News from the Continuum

Revised: January 2019

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

CANDO Adds a 3d Youth Drop-In Ctr

CANDO now boasts three youth drop-in centers -- HOST on Liberty NE, HOME Youth and Resource Center on Union, and as of Friday,  The Salem Drop at 246 State Street - formerly occupied by Salem Summit.  It's open to youth and young adults ages 14 to 21, M-F 3p to 6p.

So, is this a dreaded "duplication of services"?  Maybe not.

From the website: "The Salem Drop is staffed by Youth Peer Support Specialists who are committed to helping young adults empower themselves and successfully transition into adulthood."  Staffed only by youth peers -- that's different.

"Our programs and services help youth/young adults become leaders in their own lives and communities.  We provide opportunities to build leadership and advocacy skills through team-based learning and activities.  Above all, The Salem Drop is a safe space for young people to feel heard, supported and capable of creating change."

The Salem Drop Opening 4/13/18

Besides receiving peer support services, the website says youth/YA at The Salem Drop can participate in leadership groups, connect to community-based services, engage in outreach and activism at the community and state level, study and get help on homework, build a resume and cover letter, practice for job interviews, hang out, eat, play pool and other games, use the computer lab, try out the 3-D printers, watch movies and  attend events like open mic night.

Outreach and activism at the community level?  Is this program maybe a bit less about immediate needs and maybe more focused on the world outside?  Guess we'll have to see what the membership makes it.  In any event, Friday's  opening was well-attended, and the free t-shirts were rad/awesome/cool/groovy.

Also on Friday, the Statesman Journal reported on the United Way/MWVCAA youth shelter project, saying United Way had purchased the 6 BR, 4 bath house at 220 15th Street (SESNA), formerly the Catarino Cavazos Center for at-risk youth, and the shelter "could" open September 4 (it didn't), after some fairly minor renovations (roof, siding, floors, paint, kitchen redesign) are completed.  "Taylor's House", as the shelter is to be called, will be run by the Mid Willamette Valley Community Action Agency (MWVCAA) "as part of its Home Youth and Resource Center program."   

United Way raised $400K, and the state legislature gave another $200K for the project.  The building cost about $321K, and renovations are expected to cost about $80K.  That leaves $200K for operations, which MWVCAA expects will run $450K/year.  While the article indicates MWVCAA staff are  confident they can "keep up with costs" and "wouldn't have started this if there wasn't a plan in place", it did not so much as hint at what the plan was.  Those who recall the fate of Home of the Brave may find that a cause for concern.   

There was a record turnout at this month's SEDCOR forum, "Alleviating the Homeless Crisis in the Mid-Willamette Valley" [http://www.sedcor.com/news/393308/Alleviating-the-homeless-crisis-in-the-Mid-Willamette-Valley.html]  Some who attend regularly said it was the biggest crowd they'd ever seen at a forum.  But did those who attended actually "learn more about what is being done to address the problem and how they can help"?

There were three speakers -- Jimmy Jones did his usual data download accompanied by business reasons for helping (saves resources in the long run).  Connor McDonnel, a housing integrator with OHCS who's fairly new to Salem, read a short speech that someone who was there summarized as follows:

[He] said there are 7000 housing units in the [statewide] "pipeline." He described OHCS as "Oregon's Housing Finance Agency." He congratulated Jimmy/MWVCAA and HRAP because "they didn't just sit there, they acted," called for applause. Said a lot of vague stuff like "the region is stepping up and people are noticing," didn't say who "people" are. Said we had to do better in terms of affordable housing and jobs...said emergency/winter shelters are necessary but not the answer. "Homes are the best way to end homelessness." Talked about 2017-2018 legislature allocating lots of money for homelessness. Regarding permanent supportive housing he said something to the effect of "when agencies like Jimmy's can use money at their discretion that's when it's most effective." He closed with platitudes: "we're trying and working hard," "how we talk about and frame the conversation matters," "all hands on deck," "collaborate," "let's keep working together," and he commended everyone in the room.     

He was followed by Salem Housing Authority Administrator Andy Wilch, who had the unenviable task of giving the "how you can help" speech.  A native Nebraskan who knows his basketball, Andy knows that when the set up fails, the shot's going to fail.  So, he didn't go for the shot with any enthusiasm.  But, he did thank the Mayor and City Manager for the "wisdom and courage" to "put $1.4 million out there" for HRAP, acknowledging that the City's contribution would eventually need to be replaced with private donations.  And he did say program participants needed employment strategies and support like "transitional jobs, supported employment, customized employment, sector-based training", observing, "you're the ones with the jobs to offer."  Hail Mary, full of grace.

Our observer told us, "It did not seem like people were jumping on the bandwagon...Many people left before or during the Q&A segment, I'd say at least a quarter of the room."  So, it sounds to us like maybe people didn't learn enough about what is being done to make them want to help.  Again.

As a community, we seem to lack problem-solving skills.  Starting with knowing what information to give people so they can participate meaningfully in the problem-solving process.  This is nowhere more evident than in conversations about homelessness in the community.  The same information is being shared in the same way with the same people, evoking the same response.  This is not helpful.  The community is very aware of the problem and very interested in finding effective means to address it, as shown by the large turnouts at forums like SEDCOR's.  Groups like the Chamber, SEDCOR and Rotary need to talk to their members and find out what they would need to see or know in order to get more involved.  We shouldn't just keep on like we have been.  It's not working, and the situation is likely to get worse.    

Thanks to Princeton University and Matthew Desmond (Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, 2016) nationwide eviction data is now publicly available through the Eviction Lab website (most recent available data: 2016).

That data tells us, among other things, that evictions in Marion County have been rising steadily, whereas in Salem and statewide, rates have been declining since 2003.  Not sure what that means.  The eviction rate in Polk County has also been declining since 2003.   

Finally, this week, HUD opened the CoC Program registration process.  Pretty soon, Jo Zimmer will be officially registering Salem, Keizer and Marion and Polk Counties as "members" of the Rural Oregon Continuum of Care (ROCC) for the next program year -- just as she has done every year since 2012 --  without official act or statement of approval from any of their elected officials.     

It's unfortunate to be letting another year go by in an ailing, unfulfilling relationship, but for a City that in the past has maybe not been so good at doing more than one thing at a time, reforming the CoC in 2018 might have seemed too drastic, too complicated, too challenging, and therefore, too scary, especially with everything else the City's been moving forward on (e.g., strategic planning, revamping the budget process, embarking on HRAP, developing low-income housing projects like Yaquina Hall and Fisher Road, pursuing a sobering center, etc., etc.).  So, the reformation question remains undecided, and further analysis is being conducted by the Homeless Initiatives Coordinator, Ali Treichel.  The next opportunity for Salem, Keizer and Marion and Polk Counties to register as their own CoC is April 2019.