News from the Continuum

Revised: January 2019

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

The Salem Housing Authority reports continued progress housing the most vulnerable homeless, Marion County put out a nice blurb about the Homeless Initiatives Coordinator, Ali Treichel,

Shifts in the NW''s Middle Class

and Pew says Oregon's "middle class" is no longer shrinking (unlike Idaho's).

Congregations Helping People is going through some changes.  Tiffany Ottis has taken a position with Catholic Community Services as the Community Resource Director of their housing division.  Until a replacement can be found, CHP's longtime business/technical advisor Alan LaFleur will be filling in.  Salem counts on CHP to provide residents with appropriate housing and utilities assistance through its CDBG and General Fund grants.  

Like the effort to enlist landlords in support of HRAP, the recent appeal of the decision to allow UGM a conditional use permit and zoning change has made it very clear how difficult it will be to educate and enlist "the business community" in strategic, long-term efforts to address homelessness in Marion and Polk Counties.  Whether Craig Cline and Ron Hays are on the right track with the launch of United, The Nonprofit Catalyst, and the Billionaires' Giving Pledge, we couldn't say.  We don't know if their target audience reads the Salem Business Journal, for one thing, and if they do, whether they'll read something like United.

United, The NonProfit Catalyst, Issue 1

We're skeptical, too, because we're inclined to think business people already understand there's a problem.

What business may be looking for, however, is not instruction on The Golden Rule, or the importance of community, or even stories of transformation.  They're looking for "proven strategies" and a "return on investment" -- programs that can be replicated and results that can be measured.  That's why, if big donors like Bud Pierce and big sponsors like United Way really want to educate and enlist "the business community" in strategic, long-term efforts to address homelessness, they'll make the business case for it, by providing meaningful reports showing which programs are accomplishing their goals and which are not.

If United were to offer the community something approaching reliable information of this sort, rather than expecting donors to take it on faith that resources have been wisely spent, it would be something worth reading, and even acting on.  It could also be a good first step toward a local homeless services delivery system, versus the mishmash of programs we have now.