Jul 2024 MWVCAA turned the CES program back to Alliance to administer (housing list still broken) and, with the coffers full, MWVHA hired 3 CAA's workers to run the program but did not replace CAA's paid assessors. Providers complained of being unable to get clients assessed by the volunteers. Marion County signaled intent to push a mandatory D/A treatment diversion policy in the wake of USSC's Grants Pass decision.
Mar-May 2024 U.S. Supreme Court in reviewing Grants Pass decision declined to recognize homelessness as a protected status, rendering Oregon statute regulating bans on camping in public spaces vulnerable to amendment or repeal. Chris Hoy lost to anti-payroll tax, budget-deficit denying councilor Julie Hoy in mayoral primary.
Jan 2024 Salem Housing Authority's Sequoia Crossings project opened. The project was intended to give priority to chronically homeless applicants but failed to do so due to the ongoing problems with the prioritized housing list.
Oct-Nov 2023 Warming shelter network largely reverted to reliance on volunteers; Salem payroll tax measure intended to plug budget deficit and fund City's navigation center and sheltering services begun with federal pandemic dollars failed.
Jul 2024 MWVHA hired an inexperienced health sector worker as its executive director at a salary of $120K, replacing Janet Carlson.
Mar-Apr 2023 Oregon legislature allocated $200M for housing and homelessness, $10M, later increased to $18M, of which would go to Marion and Polk counties The area's third Turnkey Project, ARCHES Lodge, opened in April. MWVHA was notified that its prioritized housing list was broken and not being maintained properly, which led eventually to MWVHA taking back its CES program from MWVCAA.
Feb 2023 Salem removed unsanctioned camps around Marion Parkade.
Jan 2023 Governor Kotek declared homelessness state of emergency in Portland metro, central Oregon, Lane, Jackson and Marion and Polk. Melisa Blake died of hypothermia outside the ARCHES day shelter.
Sep-Dec 2022 Board of Commissioners for Salem Housing Authority (City Council less mayor) ended HRAP citing Redwood Crossings, ARCHES Inn and plans for Yaquina Hall (2023) and Sequoia Crossings (2024). Salem Outreach and Livability Services (2 officers, 1 public works coordinator, 3 sanitation workers) started operating, paid for with $475K of the $10.5M state sheltering grant funds. Homelessness/poverty again topped the list of concerns in Salem satisfaction survey (57%). Mayor Chuck Bennett retired and was succeeded by Mayor-elect Chris Hoy. Old UGM demolition began.
Apr-July 2022 Keith Stahley, formerly of Olympia, WA, replaced Steve Powers as City Manager. Alliance bungled YHDP grant allocation process and had to apologize to YAB. Portland Road camp moved to Center Street. Owner of Paradise Park continued his complaints about drop-in services at Church at the Park on Turner Road.
March 2022 Marion Square Park camps cleared; drunk driver killed 4, injured 2 camping on Front Street; Wallace Marine Park camps cleared; Mickey Varney appointed to Council; Governor appointed interim OHCS Director Andrea Bell to Director; City appropriated State Sheltering grant funds for Community Sanitation Response Team. Marion County ($3M) and State ($1.9M) appropriated additional funds for nav center improvements. Alliance awarded its annual $1.3M allocation but failed to score above the national median or even the national weighted mean (143 of possible 173).
February 2022 Councilor Lewis resigned; Governor signed HB 4037 requiring DAS to find underused state property for the City's pallet structure camps, which media referred to as "transitional housing." Kristen Retherford appointed acting City Manager.
November/January 2022 Warming centers opened. Arches Inn (Project Turnkey) opened. Navigation center opening pushed back to fall 2022. City approved three more managed camp sites and funded one to replace 2460 Portland Road site. Camping and complaints about camping continued City-wide. Homelessness again No. 1 priority on Council Policy Agenda. Steve Powers retired. Over objection, Alliance classified pallet structure camps as emergency shelter.
September/October 2021 United Way halted plans to recreate CAHOOTS-type program in Salem. Backlash from West Salem over City's provisional approval of pallet-structure camp on North Wallace Road. City launched "Homeless Camping Complaint" portal on its website. Res 21-451 extended state of emergency relating to
unsheltered homelessness, allowing camping, warming/emergency
shelter programs to continue to 28 June 2022.
