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Okay coming from someone who was born and raised here from 1986 to 2005... then having moved back in 2014... this place is NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. The homeless walk the streets at night like zombies. Their tents are visible at every single park in town. You drive past a baseball field and see kids with their parents playing teeball, and 30 feet away people hunched over nodded off from drugs with a dozen tents surrounding them. Its shameful.
Our whole state has gone to crap since Brown took office several years ago. There are homeless communities all along I-5 and the 205 in Portland. Making all drugs legal turned the streets in Portland into a horrible place. Garbage, vandalism, murder, living Fentanyl statues, sidewalk toilets, public overdosing all over the place. God help us. 😢
I moved out of Grants Pass in March 2023. The homeless and drug problems were one of the main reasons. Lived there 20 years, and it just got worse and worse. I live in northwoods Wisconsin now. It's way to cold 5 months a year for any homeless to camp here. I moved here with that in mind.
The legalization of drug possession definitely caused some issues across the state. Thankfully that was just recently changed and drug possession is now going to be illegal again, with a 6 month jail sentence or opportunity to get treatment. I think this is going to create some MAJOR progress in addressing both the homelessness and drug issues that resulted from the legalization of drug possession.
They found a dead body in the pond at Reinhart. Huge homeless tent community across the road from Riverside. This is not a full disclosure video. Just a glimpse of daytime visual inspection.
Moved to GP a couple years ago from the Midwest, I think things are getting better, I like it here more than Medford personally. We're closer to the coast.
@@CarissaNelson-n1t I would definitely agree with you, I lived in medford for most of my life and in the last year I moved to GP and it is by far a much better place to be.
Grants pass used to be a nice town. We used to drive from Crescent city, stop by kerby get my grandparents and go to Grant's pass to do shopping at k mart and bi mart.
This video does not properly represent the current homeless crisis here in Grants Pass. I get it, you are trying to sell property. But please! Those of us who live here, own property and have watched not only our value go down, but have to deal with this on a daily, we would appriciate an appropriate description of our community. There are no safe parks, there is a constant worry, the crime is awful and I could go on and on. Hopefully it gets back to the beautiful safe place it once was. But seriously...this video is not correct at all!
100% agree I live here and it's absolutely disgusting how bad it has gotten in recent years and currently. This video does not do justice to the truth at all
Yup.he left out the parks the homeless HAVE over run. I can't take my kids to the closest park to our house because there is a whole camp there! Aggressive bums and thieves live there i might add.
I live five houses from Riverside Park that's nice you went through it but that's not what it looks like if you're really trying to advertise Grants Pass. Please visit Tussing Park, Bakers Park, show pictures of the tents that are up across from Riverside Park, people from their come over in group in Riverside Park during the day. I have constant foot traffic down my street. I moved here 6 years ago from San Diego I never dealt with something like this.
I have a good feeling the issue is going to be significantly less very soon. Measure 110, which leaglized possession of drugs, is getting modified so that drug possession is a misdemeanor. There is also a lawsuit that the Supreme Court is handling involving Grants Pass and the policies around homeless people occupying and sleeping in public places like parks. I think a year from now the city will look a lot different.
I have seen grayhound buses literally dropping off homeless people here! Lived her my whole life and it did not used to be like this. A lot of them live out in the woods.
Long-term GP resident who has lived in several other states in cities such as Phoenix, AZ and a recent stint just west of Atlanta. I also have a son living in Vancouver, WA and working in PDX and go up there regularly. I agree on the homelessness/housing issue - the state really needs to do some reform on their overly strict laws. But I think it is a very safe city, especially in comparison to the cities I mentioned. My wife and I haven't come up with a better place to live yet and enjoy what GP has to offer.
This was an excellent explanation for why and how homelessness has increased across the country. One more hurdle not mentioned is NIMBY. A lot of those same people complaining about homelessness also don’t want additional homes and neighborhoods added to their communities. They don’t like growth.
Brian, thanks much for creating this post. Excellent overview. I grew up in southern California and I have been visiting southern Oregon to visit my grandparents since the 1980s. Homelessness is a national issue and southern Oregon is definitely one of the most impacted regions in the country. We moved to Grants Pass in 2017, and I worked in Ashland. Daily, I see many more homeless people in Ashland. The parks are the areas where the homeless seem to congregate so your overview is a good resource to illustrate where this issue is more prevalent. One of the biggest surprises we experienced in moving from SoCal to Grants Pass was the wildfire season. In SoCal, we went from having an epic fire once every 5 years or so in the 70s and 80s to an epic fire every year in the 90s, to multiple epic fires all over the region constantly. The wildfires, combined with traffic were some of the top reasons we moved and when we moved here in 2018, I did not realize this region also was being impacted by wildfire. Now it is clear that most of the western United States has to face the reality of wildfires, but here in Grants Pass we often feel boxed in with no way out when there are fires. August and September are good months to plan vacations elsewhere. We live on the river and rarely see any homeless in our area, and they never stick around, just walk through. I have only seen homeless people twice in six years. Another important reality to understand about Grants Pass is how our town was impacted by COVID-19. Like most of the USA, our area was hit hard and our business community is still struggling to recover. I see more recovery every year. I would say the three top issues to consider when moving to Grants Pass from another state are 1. Taxes (an auto increase of 3% every year is extremely high, especially for higher-end properties), 2. Wildfire (try to plan vacations during summer), and 3. Homeless. (just stay away from the areas where they congregate). Other than those issues, this area is wonderful. Beautiful lakes and rivers, wineries, farmers markets, not too far to visit the coast, and a genuine feeling of old Americana.
