MEDFORD, Ore. – The City of Medford’s Housing and Community Development Division (HCD) held a community listening session on Thursday to gather public feedback on the development of its five-year Consolidated Plan. The session, which took place at noon, is part of an ongoing effort to identify the community’s most pressing needs and priorities as the city works to allocate funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
As a recipient of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Medford is required to create the Consolidated Plan, which serves as a roadmap for the distribution of federal funds aimed at addressing local challenges. The plan helps the city assess its priority needs and strategize how best to utilize the CDBG resources to meet those needs.
Attendees at the listening session expressed concerns and suggestions that mirrored many of the priorities discussed during a similar meeting held five years ago. A primary focus of the discussion was the ongoing need to strengthen homeless services in Medford. One participant emphasized that while progress has been made, efforts to combat homelessness must continue, stating, “Strengthening homeless services in the community is still going to take a lot of work. We can’t just pack it up and think we did a good job.”
The Consolidated Plan will be updated to reflect the community’s feedback, with a draft expected to be available for public review and comment in April.