Grants Pass’ newest homeless shelter is partnering with a local nonprofit as it struggles to secure funding for ongoing operations and ends its partnership with another homeless services group.
The 150-bed Parker’s Place Village shelter will collaborate with The Do Good Foundation. Their mission is increasing the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
"While other organizations in the community work with strictly treatment models, such as mental health counseling or substance use treatment, The Do Good's vision is to address some of the core, underlying reasons that these mental health challenges exist by creating opportunities for community, connection, creativity, and ultimately, reimagining and revisioning how we address health and wellbeing at a systems level," Clinical Director Sierra Dawn Warren wrote in an email.
That work includes men's and women's groups and art programs she said.
According to a press release, the foundation will help Parker’s Place Village address financial and operational barriers, establish service agreements and resolve concerns about operations and grant compliance.
“During this transition, our first priority is helping keep Parker’s Place Village open and its beds available to people who need shelter," Warren said in a press release. "At the same time, The Do Good Foundation is bringing local service providers together under City-approved agreements to coordinate care for residents, and advising Elk Island Trading Group on aligning operations with low-barrier shelter standards and the existing grant agreement. None of this is easy, especially for a shelter that has no dedicated or existing operating budget.”
Elk Island Trading Group received a $1.2 million grant from the city of Grants Pass to build Parker’s Place Village and recently received a notice from the city alleging noncompliance with that agreement.
The foundation will also focus on community services and partnerships, strategic development and funding resources.
The new partnership takes effect on Thursday, Oct. 15, the same day the shelter's partnership with the nonprofit MINT ends. It's unclear how Elk Island will pay for security, utilities and trash service going forward, which MINT had covered.
Under the terms of its grant agreement with the city, the shelter must make wraparound services, such as case management and mental health support, available to residents.
"We are working to help EITG bring in several existing local providers, each under its own agreement in a form the City accepts," Warren wrote in an email. "Wraparound services will be provided to residents by existing community partners, including mental and behavioral health organizations."
Elk Island Operations Manager Bernie Woodard declined JPR's request for an interview.
“Together, we have an opportunity to demonstrate that providing safe shelter first, followed by individualized support and community involvement, can make a real difference not only in the lives of our residents but throughout the Grants Pass community," Woodard said in the press release.
Warren said the foundation is not being compensated for this work.
She holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and is a registered associate with the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists, working toward full licensure.