August 2021 Neighborhood Services began issuing regular "Homeless Updates" to neighborhood association officers. City opened vehicle and pallet-structure camp on Catholic Community Services property at 3749 Portland Road, and recruited Hazel Patton to help raise private funds to purchase pallet structures.
June/July 2021 2021 laws: homeless death reporting, 72-hr written notice camp evictions, no-fee homeless IDs, right to challenge unreasonable sit-lie laws, Yaquina Hall but no CRU or sobering funding. HB 2100 compromise resulted in task force. City spent $8.1 ARPA funds on nav center, hotel, managed camping projects (end 2-3 years). MWVCAA landed Project Turnkey funds. ODOT cleared encampments under I5 at Market Street. New UGM Men's Mission opened.
April/May 2021 Vehicle-pallet structure camp opened on Portland Road (4/19/21). State gave City $5M to operate a nav center/low barrier shelter. MWVCAA renewed its Project Turnkey application. Council conducted a homelessness work session and extended the C19 emergency through 13 December 2021 without extending the suspension of the parks camping ban (Res 2021-21). City began sector-by-sector eviction of campers from City parks. State informed City that 25.3% of its residents were "severely rent burdened" in 2020.
March 2021 Pavillion shelter closed end of month. Council Res 2021-131 extended the unsheltered emergency to October 6 and authorized an off-season managed vehicle + pallet structure camp at the Portland Road site to be run by Church at the Park with ESG-CV2 funds.
January/February 2021 MWVCAA withdrew Project Turnkey application after OHCS signaled it would pursue HB 2100 in the regular (virtual) session. Councilors Gonzalez, Phillips and Stapleton sworn in. Council sought funding for nav/sobering center, Yaquina Hall, CRU. Temporary shelter opened at fairgrounds Pavillion.
December 2020 C19 cases and deaths surged. Salem Housing Authority closed numerous housing wait lists. Fire at Robert Lindsey Tower. Salem's first duration winter shelters opened on Portland Road and State Street. Winter rains flooded low-lying camps in Cascades Gateway and Wallace Marine parks; vulnerable hoteled.
November 2020 Councilor Kaser resigned. Statesman Journal coverage claimed she "focused on the city's response to homelessness." City Council approved purchase of MWVCAA's property at 615 Commercial Street. After HB 4304 gave OHCS discretion in allocating CARES Act Emergency
Solution Grants (ESG), $7M went to CAAs directly and $42.4M went to CAAs and other providers after a competitive process. City Council approved spending $1.2M on homeless relief.
October 2020 Homelessness was again the top concern (49%) in Salem's 2020 Customer Satisfaction Survey. Governor extended State of Emergency to 2 January 2021. Red Cross withdrew supports from those homeless before the wildfires. Marion County C19 cases surged as US new case count approached 100K/day. The ARCHES Project expanded day shelter hours from 27/wk to 41/wk, including Saturdays and installed a set of personal storage lockers in the parking lot. Salem hired Trevor Womak as SPD Chief after Jerry Moore retired.
September 2020 Labor Day wildfires spread through Santiam Canyon sending newly homeless to Salem and reduced Salem air quality to unhealthy/hazardous for ~10 days. City Council held work session on SPD "non-criminal" policing. Congregations Helping People shut down.
August 2020: Redwood Crossings opened. City extended de facto sit-lie ban and car camping through mid-January 2021. Marion County came off OHA/s C19 watch list.
July 2020: The U.S. District Court for the District Court of Oregon granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment in Blake v. City of Grants Pass on a number of issues that had implications for the City's camping and sit-lie bans. City continued to provide limited services to campers at Wallace Marine and Cascades Gateway parks. Community spread of C19 put Marion County on OHA's watch list.
May 2020: Pandemic challenges continued. Waldstein, D. "CDC Stresses Need for Coronavirus Testing at Homeless Shelters." (23 April 2020, New York Times.); Wiltz, T. "Against CDC guidance, some cities sweep homeless encampments." (28 April 2020, Stateline.); Harrel, S. "Oregon advocacy group condemns city's emergency loitering prohibition, saying it had the practical effect of sit-lie." (20 May 2020, Salem Reporter.). The ARCHES Project opened the day shelter on a limited basis, including showers and laundry for the first time since the program moved in 2017. Marion and Polk counties began phased "reopening" with the easing of pandemic-related restrictions.
