MWHITF: Second Meeting

Revised: December 2018

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

The Task Force 3/29/16

Yesterday afternoon, the Mid-Willamette Homeless Initiative Task Force met for the second time before a gathering of about 85 citizens and members of the provider community.  Absent: Mayor Peterson, Keizer Councilor Kim Freeman (2d absence), UGM Director Bruce Bailey (sent a substitute who left early), and Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton.

The meeting, chaired by Mayor Kathy Clark, started 10 minutes late. 

During the main program, titled "Systemic Issues:  Barriers and Opportunities to Develop Affordable Housing", Rob Justus  (Home First Rob Justus Speaking to MWHITFDevelopment) spoke and answered questions about the HFD approach and the potential benefit of adjusting development standards.

Mike Erdman (formerly on the boards of the YMCA and the troubled Salem-Keizer Community Development Corporation) and Eric Olsen (Edward's Addition, Monmouth) spoke together and answered questions about the challenges of making single family home developments affordable.

fr row: Erdman, Olsen - table: Berger, Hays

Ron Hays (task force member and philanthropic arm of Mountain West/Larry Tokarski) spoke about his research into the numbers of people in need of affordable housing, the cost of providing that housing, and the need for the task force to "look at the [scope] of what we are facing." 

Richard Berger, (subbing for Don Jensen [Keizer Station]) spoke for 2 minutes about how long it takes to prepare to break ground on a development and the limitations of Oregon weather.

At 5:30, Commissioner Carlson began a rambling discourse on strategic planning, handing out copies of the Marion County Reentry Initiative's strategic plan and Opening Doors, the federal strategic plan for ending homelessness.

Oddly, her comments contained absolutely no reference to the Marion Polk 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, the plan that she has said more than once she expects the work of the task force to flesh out (exact words, "meat on the bones").

Carlson handed out a document titled "Strategic Framework", which did not appear to build on the 10-Year Plan, but "begins anew." 

A typical strategic planning process usually begins with the development, or review, of the organization's mission and vision statements, a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis, identification of goals (or "deliverables"), starting with long- and moving to short-term (e.g., 5-year, 1-year, 6-month, 3-month, etc.) goals.  It winds up with the development of some sort of performance indicators -- because everyone should agree on how "success" will be defined.

Carlson's "Strategic Framework", on the other hand, appeared to be the result of some sort of group "brainstorm."  It lists topics collected from members of the task force that Commissioner Carlson then classified under four headings, with three left unclassified: "List of funding sources and amounts", "data collection system" and "Connection to Coordinated Care Organization."

Some of the categorized items on the list seemed to be placeholders.  "Identify target populations..." (Commissioner Carlson has said several times that the task force needs to pick a target population); "$40M OHCS application..." and "financing"; "Build Community"; "Rural Studio"; "Healthy Homes"; "Scattered sites vs. projects"; "Radiator Labs"; "Coordination - meals" (e.g., UGM vs. Meals Under the Bridge); "Runaway and homeless youth strategy"; "No Wrong Door"; and everything under Public Safety, except "LEAD" and "Harm Reduction Model."

The remaining items on the list seemed to be established strategies involving crisis intervention,  affordable housing development/retention, and/or permanent supportive housing.      

Comments by Rob and Lorrie

At 5:46, the task force took public comment.  For some, this was the most interesting part of the meeting.  Their message: we have a problem now, tonight. 

"We need to house the homeless."  "We should not be proud" of the shelter that UGM is able to provide.  The community needs more transitional housing like the Salvation Army's  Lighthouse Shelter.  Note: TSA eliminated its transitional housing program in August 2017.  

Comments by Kendra and Leah

The community needs toilet facilities. Rate cuts are forcing group homes for the mentally ill to close.  (Carlson indicated this was not a problem.)  The wider community wants members of the homeless community or their families on the task force. Landlords discriminate against those with housing vouchers.  The cost of required background checks is rising and creating yet another barrier to housing. 

No action was taken during the meeting.

The next meeting of the task force is scheduled for May 2 at the Keizer Civic Center.