This is a very informative video and your style of presentation is well balanced. I would only dispute (vigorously) your logic that lack of housing is the reason for homelessness. Over 90% of chronic homeless individuals would not qualify as tenant or property owner despite it's availability. Homelessness connected to lack of employment, drug addiction and mental illness (3 pillars for homelessness) is not house purchasing demographic. Would you rent your property to any of the homeless persons you may typically encounter? Ridiculous. It is true that land use restrictions greatly inhibit development, but that is a discussion of environmental, economic and corruption (yes, the c word) issues that have not been properly addressed. Homeless populations congregate in communities that offer assistance and disregard the improper use of public spaces.. Soldier on with your videos, much of you offer is helpful, indeed.
Another great segment, Brian, thank you. Reinhardt Volunteer Park has no campers, because that's not allowed in that park. Across the river (pedestrian bridge), Tussing Park is usually a homeless village. Riverside has concentrated its homeless at the west end, and that keeps the rest of the park pretty clear. Grants Pass can't forbid public camping because there is no low barrier (no religious requirement, etc.) shelter facility in town. You are spot-on regarding the constitutional test. Still being litigated. Until there is a low barrier shelter, public camping can't be banned. Even though possession of drugs has been lowered to a citation offense in Oregon under Measure 110, drug use (even tobacco use and open containers) can and does get the user booted from parks. Of course, it's a revolving door, as they are seldom jailed. Closing of mental health institutions was begun nationwide under Carter, with the goal of replacing the institutional settings with community-based care. When Reagan was elected, funding for community care evaporated. So we had closed facilities, but nowhere to put the mentally ill. All states have a scarcity of mental health beds and practitioners, and Oregon's situation is one of the worst. The cost of housing has outstripped incomes. That's the main driver of this problem. But hey, let's crush some more family-wage jobs, offshore more manufacturing and toss the super-wealthy another tax break. I'm sure they'll share. [Sarcasm font on.] Last year I put in water, power and sewer on a street in Oakridge. That city has ZERO development fees. I paid nothing for permits or inspections. The public works director even got down in the trenches (literally) with me and twisted a wrench on a water main air release valve I was installing. That city is a joy to work with. What killed me was the cost of materials and supply chain nightmares. Margins for development have become razor thin. I did investigations in Josephine County for over thirty years. I have watched this place go from okay to scary--for the sort of work I did, I mean. There is no way I'd be out there doing that job now. Police and sheriff's office folks are skilled and humane. They are truly heroic. While there are a lot of homeless in this county, these officers and deputies make sure the trash is picked up and laws are enforced. They, along with other first responders and social services agencies are the unsung heroes of this story. Hats off to them, and to you for another accurate and balanced video.
Thank you very much for the kind words and your thoughtful comment. These topics are all complex and it's helpful to have input like yours in the comments. Please keep it coming!
To a normal person that grew up on the east coast, the homeless (junkies) in Grants Pass is out of control. They should just sell most of the parks and develop low income housing for seniors. I live near the Gilbert creek park it’s absolutely overrun most days of the week.
There are definitely more homeless than some other parts of the country. But have you been to Eugene, Salem, or Portland? If you look at other parts of this state, or even other parts of the West Coast, GP seems pretty moderate. Either way, I am confident help is coming soon as it sounds like there will be some changes made to the Bill that made it legal to posses drugs. From what I understand, the politicians in Salem realize that was a disaster and they are leaning towards making it a misdemeanor with treatment options like a DUII. That would have a huge impact on the problem, as law enforcement would have a law to actually enforce. But we will see what happens...
The majority of the clips are from Grants Pass. The editor did use some stock images to keep you from having to stare at my ugly face the entire time, so be thankful. Haha
I thought the same thing. We're told it's not as bad as the stock video, but if you can't get video of the real thing is it because it's not safe to be there? Seems like a whitewash to me.
I worked in most of these areas for 9 years. In the beginning it was beautiful. In the last 3 or 4 years it’s become tent city. I get it everyone has to be somewhere, it’s hard to do your job when you’re dealing with needles and human excrement. My area included Riverside park,Morrison park,Baker park and Fruitdale park. And a few others. For the good people of these areas, sorry about your irrigation water. If any of you read this,you know who I am. I’ve been gone two months. Good luck!