April 2020: Using unspent warming center funds approved in December, City gave Church at the Park $38K for security services and sanitation supplies and Safe Sleep $22K for security services, laundry services, and staffing. Church at the Park was given another $21K to expand its vehicle camping program. City launched a pilot "cash for trash" program and provided potable water, toilets and trash service for campers in Cascades-Gateway and Wallace Marine Parks.
March 2020: Council declared an emergency relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, prohibited loitering and public gatherings of three or more and opened Cascades-Gateway and Wallace Marine Parks to overnight camping, and enacted a sit-lie ordinance. Using non-City funds, MWVCAA put >100 medically fragile homeless households in hotels at a cost of ~$70K/week. The Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance registered with HUD as the continuum of care for Marion and Polk counties. The ARCHES Project closed its day shelter Mar 20 through May 1 but continued to provide limited services like sack lunches.
February 2020: Salem Housing Authority and ARCHES created by-name housing preference list of those camping on downtown sidewalks. City closed sidewalks periodically for cleaning. Council considered adjusting camping ban but opted to enact sit-lie instead under pressure from Mayor Bennett.
January 2020: Council declared an emergency relating to unsheltered residents effective through the end of March and set up rules for a pilot car camping program. Council declined to permit organized camping or use Pringle Hall as a temporary shelter. City closed portions of Center (Nordstrom's) and Liberty (Rite Aid) (twice) to allow Service Master to clean the sidewalks overtaken by people living in the streets, at a cost of about $15K. City Hall reporters Jonathan Bach left the Statesman Journal and Troy Brynelson left Salem Reporter.
November 2019: City Council removed the sit-lie provisions from the proposed ordinance bill, leaving only the camping ban. With its Lighthouse shelter less than half full, TSA stopped doing intakes.
August-October 2019: Law enforcement cleared long-established camps from the area around Wallace Marine Park and from Cascades-Gateway Park. Some campers moved into downtown, forming a substantial camp in the 600 block of Commercial Street, around The ARCHES Project building. Homelessness remained the City's top concern (46%) in the 2019 Customer Satisfaction Survey. United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley began developing a pilot mobile crisis assistance program based on Eugene's CAHOOTS program.
July 2019: Area leaders agreed to form a regional CoC development council. City's attempt to revive its failed sit-lie ordinance was delayed for the purpose of conducting public forums.
June 2019: City informally decided not to try and regulate benevolent meal distributions. TSA Captains Dan and Kim Williams returned to California.
May 2019: Marion County voted to leave ROCC, and Yamhill County voted to remain.
April 2019: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an en banc petition by the city of Boise in Martin v. Boise (formerly Bell v. Boise), leaving in place its September 2018 ruling that homeless persons cannot be punished for sleeping outside on public property in the absence of adequate alternatives.
March 2019: Polk County gave leaving ROCC in 2020 the go ahead. The City admitted the sobering center project was not going to work.
February 2019: City turned off the old website. Marion and Polk Counties netted record-breaking number of unsheltered in first seven-day Point-in-Time homeless count. Homelessness surged to the top concern in a PDX poll. OHCS issued an "historic" Statewide Housing Plan and the legislatively required Final Budget Note Report. Salem's Food and Sundries Distribution to the Homeless Community (Food Task Force) held first two meetings. Former Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson and MWVCAA Director Jimmy Jones recommended that the MWHI Steering Committee work to reform a local CoC, possibly including Yamhill County.
January 2019: Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson officially retired. The City Council advanced Ordinance Bill 23-18, second reading, repealing SRC Chapter 20G and dissolving the CSHC. City cleared camp, concrete tables, and installed barricades to prevent vehicular access to the area under Marion Street Bridge, saying the "no trespassing" restriction would be enforced. Sobering center annual operating costs gap widened to $.5M. Task force created to look at rules for distributing free food and sundries in City parks. Recruitment for new Homeless Program Coordinator failed. The Salem Police Department "POP" (“Problem-Oriented Policing”) team began working the city’s code enforcers to reduce the number of derelict buildings, drug houses and illegal homeless camps in the city. Record number of criminal defendants in Oregon unable to aid and assist/stand trial. See Friedman, G. "Amid statewide crisis, Oregon sets for record number of mentally ill people charged with crimes." (22 April 2019, Oregonian.) Apartment rents in the Salem Keizer area rose 10% on average since 2017 (the average rent for a studio apartment was $782, a 14% increase year-to-year. A one-bedroom, one-bath apartment cost $884 on average, a 13% increase. And a three-bedroom apartment ran $1,297, a 10% change). Apartment vacancy rate was 2.28%.
