ROSEBURG, Ore. — Concerned community members gathered at the library for a public forum on the topic of homelessness moderated by the League of Women Voters of the Umpqua Valley.
From the League's description: “This meeting was about the Homeless situation in Roseburg and Douglas County, Oregon, on Feb. 12, 2026. Roseburg City Police Officer Josh Chavez and Bernie Woodard talked about the complexities of monitoring, cleaning camps, and providing spaces for people without homes."
The two guest speakers shared viewpoints expressive of law enforcement and private interest in the city of Roseburg regarding homelessness. Officer Chavez focused on logistics of city police in enforcement of "time place and manner" homeless camping laws instituted by the city to mitigate homeless encampments in public spaces. Woodard discussed his roles as the owner of Elk Island Trading LLC, and founder of nonprofit Alternative Living Solutions.
Woodard owns the only private camps sanctioned by the City of Roseburg, operated by his nonprofit on land owned through his LLC. Woodard obtained a recent $1.2 million contact in Grants Pass for a new shelter project, after filing complaints against the previous grant recipient Pathways to Stability. Woodard's development in Grants Pass will offer shelter to 150 individuals in a shipping container village by Summer 2026, with plans to partner with other businesses and nonprofit services.
While most forum attendees expressed intrigue or support for the police and Woodard's operations, some confronted the speakers and described them as exacerbating or exploiting the issue of homelessness in the city and beyond. Particularly, scrutiny of the "camp cleaning" methods of the police department (which detractors described as "sweeps" and "displacement"), along with high rates of convictions and fines ranging into thousands of dollars, causes continued concern on a community and civic level. Officer Chavez repeatedly stated he simply enforces the law; from his perspective, many people experiencing homelessness do not take advantage of available services due to high rates of drug use and inadequate service availability.
Woodard offers a work-trade at his camps requiring individuals to remain clean and sober and provide 3 hours of unpaid labor per day for his entities. Local housing advocate and founder of the nonprofit Housing First Umpqua, Betsy Cunningham, claimed Woodard works his campers on the land owned by his private LLC in an exploitative practice. Cunningham is preparing legally and organizing former campers who have complaints about their time laboring for Woodard, explaining plans to "fund a lawyer to address the exploitation of the people." Cunningham also discussed a petition to explore the costs to the city for continued cleaning efforts/sweeps by the police department.
Woodard's LLC Elk Island Trading Group had previously filed a complaint in Douglas County Circuit Court against the City of Roseburg, but dismissed the complaint in January. Woodard's written statement explained his favor for changes to the city's homeless commission: “These changes — including fewer seats held by nonprofit service providers, a requirement that the commission meet monthly, a clearer process for receiving community input, and the City Manager’s statement that commission recommendations will be expedited to City Council for action — create a framework that is more transparent, accountable, and workable."
