09/04/2011
By Mat Wolf
Transitional home for troubled men must close over safety violations
Gene Haag, 77, believes he's doing God's work at his home in the 700 block of Nobility Drive in Medford.
He has transformed the property into a transitional home for men who are former convicts or sex offenders or who are homeless — giving them the Gospel, fellowship, and, perhaps most importantly, job training and employment in his landscaping business.
The house is a sprawling, three-story-plus-basement complex that sits next to a large white barn in a yard covered with shrubberies and vehicles, some in working condition, some not so much.
The house dates back at least to the early 1900s and, from its spot atop a hill in southwest Medford, stands in stark contrast to the newer housing and developments that surround it.
But the Medford Building Safety Department says the house is unfit to hold its residents without building improvements and permits.
At the beginning of August, Haag was served notice that the 15 tenants in the home will be forced to vacate on Friday, Sept. 9, and only Haag and his wife will be allowed to live there.
On Aug. 1, the building was cited for having improper or inadequate fire escapes, ventilation, smoke detectors and bathrooms and for having substandard living spaces for the 17 people who reside there.
Under Medford building code, a living space must have at least 70 square feet per person. Haag had converted portions of his home, such as a basement and upstairs balcony, into bedrooms without the proper permits.
Haag was given until the end of August to remedy the problems, draw up renovation plans and file for permits to get the building up to snuff, but Aug. 31 came around and the necessary paperwork still hadn't been filed.
As he gave a tour of the home on Friday, Haag said he had a contractor draw up plans for the building, but the contractor had failed to submit the plans on time, leaving Haag and his tenants stuck.
Haag has been operating some form of this kind of charity, though not always at this location, since 1975. He's convinced that what brought his residence to the attention of the Building Safety Department was a former tenant whom he had asked to leave for not abiding by his rules, which include no smoking or drugs on the property.
"It was probably someone I kicked out," Haag said, "someone who wanted to create problems for us."
Haag said he made most of the upstairs renovations 20 years ago and was unaware they weren't up to code at the time.
Despite what were apparently building violations, Haag is adamant about the property's mission.
"People call it a lot of different things. It's not a treatment center, it's not a halfway house, it's a Christian home," he said.
He said without his assistance, many of his cohabitants wouldn't have anywhere else to go.
Many of his tenants expressed the same concern about being forced to vacate, but didn't want their names or faces revealed because of their fear that if the notice goes through they'll be out of a job and a place to stay. They worry that if their identities were public, finding alternatives would be next to impossible.
One man, who wished to be identified only as Dave, said he had been incarcerated for 11 years and didn't know where he would be if it weren't for Haag.
"This has been a godsend for me. If it wasn't for Gene, I wouldn't be where I am today," Dave said. "Guys come out of prison and try to better themselves and find that there aren't any open doors. Gene opened the door of his house to me to help me become a better person."
Haag said he has plans drawn up for getting his home up to code and would be ready to file them if given more time.
He also said he has removed the sleeping quarters from the basement and attic spaces, further crowding other parts of the house but complying with the requests of the building administration.
But that doesn't meet all the Building Safety Department's requirements.
"We gave them 30 days to make corrections," said Building Director Chris Reising. "We try not to kick people out on a holiday weekend, so we gave them another week."
Reising said Friday Haag's house first came to his office's attention after a complaint by a former resident. Reising said his department was aware of the building's use as a home for sex offenders and former inmates, but it still had an obligation to uphold building codes.
Haag said that without the services he provides, many of his tenants would be homeless, wouldn't register with authorities and would be more likely to re-offend. In Oregon, a sex offender has 10 days to register a new address.
One resident named Clarence said he had never been to prison, but had been homeless and wasn't sure what would happen if he's forced to move out on Sept. 9.
"I don't like it, that's for sure, I don't want to be homeless again," Clarence said.