December 2018: Shelter for minors ("Taylor's House") opened under contract with DHS. See Alexander, R. "For the first time in a decade, Salem has a shelter for homeless teens." (21 January 2019, Salem Reporter.)
November 2018: Salem Warming Network established to provide shelter when temp forecast at 32 and below.
October 2018: Jimmy Jones promoted to head Mid Willamette Community Action Agency, altering the agency's image as being primarily focused on early childhood. Late audits and audit findings resulted in "seriously deficient" notice to MWVCAA from the Department of Education.
September 2018: City survey showed homelessness remained top issue for Salem residents (33%). Salem Reporter began publishing. Salem Weekly folded. Salvation Army announced plans to build low-income apartments out by the Kroc Center. Regional Homeless Program Coordinator quit. HRAP marked the end of its first year. See Bach, J. "Salem's Homeless Rental Assistance program marks first year with setbacks, successes." (30 September 2018, Statesman Journal.)
August 2018: Downtown Homeless Solutions Task Force disbanded. Homeless population around Wallace Marine Park swelled to 648. HUD notified the Urban Development Department that there were unacceptable conflicts of interest in the makeup of the Community Services and Housing Commission (CSHC).
July 2018: The ARCHES Project opened its day shelter (still no showers or laundry facilities.) Average daily attendance 107. Salem Housing Authority closed the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist again.
June 2018: Jon Reeves, MWVCAA's Executive Director since 2015, left and went to work for the State in the Early Learning Division. His deputy, Cyndi Leinassar (formerly Astley) left soon after. Salem Health suspended its service integration pilot. Decision to allow UGM's conditional use permit became final. Ken Hetsel died.
April 2018: Salem Drop opened. ROCC claimed Marion and Polk Counties in the annual CoC registration.
March 2018: City and ODOT cleared homeless encampment from the Center Street Bridge bike/walkway.
February 2018: Regional Homeless Program Coordinator began work on the Mid Willamette Homeless Initiative's strategic plan implementation. Downtown Homeless Solutions Task Force met for the first time.
January 2018: The annual homeless count netted 1,218 individuals in Marion and Polk Counties, 619 unsheltered. For the first time, the number of counted unsheltered exceeded the shelter count. Without prior notice, Public Works placed concrete tables, benches and barriers under Marion Street Bridge and implemented a reservation/permit process for those wishing to serve meals there.
November 2017: The City Council allocated $45,000 for a Homeless Program Coordinator at the MWV Council of Governments and $12,500 for "start-up funding" for a 100-Day Challenge "to address Youth Homelessness."
September 2017: Poll showed homelessness top concern of Salem residents (26%). Salem Health launched a pilot service integration program with teams in Woodburn, North Marion, and North Salem. WestCare Veterans Home on Center Street opened. Proposed sit-lie ordinance failed to pass. Mayor offered task force to deal with issues downtown, instead.
July 2017: The Salvation Army announced it was closing its transitional housing program. City issued an information report ("paper") on the Mayor's sobering center. United Way of the Mid Willamette Valley reneged on a promise to extend 2016 grants another year. Santiam Hospital launched a service integration program. Salem Housing Authority launched HRAP.
June 2017: Benches removed downtown and outside Center Point offices on Cottage Street. City Attorney started drafting a "sit-lie" ordinance. UGM Director Bruce Bailey resigned. MWVCAA purchased the 16,000 SF building at 615 Commercial Street NE, closed The ARCHES Project day center on Madison Street and moved. The next day, the number of visitors to HOAP doubled to 140. ARCHES had not coordinated the closing with HOAP and would not reopen its day shelter until late July 2018.
April 2017: Salem Housing Authority purged the Housing Choice Voucher (aka Section 8) waitlist of more than 9,000. City created work groups, including the Affordable Housing, Homelessness and Social Services work group, to develop recommendations for a City-wide strategic plan.
February 2017: Mid Willamette Homeless Initiative Task Force disbanded. Mayor Bennett announced an ambitious program to house Salem's chronically homeless, which would become Salem Housing Authority's Homeless Rental Assistance Program (HRAP). He also announced immediate plans to open a sobering center, but the plans would quickly fall apart.
January 2017: The annual homeless count netted 1,151 individuals in Marion and Polk Counties, 287 unsheltered. The "Arta-Potties" project ended.
