Medford's application for shelter funding denied by state

MEDFORD, Ore.– The City of Medford and Rogue Retreat had their application denied for state funding that would go towards operating multiple shelters in the city.

The operations funding would allow the city and Rogue Retreat to continue to run the navigation center, the urban campground and others in 2024.

City Manager Brian Sjothun said they need around $3.5 million to run the shelters for a full year.

Rogue Retreat’s Executive Director Sam Engel said, “there’s an awful lot of folks in the community who need support either with medical care, or with transitional care, folks that need to be supported while they’re waiting to go to inpatient drug and alcohol treatment, so we would like to contract some of our units if we possibly can to try and generate some revenue that can be used to run the rest of the shelter as well.”

The City of Medford said it may encourage residents to contact their state representatives about funding the shelters.