Excerpt from an article that puts the crisis into perspective: "Grants Pass, a city of 38,000 people in southern Oregon, was estimated to have between 50 and 600 people who were homeless." Full article here: news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-rule-clearing-homeless-191705841.html
I lived in grants pass for 16 years I don't care how bad some of the drugs get that's just a choice you make for yourself as far as the homeless people not much I could do about it alone but I would still come back there because all four of my best friends live right there in grants pass when my time that I'm doing down here in Texas to take care of my mother is over I shall be moving back I'm bringing both of my drum sets and I'm going to get back in a decent band like I used to be because that place is just full of good musicians Long live grants pass and Oregon to me it's Paradise be peaceful be safe
People who move to grants pass dont have issues they love gp, it's more the ones who were born or raised here who complain, I moved here 3 years ago and we love it, it's nothing compared to other places with homeless and larger population.
I live in G.P have for 20 year. Yes we have homeless that problem is focused in the parks but what town doesn't have some homeless but overall i feel very safe living here. I would move here allover again. as for drug use I don't see it.
Every landlord demands perfect credit, Me as a tenent, I wish I could demand a non-smoking floor, wing or bldg. It shouldn't be damn near impossible-we do pay the highest rents on earth FFS! I have been exiled from English Canada by extortionate rent. I feel like a fish out of water in Quebec but here the rent can't go up more than 5-7% per year. The rent rose 65% in NB 2 yrs ago/
As someone from San Diego, I can tell you one thing. While land use can be frustrating seeing what large developers will do to your cities you wouldn't want it the other way. It's nice when local developers can work to get areas zoned and developed but watching swaths of land be taken by developers who in turn just make luxury housing which no one can afford anyways it doesn't help the supply side, it just takes away recreational land from its residents. They end up pricing everyone in the community out too, those same developers will want in on commercial real estate on the rivers, which means more roads, etc. Just thought I'd share my experiences with the other side of the spectrum. What's crazy is we are STILL underdeveloped when it comes to affordable single family homes.
Thank you for sharing that! I agree with you completely. I don't want massive development like what you see in areas like San Diego, but just being able to do some simple development or add an ADU to your home would be really helpful in addressing the issue. Thanks for watching!
Vancouver, made $40K/yr for the 5 yr pre-Olympic construction boom. Post 2010, no income for 10 mos., no job for 3.5 yrs. Jobs return but for min wage, rent rises 36% per yr. I take on 1,2,3,4 jobs-move to China for 5 yrs then Quebec City.. No work in rural BC.
Id say there are more homeless now versus then, but there was a report that just came out last week that showed the number of homeless in Southern Oregon is on the decline. 👍👍
I am considering making Grants Pass a 3-4 day hub for riding motorcycle around the area while, hopefully, having a few things to do in town with my wife. E.g. nice restaurants, shops, ect. Had a bad experience in Portland with naked bike parade, riot in front of the Marriott and on and on. Is GP worth the effort or better to stay in a small town?
Not sure if anyone commented this, no time to read them all. The All Sports Park will not have homeless. It's Not owned by the city. The park has their own rules. NO HOMELESS. So that is why you see zero tents there.
Why not film the huge city homeless camp right across the street from Riverside? Why didn't you film the camps at Tussing across the foot Bridge from Reinhardt? Go down the street from Hawthorne to Ogle Park where insane screaming homeless live? Why not go down to the end of Tom Peirce where the bums are by the track and the bum Hwy right there. Seems like a very non realistic portrait being painted in this video.
@BuyingSouthernOregon you don't have to hunt very hard lol. The video purposely misportrays the local area and atmosphere. Filming the nice side and avoid what's right across the street. Showing the truth doesn't sell real-estate though I completely understand.
@@highlandcrawlerTo be honest with you, I was actually surprised by how sparse the homeless population was. It could have just been a coincidence on the day we shot the video, but I asked the videographer to make sure he was filming any obvious camps so we can show them. They just weren't there. I wasn't afraid of showing a huge homeless camp if that is what was there, because I know that even the biggest homeless camp in GP is going to be nothing compared to what viewers are seeing in other areas like Portland, Seattle, Bay Area, LA, etc. That's the point of the video. Locals claim the problem is crazy, because it's more than it had been in the past, but it's nothing compared to other areas. I honestly wish the video was able to show more camps so it didn't seem like it was misleading, but again...they just weren't there.
I'm hearing it may be repealed or at least heavily modified. Sounds like politicians are leaning towards making it a misdemeanor with treatment options similar to a DUII. Fingers crossed.
People we are losing sight of the real problem, Do not judge , that you be not judged. Why are we turning a blind eye to the real issue. We are going to have to stand together and Represent for Our Heavenly Father, and keep preaching the gospel, cause John 3:16 says , For God so loved the world He gave us his only begotten Son, that who so ever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
