South Oregon News

The City is continuing its series of town hall events to talk about the organization's efforts to address homelessness and highlight related challenges our community is facing. This third event was hosted by Ward 2 Councilors Tim D'Alessandro and Zac Smith.

Nearly 150 community members attended the event, and the panel answered around 80 questions from the audience during the Q&A session.

Some of the questions asked were, "What legal barriers are we facing when addressing homelessness?" and "Will people be allowed to camp along the Bear Creek Greenway in the dry summer months when the fire danger is so high?"

One of the legal barriers the City faces is with Measure 110, which has reduced the incentive for individuals to seek treatment and has become an enforcement barrier for police. 

Another challenge is that local organizations and individuals are passing out supplies, such as tents and camping stoves, as well as food distribution in local parks. There are case-law restrictions that prevent the City from effectively regulating those actions to mitigate their impacts. 

Under the City's Prohibited Camping Ordinance, individuals are prohibited from lying/sleeping and camping along the Bear Creek Greenway during fire season. Click here for more information about the ordinance. 

Click here for an overview of how the City is addressing homelessness, the current challenges the organization is facing, the work that’s being done by the Livability Team and how the City is investing in services.

The following testimonials were received from community members following the town hall event: 

"My husband and I attended the town hall meeting last night. We were very impressed by how the meeting went and we learned a lot. Thank you for taking the time to address all of our concerns."

"Last night's talk at South Medford was excellent. First, Medford thought enough of us to bring their whole leadership team...Medford Mayor, Police and Fire Chiefs, City Attorney, City Manager and Councilors. They took questions from the audience for 90 minutes; in fact, they stayed over to take the additional questions that came up. By the time it was over, we knew what was up, the challenges our community faces with homelessness and why. We are a great encouragement to our leaders when we show up. I'd recommend making the last one if you haven't attended one yet." 

The next town hall event will be hosted by Councilors Kevin Stine and Chad Miller in Ward 3 on Tuesday, June 20 from 6:00-7:30 PM at the Santo Community Center (701 N. Columbus Ave.). Click here for the town hall event schedule.

Original source can be found here