Board President Scott Nelson said the group’s familiarity with the homeless community will be a strength.

Source: Read the original report