Roseburg Homeless Commission compiles shelter bed counts; city ordinances and a large riverbank camp cleanup discussed

Roseburg — Partners at the Roseburg Homeless Commission meeting outlined local shelter capacity and service needs on the commission’s agenda, and city staff described new ordinances and an upcoming large camp cleanup along the Umpqua River.

Commissioners voted to approve the minutes of the Aug. 26, 2024, regular meeting at the start of the session. The meeting then focused on compiling a community bed-count summary so callers and providers can quickly see what capacity exists across agencies.

Thomas McGregor, youth and housing project manager at Peace at Home Advocacy Center, said Peace at Home operates a non‑congregate shelter located outside Roseburg City limits that "can house up to a hundred individuals" and that the organization has five transitional family housing units. He also said the group is working on a youth housing campus expected to provide about five units and to come online in early 2025; McGregor warned that some existing services have access limits for unaccompanied youth and for LGBTQ youth. "Nonaccompanied youth have very limited resources in the city of Roseburg," he said.

The commission read emailed figures from Lynn Antis, executive director of the Roseburg Rescue Mission, who reported the mission operates 233 beds in total — 123 for men (68 emergency, 16 program, 39 transitional) and 110 for women and children (35 emergency, 12 program, 57 for mothers and children, 6 transitional). Antis’s email said the mission has not turned away men or women and children for lack of space during her 16‑year tenure and described intake policies on visible drug or alcohol use. "In the 16 years that I have been the executive director ... we have never turned a man away for a lack of space," the email said.

Sean Pritchard reported the navigation center’s capacity at about 55 beds and said an additional roughly 40 residential units (in multiple developments) are used primarily for alcohol and drug recovery; he noted about 10 immediate vacancies and said most of those vacancies require referrals from social‑service agencies. "I think the capacity at the nav center is 55," Pritchard said.

Progress Point reported 11 existing beds at a south‑end facility that will increase to 14 when three remodeled rooms come online, and described a 52‑bed motel at 511 Stevens that is being remodeled 10 rooms at a time and is being prioritized for mental‑health housing with 10 rooms reserved for those with medical needs.

Keith Lauter, chief financial officer of Umqua Health Alliance, told commissioners the insurer serves roughly 40,000 county members and outlined the difficulty of producing a single, precise homeless count: "There could be, you know, 1,400 possibly homeless," he said, but noted definitions and churn make the number uncertain.

Several partners described outreach efforts. Progress Point said tenancy‑support peers and employment peers — positions funded under a burn grant — are actively connecting people to services and helping tenants remain housed. Progress Point also reported a service shower trailer was damaged in transit and is being repaired; another trailer was donated to the Dream Center and is in use for scheduled services.

City staff and law enforcement outlined changes to local ordinances and enforcement processes. Jeremy (staff) said new ordinances governing camping on public property and unlawful weapons/tools on public property will take effect soon and that enforcement is conviction‑based, giving officers and outreach staff time to provide education and diversion before penalties escalate. He described a scheduled large camp cleanup along the Umpqua riverbank where staff counted "approximately 90 camps" and said crews are working to secure staffing for the cleanup.

An unnamed city representative noted the city council has authorized limited RV or tent camping by private property owners at two locations (under the Washington Avenue Bridge and at the end of Pine Street) under specific conditions.

The commission agreed to compile the partner bed counts into a consolidated summary for distribution to agencies and the public; chair and staff said they would follow up with Lynn Antis about whether the Rescue Mission would present in person or provide email updates. The commission set its next meeting for October and adjourned.

What this means: The meeting produced a consolidated snapshot of reported capacity and service gaps — including youth housing plans, vacancies that require formal referrals, and outreach needs — while staff prepare to implement and enforce new ordinances and to carry out a large camp cleanup. The commission intends to circulate a combined bed‑count summary to members and partners.

Votes and formal actions: The only recorded formal action in the transcript was the approval of the minutes of the Aug. 26, 2024 regular meeting; the motion carried following an aye vote.