The Grants Pass City Council recently passed an ordinance limiting the amount of time homeless service organizations can spend helping unhoused people in city parks and on other public property. Service providers would have to register with the city and provide data on the number of people they serve. The ordinance still needs the mayor’s signature to become law.
Sara Bristol is the mayor of Grants Pass, and Cassy Leach is the executive director of MINT, a homeless services provider that serves Josephine County. They both join us to talk about the ordinance and the challenges facing unhoused people in the region.