As storms roll into Southern Oregon, Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass are opening up shelters. Here’s the information:

Ashland:

The City Manager declared a severe weather emergency from Tuesday, February 21 through Friday, February 24.

Schedule/Recap: 
Tuesday, February 21, 5 p.m. to Friday, February 24, 9 a.m. (The shelter will be closed during the daytime hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Severe weather shelter hours are from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. at 48 Fifth Street. The doors will close for the night at 9 p.m. with lights out at 10 p.m. This is a no-frills shelter, which means individuals should plan on providing their own bedding. Well-behaved pets are welcome.

For questions, please contact Avram Sacks, Shelter Coordinator, Options for Helping Residents of Ashland , at 541.220.7307 or 541.631.2235.

NEW USER GROUP ON NIXLE… Sign up for Nixle messages regarding shelters by texting 97520SHELTER (as the text message) to 888777 (as the recipient or in the ‘To:’ field). 

Medford:

City Manager Brian Sjothun has extended the severe weather event declaration for Tuesday, February 21.

The declaration allows the use of approved severe event shelter facilities to provide overnight lodging when the temperature is expected to be below 25 degrees Fahrenheit or 32 degrees Fahrenheit with additional factors such as precipitation or wind.

Severe Event Shelter Location and Information: The Medford Severe Weather Shelter will be open Tuesday, February 21.  The shelter is located at 332 W. 6th Street and hours of operation will be 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 a.m. Services include food, bedding and dry storage capabilities. The shelter can accommodate 64 individuals and is low barrier, thus does not require any religious affiliation or drug testing to enter.

The shelter is staffed by volunteers coordinated by ACCESS. If you are interested in volunteering, please email volunteer@accesshelps.org for more information.

The City is closely monitoring weather conditions and will provide updates to the declaration status as necessary. Text MED4SHELTERS to 888777 to receive the latest on severe weather event shelters in Medford.

Additionally, the City will postpone the removal of tents that are unlawful under the prohibited camping ordinance until the end of this severe weather event declaration.  All fires remain prohibited throughout the City.

Background: The City partners with ACCESS to open and operate the severe weather shelter. It is the City’s responsibility to monitor forecasted weather conditions, coordinate with ACCESS to determine staffing ability and if staffing is available, declare a severe event.

If local organizations are interested in opening their facility to individuals in need of shelter during this extreme weather declaration, please contact Deputy Fire Marshal Tanner Farrington at 541-774-2300.

Grants Pass:

United Community Action Network (UCAN) plans to open the Grants Pass Warming Shelter Tuesday, February 21, through Saturday, February 25.

The shelter is located at 531 NE F Street and hours of operation will be 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. Intake hours are 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Services include food, bedding, and dry storage capabilities. The shelter can accommodate 75 individuals and is low barrier, thus does not require any religious affiliation or drug testing to enter. The shelter will accommodate pets.

The severe weather event declaration issued by the City of Grants Pass in January 2023 allows the use of approved severe event shelter facilities to provide overnight lodging when the temperature is expected to be below 30 degrees Fahrenheit or 32 degrees Fahrenheit with additional factors such as precipitation or wind.

The City partners with UCAN to open and operate the severe weather shelter. The shelter is staffed by volunteers coordinated by UCAN. If you are interested in volunteering, here is the link to volunteer. If you haven’t volunteered before, please email gpwarmingshelter@gmail.com for information on volunteering.