Capacity limit of 28 not enough to keep from turning people away; cap temporarily raised to 39 

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

The severe weather shelter at 2200 Ashland St. is restricted to a capacity of 28 — a number those involved with the shelter say is routinely insufficient to the level of need. 

“Looking out the window, thank goodness it’s open. … The downside is that building isn’t adequate for human habitation,” said Sam Engel, executive director of Rogue Retreat. 

Rogue Retreat entered into a contract with the city to operate the shelter at the 2200 Ashland St. location starting Jan. 1, as previously reported by Ashland.news. 

A little over a month later, Jason Houk — long-time homelessness advocate and organizer with nonprofit Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice — stated people in need being turned away from the city’s shelter has become routine due to the capacity limitations of the building. 

Ashland Fire Marshal Mark Shay has stated that state fire codes as applied to the building’s designed use as office space significantly limits sleeping capacity, as previously reported by Ashland.news. 

When asked about if the shelter is struggling to meet capacity, Engel said since the weather began to trend colder, even prior to the storm, capacity has been an issue. Asked if it is difficult for shelter staff to turn away guests, Engel affirmed this has been a problem, for the right reason. 

“Those are exactly the kind of people we want to hire right? The people with the heart for the job. … When you’re doing these kinds of direct community services, one of the hardest things is not being able to serve people,” he said. 

Due to the fire code, the city’s fire marshal has dictated the shelter can accomodate 28 people. Half these guests are allowed to sleep while others are restricted to “resting,” as Engel described it. The shelter space is demarcated between the sleeping and resting sides, he said. 

When asked where shelter guests go during the day, Engel said some work while others will find somewhere to get out of the elements such as the public library. But as some businesses close due to the weather, it becomes increasingly difficult for some to get out of the cold. 

Speaking Tuesday, Engel said “fingers crossed” ongoing discussions with the city would temporarily solve this problem by allowing the shelter to operate 24/7. In a Nixle alert sent Tuesday evening, the city announced the shelter would operate around the clock until the ongoing inclement weather event is determined to be concluded. 

While the shelter is operating at this level, Engel said those who want to help are asked to consider bringing food for breakfast or evening meals and snacks. Other useful donations include socks, gloves and hand warmers. Some have even put together “care packages” of useful items for guests to take in their backpacks. 

While many residents of Ashland have offered their help as volunteers, fire code limits all human occupancy in the building, he said. 

Sunday night Mayor Tonya Graham — in her capacity as a private individual and executive director of the Geos Institute – offered the institute’s building as an additional shelter space to help address the capacity limitations of the 2200 Ashland St. property, Houk said. 

In a Monday evening text message, Graham confirmed the institute was offering the space to Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice to operate the shelter for free, but said it was not affiliated with the city. The building has been determined to have a sleeping capacity of 10 under the fire code, Houk said. 

Based on the previous year’s Point in Time count numbers, the city of Ashland has at least 50 to 60 people in need of shelter generally, Houk said. Considering those numbers, he felt Sunday night at the Geos Institute was an example of a troubling phenomenon — it was too quiet. The capacity limitation of 10 didn’t lead to crowds waiting outside. 

“We know the need is there, but they aren’t coming to us,” he said. 

Houk worried Ashland was developing a reputation as a place those in need should avoid. He was made aware of at least one elderly woman who felt unsafe and was not allowed to lie down at the city’s shelter and felt she had nowhere to go. 

When asked if he had heard of this or similar incidents, Engel said he had not, but if anything of the kind had occurred he would want to know and that his staff know they are expected to pass any safety concerns on to their supervisors. The only safety incidents the director was aware of were medical events. 

Houk described hearing of additional complaints from shelter guests, such as not being allowed inside even briefly to warm up or get some food. His impression is that the system has a feeling of meanness, a cruelty built into it apparent from the commander in chief down to the Ashland city manager’s office, he said. There is an intention to make homeless people feel unwelcome in Ashland and it is having its desired effect, he said. 

Attempts by Houk to press the city to reconsider its interpretation of fire code to allow for more occupants through measures such as a fire watch were met with resistance, he said, referencing an email between Houk, Shay and Fire Chief Ralph Sartain. 

In the email — obtained by Ashland.news — Sartain instructed Houk to desist in attempting to arrange a meeting with Shay to discuss capacity. 

“I appreciate your service on the 2200 planning committee. Unfortunately, there is nothing we will say or discuss with you regarding the occupancy load/use of 2200 Ashland Street that you have not heard about. The City Council has made its decision on the structure moving forward, and City Manager Cotta is working toward accomplishing the goals set by the council,” Sartain wrote. 

An email sent by Ashland.news to Sartain, Shay, Emergency Manager Kelly Burns and City Manager Sabrina Cotta was answered exclusively by Cotta. 

Due to the weather event, Cotta said the shelter will not only operate around the clock, but its capacity was raised to 39 people through Sunday. 

“The city will be shortly issuing a design/build RFP to begin construction on the building hopefully soon after the winter shelter operation wraps up at the end of March. The construction will hopefully address the need for sprinklers, egress issues for sleeping, but also expand the facility to include showering, laundry and storage which will allow for better utilization of the space both as a severe weather shelter but also meet other needs of the community,” Cotta wrote. 

Despite the building’s limitations, comments from neighbors and others have been positive, she said. Engel also stated neighbors and those who may have originally been skeptical of the building have offered positive feedback and some were even able to set up community tours of the space with Rogue Retreat. The organization is open to feedback because, while it is proud to know it has done well, it aspires to continue to do better. 

During the pandemic, Engel said he worked in the medical field. The same principles discovered then for hospitals apply for shelters — they don’t work when they’re full.

“We talk about big disasters all the time, but we don’t talk a lot about the little personal disasters that happen every day, the car accidents, the broken legs,” he said. 

A hospital needs some remaining capacity for the reliable incursion of little disasters, the same way a shelter should ideally remain at around 70% capacity to be able to continuously meet demand. Engel said he looks forward to the day when this will be true, but as a nonprofit operating shelters throughout the valley, he could state shelters in Medford, Grants Pass and elsewhere are wrestling with continuously failing to meet the demand for services. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].