Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Page A-9
Traveling homelessness panel available for your group
There’s no doubt that
homelessness is a contentious and
emotional topic for residents of
Josephine County. Should those
without stable housing be denigrated
as simply “a bunch of addicts,” as
some have said? Or is the reality
more complex? A new grant awarded
by the Allcare Health Foundation to
the nonprofit JoCo Equity Project
will support a series of speaker
panels to help the public better
understand homelessness.
JoCo Equity Project’s mission
is to promote an inclusive and
equitable Josephine County through
education, advocacy and community
building. Allcare Health has been
active in support of housing solutions
for those experiencing homelessness,
including the Foundry Village
transitional housing project in Grants
Pass and the I.V. HOPE transitional
housing project in Cave Junction.
Homelessness panel speakers
will talk from their personal
experience about commonly
overlooked topics such as being
homeless while disabled, families
and children experiencing lack of
housing, and the lack of stepping
stones out of houselessness as well
as lack of housing inventory. The
panels will be led by people who
have experienced homelessness,
in partnership with nonprofit
professionals who work in the field
of homeless and social services.
In some cases, the professionals
themselves have also experienced
homelessness.
According to project
coordinator Leslie Keller, “The
most important thing to know is that
people who don’t have homes are
still people. They deserve a roof over
their head just like everyone else
does.”
Recently the panel did a
presentation to the Rogue Gateway
Rotary club. “Your girls did a
wonderful job today,” reacted one
club member. “You could hear a pin
drop in the room. Their story is very
compelling. We had lots of questions
and they stood there for nearly 45
min. Answering each one with a
thoughtful response.”
Speakers will be available to
talk with church groups and other
organizations interested in becoming
more informed about homelessness.
If your organization is interested in
hosting the panel, please call 541-
295-6131 to speak to Leslie Keller.
RCC small business management program offers scholarships for fall
JOSEPHINE COUNTY,
OR – Small business owners
in Southern Oregon have
an opportunity to receive
training and mentorship
offered through the Small
Business Development Center
(SBDC) of Rogue Community
College (RCC). The first 20
applicants accepted into the
Small Business Management
Program (SBM), with classes
starting in the fall, will receive
a scholarship that covers half
of the tuition, a $300 value.
The scholarship is made
available through the RCC
Board of Education.
This nationally
recognized and respected
business development
program has produced
numerous SBDC-certified
graduates in the Southern
Oregon region who have gone
on to demonstrate a track
record of success and business
growth.
The 2023 / 2024 program
curriculum offers relevant and
proven “best practices” for
growing revenue, increasing
profitability, developing
a team and building an
adaptable platform for long-
term business sustainability.
Past participants in
the SBM program have
reported the following
results after completing
the program: improved
performance through use of
effective financial analysis
and information; expanded
markets and sales using
relevant online marketing
platforms; increased
knowledge and application
of innovative lean processes
and quality improvement
for specific industries; and
strengthened employee teams
that grow business and brand
success.
The SBM Program
includes monthly interactive
learning sessions with
other experienced business
owners focused on current
and relevant subjects. It also
includes monthly one-on-one
business coaching to meet
individual business needs.
A variety of subject matter
experts are invited as frequent
guest speakers. The program is
taught over a 9-month period
and is designed in stages; as
each business owner’s training
advances, each ongoing
business continues to benefit
through more advanced topics
and mentoring.
The program is offered
through once-a-month in-
class sessions on Tuesday
afternoons, 2 - 5 p.m.,
beginning October 3rd, 2023.
Course dates for the nine-
month 2023 / 2024 program
will be: October 3, November
1, December 5, and, in 2024:
January 9, February 6, March
5, April 1, May 7 and June 4.
This program has been
developed for businesses that
have been in operation for a
minimum of one year. The full
cost of tuition is $618 but if
applying as one of the first 20
business owners, tuition will
be reduced to $318 through
the scholarship offering.
Retail value of the course,
if taken elsewhere, has been
estimated at $3,500.
For information on
the SBM Program, please
call 541-956-7494 or email
Advisor Tim Busald at
TBusald@roguecc.edu. For
general information, please
call the RCC SBDC at
541-956-7494 or, for more
information, visit: https://sbdc.
roguecc.edu/small-business-
management.
disturbing is the fact that
county commissioners have
combined extremely neces-
sary, but unrelated county
departments. Did they then
choose a director with quali-
fications to manage both IT
and emergency services or did
they simply reward a political
crony?
They not only lost the co-
operation of Jackson County,
these two commissioners have
put us all at risk when we are
faced with drastic situations
like earthquakes, floods, and
wildfires where qualified and
coordinated management will
be paramount.
It’s time to put political
differences aside and demand
qualified county management.
It’s time to consider expand-
ing the BCC to five commis-
sioners representing the entire
county so that two extremely
biased self-aggrandizing
individuals won’t further strip
away needed services and
endanger citizens in Josephine
County.
Le tte rs to th e e d ito r
Illinois Valley News welcomes
letters to the editor.
Please e-mail them to
laura@theivnews.com
POLICy ON LETTERS:
‘Illinois Valley News’ encour-
ages letters to the editor provided
they are legible and not libelous
or scurrilous. All letters must be
signed, including name, address
and telephone number. The latter
need not be published, but will
be used to verify authenticity.
The “News” reserves the right to
edit letters. Letters are used at the
discretion of the publisher.
***
(Editor’s Note: Views and com-
mentary, including statements
made as fact are strictly those
of the letter writers.)
Reader holds
commissioners to
task
What is happening in
Josephine County govern-
ment? It’s disturbing that two
commissioners can override
decisions by appointed com-
missions and end programs
that support valuable services
to our communities. More
Fire season is here!
Libby Watts
Grants Pass