Foundry Village aims to reduce homelessness in Grants Pass

By Sophia Prince (Jefferson Public Radio)
Nov. 9, 2021 6:31 p.m.

More than a dozen chronically homeless people in Grants Pass will soon have a warm, dry place to stay. Spearheaded by the non-profit Rogue Retreat, the Foundry Village project will provide sixteen tiny houses for homeless people in the area.

In addition to housing, the service works as a resource broker, connecting homeless people to the services such as addiction counseling or mental health resources. Rogue Retreat also will offer them basic services such as help getting an ID, finding a job and managing their money.

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Matthew Vorderstrass is the Development Director at Rogue Retreat. He says that these services will help address the barriers that lead to homelessness.

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“We begin to identify ways that we can help them get back into the job or continue their education or develop a career path forward. Basically for them to move from being in crisis to self-sufficiency.”

Foundry Village is part of a partnership with the nonprofit AllCare Community Foundation. It is designed to be gated and private, with only residents, approved guests and staff allowed in the village.

Vorderstrasse says that this project is part of a larger expansion of services that Rogue Retreat is providing.

“This year, in particular, as all these sites come on board, we will be basically doubling our capacity, as a result of the community support to be able to provide these projects. And so, just about a month ago, on average, we had 323 beds across all sites at Rogue Retreat. By the end of this year, we will have over 600.”

Foundry Village is the latest in a series of tiny house communities on the West Coast, using a successful model that offers shelter and services to address acute homelessness.

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