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Rogue Retreat gets contract to operate Navigation Center By Damian Mann Updated: Jun 17, 2022 06:15 PM A A Center will shelter 100 people a night and provide numerous services to help homeless people Medford City Council approved a contract Thursday for Rogue Retreat to run the homeless Navigation Center on Market Street. The building is expected to open in July. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Medford City Council Thursday night unanimously approved a contract with Rogue Retreat to operate a homeless center in Medford despite allegations of anti-gay bias against the organization’s executive director. City officials said they would ensure LGBTQ+ members would be treated equitably at the homeless Navigation Center. “You have a right to access these services just like everybody else,” said Eric Mitton, city attorney. Chad McComas, executive director of Rogue Retreat, has been placed on paid administrative leave while an investigation delves into whether the LGBTQ+ community has been treated unfairly by his organization or at his church. McComas is pastor of Set Free Ministry, which has been criticized for allegedly allowing pamphlets to be passed out that endorse “conversion therapy,” which attempts to transform gay or transgender people, sometimes referred to as “pray the gay away.” City grant funding to Set Free, which operates showers and other facilities for the homeless, has been put on hold. Set Free and Rogue Retreat share some personnel, and some community members have alleged the conversion therapy at Set Free has bled over to Rogue Retreat. The council listened to almost an hour of public comment from people either opposed to or in support of Rogue Retreat, which houses 550 homeless people a night at various facilities. Rogue Retreat will be in charge of operations at the Navigation Center, located close to Oregon Department of Human Services and La Clinica, at 685 and 691 Market St., in Medford. Dozens of other local organizations will set up shop inside the center to give support to homeless people, including for mental health, to help them stay off the streets. The agreement will finalize a lengthy city effort to establish the Navigation Center and have it operational by July. Robin Felton, who spoke at the meeting, described Set Free as a “deeply homophobic church … led by bigots like Pastor Chad McComas.” Felton ended comments to the council by saying “F… Rogue Retreat.” Nicole Poston, who said she was an addict who received support from Rogue Retreat, said she’s been clean for more than a year. “Rogue Retreat gave me my life back,” said Poston. “I don’t understand the negative part of this.” Sarah Kolb, who owns Signs of Hope, a local business that helps Rogue Valley residents navigate social services and the criminal justice system, said she has been in recovery for nine years and has had a lot of interactions with Rogue Retreat. “There is a lot of evidence Rogue Retreat has been effective in their lives,” she said. “Never have I had anyone come to me and say anything negative about Rogue Retreat.” She said she has referred many homeless people to the organization over the years. “The one main thing I love about Pastor Chad is not only his commitment to the community but his follow-through,” Kolb said. April Mercier, who said she grew up in west Medford and is the proud mother of a gay son, said the ideologies of Set Free, which runs a church in west Medford, are “truly chilling to me.” The Navigation Center is a 15,576-square-foot building just off Biddle Road that will serve 100 people a night. In the proposed agreement, the city would give Rogue Retreat $500,000 over a three-year period to help offset some of the steep operating costs for the Navigation Center, which will be open seven days a week. The city estimates the annual cost to operate the center, which will have 25 staff members, at $1.63 million annually, or $45.83 cents for each homeless person every day. The city is investing $4,455,000 from state, federal and local dollars into the remodel of the Market Street buildings. The city will retain ownership of the property, but Rogue Retreat will manage the operations. The council also approved the purchase of four acres on West McAndrews Road for a homeless camp to replace the urban campground off Biddle Road. Contingent on an environmental assessment, the approval gives authorization to the city manager to pay $1,510,000 for the land, which will be used for an urban campground as well as future transitional housing for the homeless. Former Councilor John Michaels said the city is making a mistake establishing a permanent campground. “It repeats the mistakes of Portland, the Bay Area and Eugene,” he said. “Already those areas have seen the backlash.” Cindy Vancamp, who works at Rogue Retreat, said her organization isn’t perfect, but it does provide shelter for 550 people a night, who would otherwise be sleeping on Medford’s streets. She said the allegations against McComas are difficult to believe, noting that the only thing of a religious nature she’s seen from McComas are the “promise cards” he passes out to almost everyone he encounters. “Some of the stories you’re hearing are not the full truth,” Vancamp said. Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].