Advocates Reach Settlement with Grants Pass to Protect Homeless Residents with Disabilities

Agreement improves conditions for vulnerable populations

MEDIA CONTACTS

Disability Rights Oregon: Melissa Roy-Hart | (503) 444-0026 | [email protected] Law Center: Sarah Armstrong, (503) 756-3147, [email protected]

GRANTS PASS, Ore.-Disability Rights Oregon and the Oregon Law Center today announced a settlement agreement with the City of Grants Pass that resolves the emergency lawsuit filed in January 2025 to stop the city from forcing homeless residents with disabilities to live in life-threatening conditions. The settlement addresses the city's homelessness policies that violated Oregon state laws prohibiting discrimination based on disability.

The settlement agreement stipulates the city must, in part:

• Provide ample drinking water at all approved camping sites.

• Provide accessible, low barrier camping capacity for 150 people in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) throughout the next 12 months.

• Award an additional $60k block grant to a local nonprofit providing support services to homeless residents.

"Oregon can't arrest its way out of homelessness, and we are pleased the city has committed to developing more humane and legally compliant approaches to this public health crisis," said Jake Cornett, executive director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon. "This settlement represents a significant step forward in ensuring people with disabilities experiencing homelessness have places to rest, basic necessities like drinking water, and real opportunity to stabilize their lives."

The five individual plaintiffs in the case, ranging in age from 47 to 66, all live with disabilities that make compliance with the city's previous policies particularly challenging.

"Being homeless is really hard on a person's body, especially if you have physical disabilities," said plaintiff Janine Harris, 57, in a court declaration."I just want everyone to know that a lot of people who are living outside are people, just like them, who are doing their best to get by."

Harris was forced by the city to leave the J Street lot, collecting her belongings in a wagon. "I have arthritis in my hips and knees, asthma, and severe pain in my shoulders and back. I often need a cane when I walk to make sure I don't fall … If there's no place where I can be, what am I supposed to do?"

According to Multnomah County's 2022 Point-In-Time Count, over 80% of unsheltered houseless people in Oregon report living with at least one disability, one in three older adults is rent burdened, and one in four people who are homeless is over 55 years old.

With Oregon short an estimated 140,000 affordable housing units, and rising rents far outpacing wages in the state, many Oregonians are forced to live outside. And advocates say recent state cuts to emergency rent assistance mean thousands more Oregonians will be pushed toward homelessness. Meanwhile, a 2024 study of 100 major U.S. cities found that punitive responses did not decrease homelessness.

"Requiring people to 'move along' everyday doesn't get people into housing, it just makes life harder and more dangerous," said Allison Nasson, staff attorney at Oregon Law Center."When you have been forced to live outside, you still need water, a bathroom, and a place to rest."

Resources

• August 15: Notice of Dismissal

• August 8, 2025: Settlement Agreement

• May 29, 2025: Order to Modify Preliminary Injunction

• May 23, 2025: Motion to Modify Preliminary Injunction

• March 28, 2025: Order to Grant Preliminary Injunction

• March 4, 2025: Order to Extend Temporary Restraining Order & Set Hearing Date

• February 27, 2025: Amended Complaint

• February 27, 2025: Motion for Preliminary Injunction

• February 27, 2025: Motion to Extend Temporary Restraining Order

• February 14, 2025: Order to Extend Temporary Retraining Order

• February 3, 2025: Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

• January 30, 2025: Complaint

Background

• January 30, 2025: Disability Rights Oregon and Oregon Law Center filed Disability Rights Oregon et al. v City of Grants Pass. The lawsuit sought an immediate temporary restraining order to stop the city from forcing homeless residents with disabilities to live in life-threatening conditions.

• January 7, 2025: Against the advice of the city's legal counsel, and despite testimonies of dozens of residents who spoke up in favor of a humane approach, the Grants Pass City Council passed a resolution to close one of only two sanctioned camps while limiting camping to only overnight. The remaining camp was overcrowded, unprotected from harsh winter weather, and lacked necessities including drinking water. If people were not able to comply, they faced citations, $75 fines, and 30-day exclusions from the camp.

• September 2024: Disability Rights Oregon wrote to Grants Pass on September 13 and on October 3, and shared concerns about the city's discriminatory camping ban ordinance at the September 18 City Council meeting. No replies were received.

• April-June 2024: Grants Pass's treatment of people living outdoors made national news when a related case was heard by the United States Supreme Court. In the 2024 Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, the Supreme Court specifically pointed to Oregon's state camping law as an example of how states can manage public spaces amid a housing crisis.

About

Disability Rights Oregon upholds the civil rights of people with disabilities to live, work and engage in the community. Serving as Oregon's federally mandated Protection & Advocacy system since 1977, the nonprofit works to transform systems, policies, and practices to give more people the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Oregon Law Center is a nonprofit organization that provides free legal help to people struggling to make ends meet. The mission of the Oregon Law Center is to achieve justice for the low-income communities of Oregon by providing a full range of the highest quality civil legal services.