A winter shelter operates two nights per week, from November through April, out of Ashland’s Pioneer Hall through a partnership with Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and Temple Emek Shalom. RVUUF’s Social Justice and Action Committee encourages letter-writing and attendance at the Tuesday, April 5 Ashland City Council meeting to support continuation of the Winter Shelter partnership.

According to John Wieczorek, citing a communication from City Administrator Dave Kanner, the Ashland Parks Department wanted to discontinue use of Pioneer Hall for the winter shelter.

“After meeting with Michael Black and Rachel Dials from the Parks Department, they confirmed that the Pioneer Hall location was not working for them, but wanted to explore the Grove as a location for next year. After following up with them, they said that the Grove would not work, but they would allow Pioneer Hall to go forward for next year’s shelter.”

Wieczorek is concerned that this decision could change between now and the April 5 meeting (7 p.m. in Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St.)

A report to the council on the 2016 winter shelter program is scheduled for the April 5 meeting under New and Miscellaneous Business. The Parks and Recreation Department has been invited to participate to discuss issues and concerns it has regarding use of Pioneer Hall as a shelter. This item is scheduled “for information only” and no action has been requested by city staff.

Wieczorek asks that supporters attend the city council meeting and sign up to voice their support for continuation of the Pioneer Hall shelter.

The meeting agenda notes, “Any citizen may orally address the Council on non-agenda items during the Public Forum. Any citizen may submit written comments to the Council on any item on the Agenda, unless it is the subject of a public hearing and the record is closed. Time permitting, the Presiding Officer may allow oral testimony. If you wish to speak, please fill out the Speaker Request form located near the entrance to the Council Chambers. The chair will recognize you and inform you as to the amount of time allotted to you, if any. The time granted will be dependent to some extent on the nature of the item under discussion, the number of people who wish to speak, and the length of the agenda.”

Wieczorek also provided a sample letter for a letter-writing campaign:

Dear Mr. Kanner,

I’m writing to express support for the continuation of providing winter shelter at Pioneer Hall. This four-year partnership with the faith-based community provides invaluable support to Ashland’s most vulnerable community members. Providing this service two nights per week facilitates 1,300 nights of safe, warm, and dry sleep per winter. Sheltering those with no protection from the elements clearly saves lives.

Public safety is one of the City’s primary functions. This becomes glaringly clear when natural disasters strike. This focus sometimes gets lost in the day to day functions of a City. Losing two out of the four nights of shelter would go against the City’s obligation to protect its citizens.

With no shelter on the weekends, one could argue that we are not currently meeting this obligation. Eliminating shelter nights increases the risk of death due to hypothermia, as consecutive nights of exposure escalate the rate of death.

I want to thank the City for understanding the importance of partnering on this service. Please do everything in your power to maintain, or increase Ashland’s ability to provide shelter to our most vulnerable community members.

Letters should be directed to the following individuals:

Dave Kanner, City Administrator: dave.kanner@ashland.or.us
Rachel Dials, Recreation Superintendent: dialsr@ashland.or.us
Mayor Stromberg: john@council.ashland.or.us
Michael Black, Park Director: michael.black@ashland.or.us
Mike Morris, mike@council.ashland.or.us
Carol Voisin, carol@council.ashland.or.us
Greg Lemhouse: greg@council.ashland.or.us
Pam Marsh: pam@council.ashland.or.us
Rich Rosenthall: rich@council.ashland.or.us
Stephani Steffinger: stefani@council.ashland.or.us