News from the Continuum

Revised: January 2019

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

As of Friday, April 21, there were zero staff employed in Federal Programs Division of the Urban Development Department.  That meant Kristin Retherford, the newish Director of that Department, had the pleasure of presenting the Annual Action Plan to the Council for adoption, after the public hearing on the 24th.  The Council adopted the plan unchanged, per usual.

The vacancies in the Federal Programs Division occurred suddenly, amid worry about whether federal funding streams will slow or dry up. One staff member had been assigned to the year-long  Mid Willamette Homeless Initiative Task Force, which ended in February.  And, the manager, who left to take a position with Catholic Community Services, was married to the Executive Director of MERIT, a frequent recipient of the City's federal grants, which the manager administered.

The Division has something of a reputation for being bean-county, compliance geeks who go to meetings but don't know how to get things done.  Take the statement below, for instance, which comes from the 2017-2018 AAP. 

We go to the local CoC so-called Collaborative meetings (they don't call them that -- they call them the "Region 7 CoC Grantees" meetings).  The only staff we've seen at those meetings are CoC Program subrecipient staff from the Mid Willamette Valley Community Action Agency (MWVCAA), Shangri-La and the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS, the state housing agency).  Five or six people, at most, and none of them City staff.  (MWVCAA stopped holding the local CoC meetings in May 2017.)  We very occasionally see SHA staff at ROCC (aka OR Balance of State CoC) meetings, which are not what we would call productive, collaborative or "vital."
 

12/8/16 Memo

Meals under the Marion Street Bridge (MUBs) continue, as far as we know, seven days a week, unimpeded.  The City Manager's December memo expressed concern about sanitation, duplication and litter.  We've followed up with the City to see if anything had been done about those concerns and received this update from Mark Becktel, Public Works Operations Manager:

Under the Marion Street Bridge

I have checked with our Parks Operations supervisor regarding if there has been any recent improvement in the trash situation under the Marion Street Bridge and adjacent Marion Square Park and he has noticed some improvement.  The food providers seem to be doing a somewhat better job in cleaning up and policing the trash disposal as part of the organized feedings.  There is still a good amount of trash under both bridges and surrounding area, more than is acceptable…but there has been some improvement.  The project to fence in the area under the east end of the Center Street Bridge is being held up by ODOT and may not happen until this summer. 

MUBs volunteers say they serve around 150 to 200 individuals per meal.  It's interesting that the City has "little information on who is providing the meals", when a quick search of Facebook and a glance at Statesman Journal and Salem Weekly archives will tell you it's Dan Sheets, Mother Lofton and friends, Charlotte Barrett and her Bethesda at Bethel Ministries,  Hillary Park of the Happy Bibim Bap House with volunteers from the Korean Church of Salem and various teams and volunteers from the Fellowship Church, the Morningstar Community Church and the East Salem Church.  It's not like they're hiding what they're doing.  They're proud of it.  They believe they're making a difference.  But see "Meals Under Bridge on Shutdown."