The Grants Pass City Council is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss services for homeless in Grants Pass.
Following the city’s triumph at the U.S. Supreme Court, the mayor and council have grappled with what to do with the homeless campers who have occupied most of the city parks since 2018.
The council earlier had identified four city-owned locations for the homeless camping areas. Two were eliminated after nearby homeowners expressed concern over the effect of homeless camping on property values and safety.
The primary site will be on the property slated for the city’s new water treatment plant.
Per the meeting agenda:
City designated campsite:
1. Reevaluating allowable time spent at J Street property
2. The allowed use of shade (provided by nonprofits)
3. Potable water
4. Allowing park benches (provided by nonprofits)
5. Providing doggy bags (similar to the installation in a park) with trash can for such use
6. Cigarette butt collection can
7. Sanitation services
8. J Street property fencing
Members of the public will have two minutes to speak.
Josephine County Republican Party Chair Holli Morton submitted written comments on how to effectively help the homeless in our community. Here is her letter:
To CM Cubic, Mayor Bristol et al:
Josephine County is one of the poorest counties in the state. Many citizens are elderly, on fixed incomes. Some are veterans who have served this country. Others have simply fallen on bad luck or are disabled. All of these folks deserve our assistance.
Over 90%, however, are drug addicts whose circumstances will never improve until they are off of alcohol and drugs. They have absorbed a significant portion of city resources, yet they are a small faction within our community. They often steal and make a nuisance of themselves, so very few prefer them to live close by.
During a time when we were providing pizzas, tents, propane, clothing, etc., their sense of entitlement grew significantly to the point where they felt that they had a right to those things. Those on drugs abused the services provided and the locations where they camped. Meanwhile productive citizens lost resources such as parks and police protection. It should be no surprise that many citizens are fed up with a population that abuses drugs. Addicts abuse most everything and everyone with whom they come in contact.
You are now referring to the move out of the parks as a “humanitarian crisis” and are calling a special meeting to discuss where to go from here. Only now, since many have come together from all around the city, you see the mess that has been accumulating through the years that this council has been representing Grants Pass citizens. People have been trying to tell you. Suddenly you see. Our enabling has invited upon us a crisis and, yes, it is the fault of all of us who tolerated bad behavior.
The city has now provided a space for these folks to rest. I recently received a 12-page list of NGO’s who offer services within this county. They will need to step up. NGOs receive grants which are our tax dollars re-allocated to provide services. Some of the more respected NGOs have an all-volunteer staff. Others have highly-paid officers whose salaries and overhead absorb a significant portion of the grant.
Currently, homeless citizens have been moved to two locations. They may not be living on our most coveted assets anymore, such as our beautiful riverside parks, but they are together, where resources can be provided. Yes, many have serious medical issues. The question remains: are those the primary issues or are they secondary issues caused by drug addiction?
You can “Narcan” a person back to life time and again, and you can patch up wounds, but with drug addiction, you have a consistent downward spiral — at a huge expense to all involved.
It is time we reframe this whole mess. Misbehavior should result in penalties up to and including incarceration. My nephew, who was once an active drug addict, said he had a moment of clarity while in jail. He agreed to drug treatment and is now a highly paid and productive citizen with a family who loves him. Tough love is sometimes the key. Taking responsibility for one’s own bad decisions is always the key.
Incarcerate dealers first. We all know who they are. Get addicts off the streets. The medical doctors who are concerned about the health of these addicts might pivot to help them to detox.
Offer a step up to a better life for those willing to improve. We’ve got to stop enabling. If people can afford to smoke, they aren’t in a crisis. If they steal or beg to pay for a drug habit, the community is in a crisis and police are over-burdened.
Those who attended the last Parkwatch meeting should be commended—better late than never. Parkwatch volunteers have been cleaning up parks to protect animals and citizens for years, often to be chastised. They should be given an award!
If people want to remain addicted and a public nuisance, they can do so — somewhere other than Grants Pass OR they can live behind fences, with minimal resources. That leaves the bulk of the resources for those less fortunate through no fault of their own or for low-income citizens.
DO NOT consider trying to shove a homeless shelter down our throats. Citizens will not tolerate the phenomenal expense of housing addicts. And don’t try to make us feel guilty for the lousy decisions made by others. Most of us have worked hard, raised families, and lived clean lives. Our tax dollars have gone to pick up the tab for many who have not. We are tapped out.
The state promised drug programs if Measure 110 was passed. Demand that they fulfill that obligation. A lawsuit may be required. Addicts can go into drug programs or leave our county, but they cannot continue to be a public nuisance in a town that can’t afford them. The City Council must stand up for the rights of the majority of our hard-working citizens.
It is unsettling to watch as members of the current City Council run again for seats. It is time to consider the ideas of others who may have greater clarity and better solutions.
Holli Morton
Richard Emmons is the publisher and editor of the Oregon Eagle.