Mayor Announces Ambitious Plan for Chronic Homeless

Revised: January 2019

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

This is a very complicated issue, but let me tell you, what we will begin doing in Salem, as a result of this work by Mr. Wilch and his staff, I hope will make you proud, both of our ability to solve a problem, and our humanity when we solve it.   

--Chuck Bennett

In his first State of the City address as Mayor, former Ward 1 Councilor Chuck Bennett asked the City to join him, City staff, and area providers as they set about to end chronic homelessness in Salem.  In his words:

Perhaps the most vexing problem that cities face is housing the homeless. Solutions around the country, and even in nearby cities, have been, essentially, to declare defeat, and decide that it is acceptable to have these residents live in tent communities in the public right of way, parks and neighborhoods.  We're not following that path.

I hope we can have a better vision here in Salem.  Three weeks ago, I asked our Housing Authority Director Andy Wilch [SHA Administrator] to come up with a program to house the most difficult people in our community to house.  He and his staff met with me Friday and presented their work product, and I have to tell you, I'm very excited about this project.

Remember, these [SHA staff] are the people who have moved many hard-to-house people off the streets this year [already]...There are estimated to be in excess of 500 people on Salem's streets in this category.  These are the homeless we most commonly see sleeping on sidewalks, on benches, in parks and under bridges.  These are the most difficult people to house from among our estimated 1,500 to 2,000 homeless people in Salem.  And these are also the most vulnerable among the homeless.

This is a very complicated issue, but let me tell you, what we will begin doing in Salem, as a result of this work by Mr. Wilch and his staff, I hope will make you proud, both of our ability to solve a problem, and our humanity when we solve it.    

Today

We're going to initiate a homeless rental assistance program...we are going to find these people a room, a house or an apartment.  We are developing a sophisticated data file on every homeless person inside Salem, to begin to better serve their needs. We'll provide case management services in health, mental health, addiction services and life skills. Many of these people are in very serious health conditions, many are suffering from untreated, often severe, mental health issues, and a very large percentage are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Again, these folks are the hardest to house among our homeless people, and we will continue to work with these folks, aimed at long-term housing.  Frankly, it's time to recognize that compassion without action is just...observation.  The time for study of this issue is long past.  We have the resources.  It's not going to raise your taxes.  We're not going to take [resources] away from the police or fire [department] or the library.  This is marshaling resources that already exist.  The expertise is there -- we don't have to hire new people.  All the expertise exists among our staff, as well as our collaborators in this effort.

We'll be led by the City and its partners to focus on this issue.  We've set a goal to focus on a hundred of these -- until now, hopeless, and I really mean hopeless -- cases.  Please don't leave thinking this isn't an aggressive goal.  These are absolutely the hardest cases on the street...There will be a temptation to retreat from this mission.  If we can stick it out, we can save and change lives that are now considered hopeless.  I hope you will join me in this effort.   

See the CCTV video of the Mayor Bennett's address here.  The part quoted above begins somewhere around 25'.