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ASHLAND Council OKs using Pioneer Hall as shelter again Comment By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 27, 2015 at 4:37 PM By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 27, 2015 at 4:37 PM » Social News Those in Ashland without a roof over their heads will have a place to sleep indoors two nights a week this winter after Ashland City Council renewed an agreement to make Pioneer Hall on Winburn Way available as a shelter during the winter months. The shelter, a volunteer project coordinated by the Social Justice and Action Committee of the Unitarian Fellowship, provides food and beds Tuesday and Thursday nights from mid-November to mid-April. The building has been used as a homeless shelter for four years, and council made changes to the agreement for this year. Citing rising use of the shelter, the council approved an increase in the allowable number of guests at the site to 30 from 25. Shelter coordinator John Wieczorek says the average nightly occupancy has risen from an average of 19 people per night at its inception to 25 people last year. Wieczorek said the increase is welcome. “It seems like the need has grown," Wieczorek said. "Even in our affluent community of Ashland, 18 percent of the population lives at or below the poverty level. Which means many of them are just one bad break away from losing their housing.” Wieczorek says there is just a 1- to 2-percent vacancy rate in rental housing in Ashland, and if a person becomes homeless, it can become increasingly difficult to secure housing afterward. He also says rents are on the rise in town, which increases the burden on those living in poverty. Wieczorek says about a third of the guests at the shelter are women, and while no minors are permitted, it is common to have 20-year-olds and senior citizens in the same night. He noted that elderly and disabled people have a more difficult time on the street, especially in the colder months. At least two people staff the shelter each night. Wieczorek says behavior problems are rare. “We very rarely have those kinds of problems," he said. "Usually it is a mental health issue and some guests have a hard time controlling their noise level. But we typically can have a conversation and remind them of the 10 o’clock lights-out, and that’s as far as it goes.” The council removed language requiring dogs to be crated at the shelter. Wieczorek noted that a volunteer organization of veterinarians called Street Dogs does extensive outreach at the shelter, performing vaccinations, spaying and neutering and providing medical services to dogs owned by the homeless. The council directed city staff to add a stipulation that the guest-to-volunteer ratio at the shelter not exceed 15-to-1 and that the facility should be cleaned to the standards recommended by the Jackson County Animal Shelter, including use of diluted bleach to prevent the spread of disease between animals. The shelter is jointly operated by the Unitarian Fellowship and Temple Emek Shelom. Wieczorek says the group will host a training session Nov. 11 at First Presbyterian Church for anyone who wants to volunteer at the shelter. For details, call him at 541-482-8230. Alec Dickinson is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected] By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 27, 2015 at 4:37 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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