City Agencies Participate in Panel on Unhoused Community

Last week, Deputy City Manager Kelly Madding, Police Chief Justin Ivens and Police Sergeant Tom Venables participated in a panel at the Jackson County Library to discuss ongoing programs and services for unhoused community members.

Other panelists included Jackson County Library Director Kari May, Library Social Worker Haylie Courtney, Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara and Jackson County Crisis & Outpatient Services Manager Rick Rawlins.

Many agencies, including the ones listed above, are working together to address concerns that arise around the unhoused community, including safety and social services. This is also while balancing the needs and concerns of the downtown area.

When asked what specific services or programs does the City have that support unsheltered community members, Madding explained that although the City does not have direct services, we provide funding to service providers.

“That goes in conjunction with the Livability Team, which provides a venue for bringing nonprofit service providers to those that are in need and connecting people with services,” said Madding.

Four days a week, the Livability Team and a group of service providers go to the Bear Creek Greenway to meet with unhoused individuals. Those service providers include La Clinica, the Addictions Recovery Center, Rogue Retreat, ACCESS, Mercy Flights and more.

“A lot of great connections are made between our community members and service providers,” said Venables.

“I have to truly commend the people that work on our Livability Team and the work they do,” said Ivens. “It’s not easy, and they do it day in and day out with compassion and pride. They really want to see people get into services and get help.”

The panel was also asked how the City approaches meeting the concerns of the immediate future and balancing the need for long-term solutions to housing scarcity and instability.

“The City has done a good job of directing resources to people who are in immediate need,” Madding said. “Admittingly, there is a bottleneck. We can have a variety of temporary or transitional housing units, but if there aren’t permanent housing units and permanent supportive housing, it creates that bottleneck, and we’re seeing that.”

Madding went on to explain that the City recognizes that there is a need for permanent supportive housing and housing that is affordable. City Council has a goal for the City to help incent developers to create that housing, at about 200 units each biennium.

“We recognize that we need to help the development community do more for low-income housing and permanent supportive housing, and I think this is a step in the right direction,” said Madding.