With the upcoming permanent closure of the SE J Street homeless campsite and new resting rules at the NE 7th Street site, the Grants Pass Police Department says it's committed to helping all community members.
On January 7th, the Grants Pass City Council held a special meeting when it voted to close the J Street camp and limit use of the 7th Street camp from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. The closure of the J Street camp goes into effect at midnight tonight.
In preparation to meet the Council's adopted resolution, GPPD Chief Warren Hensman said his officers have been working with community partners to ensure the transition was fairly implemented and that those impacted had access to local resources.
Hensman said these efforts included working behind the scenes with stakeholders such as MINT, PATH, U-Turn for Christ, HWAM, Mid Rogue Foundation, UCAN, ADAPT, Options for Southern Oregon, Grants Pass Sobering Center, Maslow Project, WCST, Gospel Rescue Mission, Dove Ministries, On-Track and Veterans Affairs.
Grants Pass police officers communicated the upcoming changes repeatedly over the past two weeks so that those utilizing the resting sites had ample awareness of the resolution. The officers worked to notify the unhoused community of the new rules so that they were prepared in advance.
GPPD created a Community Response Team (CRT) several years ago to routinely interact with at-risk persons. The goal of the team is to find solutions and resources for individuals in need while holding people accountable to state laws and local ordinances. The CRT officers build relationships with individuals over time and leverage these relationships to encourage acceptance of resources and help.
