Disability Rights Advocates, People with Disabilities File Emergency Lawsuit Against Grants Pass
City Council’s actions on homelessness threaten lives in dead of winter, violate state law
MEDIA CONTACTS
Disability Rights Oregon: Melissa Roy-Hart | (503) 444-0026 | media@droregon.org
Oregon Law Center: Ali Mayeda, (207) 590-2299, avzmayeda@gmail.com
GRANTS PASS, Ore.—Disability Rights Oregon and Oregon Law Center today filed an emergency lawsuit to stop the City of Grants Pass from forcing homeless residents with disabilities to live in life-threatening conditions. The lawsuit seeks an immediate temporary restraining order to stop the city’s recent closing of one of only two sanctioned camps while limiting camping to only overnight.
The remaining camp is overcrowded, unprotected from harsh winter weather, and lacks necessities including drinking water. If people are not able to comply, they could face citations, $75 fines, and 30-day exclusions from the camp.
“Putting the lives of people with disabilities at risk in the dead of winter because they don’t have housing is cruel and illegal,” said Jake Cornett, Executive Director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon. "Without adequate shelter space available, forcing a person in a wheelchair or someone with a chronic illness to pack and move their belongings daily is not just impossible, it's inhumane. Grants Pass’s dangerous actions must be stopped."
In the filing, Disability Rights Oregon and the Oregon Law Center assert that the City’s policy and practices violate Oregon state laws, including state law prohibiting discrimination based on disability.
Plaintiffs
The plaintiffs are Disability Rights Oregon and five individuals who live with disabilities. Their ages range from 47 to 66. More than 80 percent of unsheltered houseless people in Oregon report living with at least one disability. One in four people who are homeless are more than 55 years old.
Plaintiff Jeffrey Dickerson, 57, who was forced to move when the camp closed, uses a cane to walk because of neuropathy, chronic nerve pain, and arthritis. He looks for apartments all the time but hasn’t been able to find a place he can afford on Social Security Disability Income:
“My health was already suffering before I was living on the streets, but living outside has made it even worse. I’m connected with social service agencies, I’m on housing lists. So, I’m waiting. But I don’t know how long the wait is going to be. I can’t leave Grants Pass, because my family is here, and it has been my home for basically my entire life. If I can’t stay at 7th Street, and I’m not allowed to be anywhere else, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
Plaintiff Janine Harris, 57, who lives with arthritis, chronic pain, vertigo, and chronic migraines:
“Being homeless is really hard on a person’s body, especially if you have physical disabilities. I don’t know what I’m going to do when the J Street camp closes. I can’t be on my feet all day; I can barely make short trips to and from the grocery store as it is without needing to call someone for help. If I have to carry all my belongings in my wagon, there’s no way I’ll be able to get around. 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.”
Dr. Bruce Murray isn’t a plaintiff, but he knows what life is like at the remaining camp. He’s a retired physician who has volunteered to support the homeless community in Grants Pass for five years. Dr. Murray says:
“Oregonians believe in treating people with dignity and respect, and we know it is cruel to punish people who are just trying to survive”, said Dr. Bruce Murray, who volunteers with the Mobile Integrative Navigation Team (MINT) in Grants Pass. The City Council is making a dangerous situation even worse by forcing people out of town and away from any support or assistance. Medical care of this diverse and vulnerable population is inseparable from meeting their shelter and housing needs. We have tried to stop this harm and focus on proven solutions like health care, social and behavioral services the unsheltered desperately need to improve their lives. We are ready and willing to step up to meet the need if only we had access to adequate resources to serve the unsheltered, especially seniors and people with disabilities.”
Background
Oregon has less than half the shelter beds needed statewide. Wages in the state have not kept pace with rising rents. Rent assistance, mental health care, and eviction protection have been severely underfunded for decades. However, recent state investments are making a difference, with 2024 data showing a 24% increase in sheltered homelessness.
January 7, 2025: Grants Pass City Council passed the resolution 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.
September 2024: Disability Rights Oregon wrote to Grants Pass on September 13 and on October 3, and shared concerns at the September 18 City Council meeting, but has received nothing but silence in return.
April-June 2024: Grants Pass’s treatment of people living outdoors made national news last year when a related case was heard by the 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 (OLC) provides free legal help to people struggling to make ends meet on matters related to their homes, livelihoods, medical care and physical safety against domestic violence.
