A new homeless shelter in Grants Pass has begun welcoming residents, moving the city closer to closing its remaining downtown public resting site.
Parker's Place Village currently houses 82 people in rooms built from shipping containers.
That number is expected to increase to 150. Under a lawsuit settlement reached last year, the city must reach that threshold before closing its remaining public resting site downtown.
The shelter is part of the city's broader effort to address its homelessness crisis, especially after years of lawsuits over its treatment of homeless residents.
Tanya Reeves, who previously lived at one of the city’s resting sites, said Parker’s Place Village is nicer, and residents are better behaved.
"[People] were really pigs over there in tent city. It was awful. They're not behaving like that over here," she said. "I think they're not wanting to mess it up."
Eagle Theriault, his wife Teresa and their cat Arrow were the first residents to move into Parker's Place Village.
"We're waiting on power as one of our main things," Eagle Theriault said. "Then I think it's gonna be all right for real."
"It's way better than the tent city," Teresa Theriault said. "I can lock my door. I don't have to think somebody's just going to cut the tent and come in."
The city funded the project with a $1.2 million grant.
The shelter was originally scheduled to be fully operational by June 1, but officials pushed that date to July 17 because of delays. Forty additional beds are expected to open on Friday.
Construction continues as residents move in. The site still needs security cameras, additional exterior lighting, a front fence and a gate. Workers are also finishing a building with restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. That work, funded by a separate $300,000 grant, is expected to be completed by the end of July. Residents are currently using portable toilets.
City Manager Aaron Cubic said the city has already closed two of its three public resting sites.
Bernie Woodard, with Elk Island Trading Group and Alternative Living Solutions, has led construction. He said he hopes the project will help get homeless people out of public parks and into more stable housing.
"Those people need help that are in those situations, and we're getting all of that going, where the people are getting help and the people of town, the citizens of town, are getting their areas back cleaner, and so it feels very rewarding," he said.
Under the terms of the grant, Parker's Place Village must be staffed around the clock, comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide basic services, including security, sanitation and drinking water. Residents also must have access to case management, housing navigation, workforce development, substance use recovery or mental health support and medical services.
The nonprofit MINT and other local organizations will provide those wraparound services for residents. The goal is for people to stay at the site for no longer than six months before moving into permanent housing.
Once construction is complete, MINT is expected to assume operation and management of the site Aug. 1.
Despite the work still ahead, Woodard said he is encouraged by what has been accomplished so far.
"You see people that are peaceably walking around. They're not fighting for where the next tent space is or the next 72-hour notice is," he said. "It's a proud thing, and I feel good about it, and I feel good about the people, too."
MINT Board President Scott Nelson said one of the organization's biggest challenges will be helping residents move into permanent housing.
"There's more than 150 people in this community that are unhoused and need support. There's only 150 spaces here," Nelson said. "It's incumbent on us to really have some throughput as we bring people in, we get them stabilized, we then work with them on finding a more permanent place and then we need to move them out, so that we can get the next group of people in."
