Roseburg-Based Elk Island Reaches Phase One Milestone at Grants Pass Shelter Village

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A Roseburg-based group helping build a new emergency shelter village in Grants Pass has reached one of its biggest milestones yet.

Bernie Woodard of Elk Island Trading Group said Monday that the City of Grants Pass Building Department approved occupancy for Phase One of Parker’s Place Village, a shelter project designed to move people from outdoor camping into managed shelter with rules, services and support.

Phase One includes 20 rooms with two beds in each room, creating space for 40 people.

Woodard said 12 rooms on one side of the village will provide 24 beds. The other side includes six ADA units with 12 beds for people with physical disabilities, plus two additional regular units with two beds each.

The rooms are semi-private sleeping spaces. The first phase also includes portable toilets and a wash station. Woodard said 24 of the beds already have electrical access, with additional electrical work depending on the project budget.

“We will start looking through the over 120 applications tomorrow and start scheduling them in over the next week,” Woodard said.

Because some rooms already have electricity, Woodard said medically fragile applicants may be among the first considered, but he said he plans to discuss placement with MINT (Mobile Integrative Navigation Team) to make the best choices.

The project follows what Woodard has described as a “Safe Beds First” model. The idea is to get people indoors first, then work with them on next steps while maintaining rules for the village.

Woodard said residents will receive a rule booklet similar to Rogue Retreat’s manual. Expectations will include keeping the units clean, no hoarding, no drugs or alcohol, and getting along with others.

The stay model is still being finalized, but Woodard said it could involve 29-day contracts approved one day at a time, with a possible six-month total stay period while residents work toward the next level of housing or support.

The Grants Pass shelter project has also been closely tied to the city’s effort to transition away from unmanaged camping areas. As beds open at Parker’s Place Village, the city is expected to begin reducing capacity at its downtown camping sites and moving people into a more structured shelter setting.

The project also has a Douglas County connection. Elk Island Trading Group is based in Roseburg, and Woodard has been involved in managed homeless camps and alternative shelter work locally before taking on the Grants Pass project.

Woodard said he believes Roseburg could use a similar model.

“Roseburg can do this same thing so that the homeless are taken care of properly and the community gets its parks and public areas back,” Woodard said.

Parker’s Place Village is being built in phases. Phase Two is expected to add another 44 beds, with Woodard previously saying the team is hoping for approval as early as next week.

If completed on schedule, the full project could provide approximately 150 beds for people who are currently living in tents or other unstable situations.

Woodard said the Phase One approval came after 96 straight days of site work, including 23 days before permits and 73 days after permits.

There is still more work ahead, but the approval marks the first major step toward opening beds at the village.

“Onward to Phase Two,” Woodard wrote.