What it’s like to live on the city’s designated camping lawn: As dawn breaks, about 30 people soon to be ‘stranded’ rush to fold their shelters and clear the grass

By Sydney Seymour and Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

“Just five minutes. Five minutes,” Omar shouted, shuffling around the grass and folding up his tent. “Anyone else feel like we’re being herded like cows?” 

For about 30 people, including a handful with dogs, their morning ritual consists of rushing to pack up their belongings — tents, blankets, sleeping bags, water jugs, shelf-stored food and other personal items. 

According to city rules, guests on Ashland’s dusk-to-dawn camping area must vacate the area by 7:30 a.m. They aren’t allowed to return to shelter until 7:30 p.m. 

The city of Ashland created the area, also known as the night lawn, May 12, 2023, as previously reported by Ashland.news. The lawn behind council chamber and the police station at 1175 E. Main St. remains the city’s designated, legal location for unhoused neighbors to sleep. It allots 23 10-by-10-foot spaces — almost double the amount of spaces as when it was created. 

While some guests already vacated the lawn, at 7:57 a.m. on Oct. 17, one woman rushed through the lawn with her hands and arms full of items. “Only two or three minutes left,” she said in a hurry, indicating a 30-minute unofficial grace period.  

Someone responded, “Jesus f—.” 

A few volunteers stood in the adjacent parking lot next to three port-a-potties, a beige storage container and a table of a coffee urn and tin foil protecting a container of bread with raisins and nuts. 

“You’re smiling,” Omar said to them and Ashland Police Officer Fischer. “The rest of us are angry. We are like cattle.” 

Christopher Hanes, who has been staying on the lawn for a week, said, “Breaking down every morning is like going around in circles. You’re never getting anything done because you are always packing up. It leaves you stranded.” 

Reaching over-capacity 

There is no waiting list for the lawn. According to Debbie Neisewander, who volunteers on the lawn in the evenings, they are “typically over capacity but no one is ever turned away,” she said over the phone to Ashland.news. 

Volunteer Mary Heckenlaible, who helps provide breakfast in the mornings twice a week, has seen an increased number of people on the lawn. “It’s at its maximum,” she said. 

To help with the night lawn’s over capacity and ensure guests warmth for the winter, Neisewander hopes many guests will be able to get into the inclement weather shelter at 2200 Ashland St. once it opens around the end of November. 

Oftentimes, the “army of volunteers,” provide and purchase breakfast themselves, Heckenlaible said. “One warm breakfast won’t change the world, but it might for one person.” Working at the night lawn reminds her to “take one day at a time, appreciate what you have and have compassion for those struggling.”

Opportunities for Housing, Resources & Assistance (OHRA) liaison James Bride, who manages the storage shed, said they are always looking for more volunteers and supplies — gloves, socks, hygiene products, shelf-stable food and food you can cook with hot water. Those who want to donate or volunteer for the night lawn can contact OHRA.

Walking through the lawn 

Dogs whimpered, looking for bits of something edible on the ground. A brindle mutt donning a red, white and green flannel harness accompanied a woman in a wheelchair. Two individuals in their tent gave treats to their adult-sized dog and two puppies — kept together with two tied up leashes and a skinny bike cable wire. Another puppy, with its leash tied to a tree, waited for its owner, wagging its tail at each passerby and begging for pets in front of an empty silver bowl. 

One guest blasted a pop song about Romeo and Juliet from inside their tent. 

Another wailed incoherently while packing up his items. Heckenlaible said, unphased, to Ashland.news, “Yeah. That happens.” 

A woman named Gigi introduced herself to Ashland.news as she folded her tent, smiling. She asked, “Are you having fun? Are you happy to be here?” Then she repeatedly warned Ashland.news about “buses going across the border.” While in a separate interview nearby, she asked again with a few chuckles, “Are you having fun?” 

Will, who stayed at the lawn since the start of summer, mentioned drug use and mental illness as main struggles people are facing on the lawn. He said, “It’s like camping but with a lot of really loud people around screaming at 2 a.m. It’s not that bad. It’s free. I never feel like I’m in danger.” 

Counting on his fingers with a cigarette in between two, Hanes said, in regards to the drug use, “It’s just weed, tobacco and coffee. Weed, tobacco and coffee.” 

Another guest, Thane Tolces, agreed. “Some people come in from Medford with fentanyl, but they aren’t here for long.” Tolces has been staying at the lawn for a week but stayed before in December of last year for a few months.

Living here, he said, “it’s hard if you can’t follow the rules,” mentioning one police officer gave him a ride to work last year. “But some police officers are too power hungry. Some want to just be dicks.” 

When one woman got banned from the lawn for 30 days, she stayed in nearby Garfield Park where Ashland police also kicked her out for 30 days, Tolces said. “Now she’s in a bush somewhere. To put her out there in the street, it doesn’t make any sense to me,” he continued. “There’s nowhere to go, and it makes someone’s life even harder.” 

A call for change

To prevent unjust bans, Tolces suggested that officers start with a verbal warning instead of a 30-day ticket ban. 

Hanes suggested the rule in Grants Pass where individuals are required to move from one designated camping area to another every 72 hours to avoid citations and better living conditions.

Starting to calculate how many miles he walks a day, he said with a sigh, “I walk so damn long.” While OHRA provides a 6-ride token once a year, Hanes said it isn’t enough. “It’s the city that needs to come around. If you want to help motherfuckers out of this,” Hanes continued, “it’s transportation and help finding a job.” 

Around 8:30 a.m., Hanes placed his belongings on the sidewalk by the night lawn for a few extra minutes to let them dry before packing up despite the rules. 

He shouted to those still around, “Anybody found my $5?” 

Email Ashland.news Snowden reporter Sydney Seymour at sydneyseymourr@gmail.com. Working on this report was former Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne’s final assignment for Ashland.news (for more, click here).

Related stories: 

‘We don’t want anybody left in a lurch’: Ashland’s unhoused get wildfire evacuation plan after concerns raised on local radio show (Oct.14, 2025)

Activist accuses Ashland police of using ‘night lawn’ to entrap homeless (June 17, 2025)

City of Ashland closes off ‘front lawn’ of ‘night lawn’ (Aug. 28, 2024)

Homeless man injured in fire on city night lawn dies (May 9, 2024)

Demonstrators on Ashland Plaza call for compassion for those without shelter (April 22, 2024)

Homeless campers had ‘hair on fire,’ witnesses say (Jan. 16, 2024)

Police sweeps at Ashland’s dusk-to-dawn camping area prompts problem-solving effort (June 16, 2024)

Ashland’s ‘night lawn’ camping area facing challenges (Dec. 11, 2023)

Now that it has an alternative, city to begin enforcing public camping policy on May 26 (May 18, 2023)