Navigation Center Opening

The Gary Leif Navigation Center is opening next week on June 23 and The City of Roseburg and United Community Action Network are inviting the community to the grand opening. The ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. at the center, 948 SE Mill St. in Roseburg. Carol Leif, widow of the late state Rep. Gary Leif, will attend to accept the plaque honoring her late husband’s effort to fund the emergency shelter and navigation center This will be the first emergency shelter and navigation center in Roseburg. The center will provide or oversee a decent, safe, sanitary shelter for homeless women, men and families as well as case management services to help people become more self-sufficient and enable them to find and move into stable, sustainable housing. The center is opening with a week to spare, enabling the City to keep $1.5 million in state funding and apply for an additional $1 million for the facility. In addition, Umpqua Health Alliance has provided the City of Roseburg two grants totaling $300,000 for the center. Housing and homelessness are often top issues discussed at City Council meetings. The center is owned by the City and will be run by United Community Action Network to offer services for homeless women, men and families. The City bought the property in late February and the Roseburg City Council voted on Monday, March 14, to name the shelter for Leif, who was instrumental in getting $1.5 million in state funding for the facility before he died on July 22, 2021. “This is a huge step in getting unhoused people in our community into a stable environment where they will be able to get the assistance they need to find permanent, stable housing,” said Roseburg Assistant City Manager Amy Sowa. “We are fortunate to have a strong community partner like UCAN operating this shelter.” Brief remarks will be made by Roseburg Mayor Larry Rich, UCAN Executive Director Shaun Pritchard and Oregon Housing Stability Councilmember Gerard Sandoval, an associate professor in the University of Oregon Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management. “We look forward to assisting the City of Roseburg and continuing to work with our many partner agencies in administering the new program and site to help serve the community’s homeless population,” said UCAN Executive Director Shaun Pritchard. “The goal of this program is to ensure that multi-agency supportive services are coordinated to accelerate a return to permanent housing for this population.” Service providers expected at the Community Open House include Adapt, Aviva Health, Peace at Home and Umpqua Health Alliance. Roseburg Police Chief Gary Klopfenstein and other City officials also will be there to answer questions and hear people’s concerns. The center’s Phase 1 opening will include 10 pallet shelters set up in the parking area and case management services to help people become more self-sufficient. Phase 2 includes renovating the building to allow 30 shelter beds. City officials are looking at options for a second shower and laundry trailer. At the Point In Time count done in 2021, every single one of the 287 shelter beds in Douglas County reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development were occupied.