The Urban Campground in Medford has been renamed Rogue Retreat Crossings.

Medford has spent $28.1 million since 2019 to expand shelter options for homeless people, with more beds becoming available in the coming months.

On Thursday, Medford City Council will consider spending more of those dollars to deal with homelessness.

A proposed contract with S&B James Construction for $1,147,247 would allow for construction of Rogue Retreat Crossings, a homeless campground on West McAndrews Road that will likely have 150 or more sleeping units.

Another $260,620 could be awarded to Vision Building Rentals Inc. for a 40-by-30-foot insulated structure at The Crossings.

The Crossings is expected to open before the end of this year and will replace the existing Urban Campground off Biddle Road.

Despite a variety of efforts to create shelters, there are still not enough beds for all of the homeless people in the city.

Council members last Thursday received a rundown of the many citywide efforts to tackle issues related to homelessness, armed with ever-increasing amounts from federal and state grants to build various shelter operations.

In 2021, the city had spent $10.1 million on homelessness since 2019. By 2022, the number had increased to $17.9 million, and then it jumped to $28.1 million as of August 2023.

“Where we are doing the best is persons with families,” said Kelly Madding, deputy city manager.

A point-in-time count in January 2023 of the homeless population by Jackson County Continuum of Care showed the greatest need is for single adults.

Throughout the county, according to the count, there were 644 beds available for single adults, but there were still 534 unsheltered adults.

There were 589 persons in families who had beds, with only two who were unsheltered.

There were 408 veterans who lived in shelters, with 20 who weren’t in a shelter.

Madding said the homeless count is a difficult number to pin down because the homeless population ebbs and flows over time. The actual number of homeless people is likely higher than the point-in-time count.

Medford, which saw the number of homeless camps increase dramatically during the pandemic and after the 2020 Almeda Fire, has seen similarly dramatic declines in illegal camps recently.

“The amounts of camps in Medford has seriously decreased,” Madding said.

The city recently enacted various restrictions on camping at various locations.

Medford has other homeless projects that will be available soon.

The Kelly Shelter, formerly on Sixth Street, has moved into the Navigation Center at Towne Centre Drive with combined funding of almost $7 million.

Through Project Turnkey, a hotel conversion project, almost $6.5 million has been spent to remodel the Redwood Inn at 722 Riverside Ave. The project will provide 47 rooms to families and those with medical needs, and is expected to be completed by next year.

Another $700,000 has gone into housing opportunity funds for projects that house families, seniors, those with medical needs and agricultural workers.

Going forward, the city expects to receive less money from federal and state grants to deal with homelessness.

“I don’t expect the increases to be as substantial,” Madding said.

The bulk of the grants came from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which provided economic relief during the pandemic.

Madding said city officials hope the state continues to support the ongoing operations of the various shelter operations that have been built in the city.

In January, Gov. Tina Kotek declared a homeless state of emergency, vowing to provide cities with funding needed to provide shelter space.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time count in 2022 calculated that 18,000 people in the state were homeless.