December 2016: Oregon's Secretary of State audit found "critical Improvements needed" at OHCS. Polk County published first Community Resource Guide (booklet). Salem's city manager issued memo re "Homelessness in Salem."
November 2016: Margaret Salazar, formerly of PDX HUD, succeeded Margaret Van Vliet, who came to OHCS from the PDX Housing Bureau, as OHCS Director. OHCS, with advice from ORDOJ, asked the Housing Stability Council to expand the SHAP and EHA programs to allow funds to be used for capital acquisition, i.e., real estate, for "homeless shelter facilities and transitional housing." See the OHCS memorandum in support of the expansion here at page 13, and notes on the Housing Stability Council's discussion here at page 6.
October 2016: Polk County contingent quit Mid Willamette Homeless Initiative Task Force.
September 2016: Poll showed homelessness top concern of Salem residents (17%).
August 2016: Home of the Brave placed its clients in other programs and closed its doors, likely for financial reasons.
June 2016: The Homeless Empowerment Collaborative, an outgrowth of the Salem-Keizer School District's Students in Transition Education Program (STEP), stopped meeting. The group's purpose was to bring maximum supports to students experiencing homelessness by collaborative case management across agencies and programs, but they were mostly unsuccessful because critical programs, such as the Center for Hope and Safety, were unwilling to participate, presumably out of concern for parental safety/confidentiality.
March 2016: First Congregational UCC ended its "Sleeping Ministry" and Oregon ended the 2016 legislative session with claims of victory for housing policy and funding, including allocating $10M to two OHCS progams: the State Housing Assistance Program ($2M) and the Emergency Housing Assistance program ($8M) for "homeless prevention and assistance."
January 25, 2016: Salem authorized execution of the Mid-Willamette Homeless Initiative charter. Councilor Bednarz assured the City Council that the Initiative brought together knowledgeable people who would "solve, or reduce, or do something to homelessness in our community." The annual homeless count netted 856 individuals in Marion and Polk Counties, 187 unsheltered.
Winter 2015: Community members complained repeatedly about MWVCAA's refusing to activate emergency overnight shelters despite lows in the 20s, and the lack of adequate shelter for homeless youth. In response, Mayor Peterson asserted that she was,
working actively with Marion County, Polk County, City of Keizer and City of Salem, and we're forming a task force that will be a regional task force on homelessness and related issues. So I assure you that we are doing many things on many levels and we have been for quite some time...And so, I encourage you to recognize, if you will, please, that we have been working very hard and we have been working diligently and have been providing resources. Can we provide all of the money that's needed for all of the problems? No.(December 7 2015 City Council meeting.) A few days later, the City published the Mayor's "Update on Efforts to Alleviate Homelessness", announcing the creation of a task force on homelessness. Mayor Peterson said she and the other officials on the task force, "are not grabbing headlines, we are grabbing the problem", possibly referring to a recent west coast mayors' summit on homelessness which she had been criticized for not attending.
The Salem Housing Authority Commission directed SHA to pursue mixed-use, affordable housing development on North Campus of the Oregon State Hospital, and to create an affordable housing committee. See here (information report) and here (minutes of December 14, 2015 meeting).
October 2015: The City Council held a public hearing on the Minto Brown Island Park Master Plan, which stated (at p. 50) that "[s]everal management issues were raised repeatedly during the public [outreach] process. The City is aware of public concerns related to illegal encampments within the park. Significant efforts have been made in recent years to post and remove camps as they are discovered. Parks Operations should continue to work closely with [SPD], Minto-Brown Parks Patrol and residents to manage this problem. Additional information and signs with appropriate information could provide a useful tool for concerned citizens."
Later in the month, the City Council heard from members of the First Congregational UC Church, who commented that the Council had not addressed "the plight of the homeless" at any City Council meeting in the past 3 years. In response, Mayor Peterson cited the Council's August 31st work session, and said, "the City of Salem can't do it alone...we are not, in fact, charged to do that, and we're not funded to do that."
Also in October, Mayor Peterson asked the Marion County Public Safety Coordinating Committee (whose purpose is "to increase public safety by enhancing law enforcement efficiencies and reducing crime") to add homelessness to its work plan, consistent with her view of homelessness as primarily a public safety concern.
Finally, plans for Riverfront Youth Shelter, for minors, fell through. See Knowlton, S. "Group one step closer to opening youth shelter in Salem." (25 July 2014, Statesman Journal.)
September 2015: The City Council advanced Ordinance Bill 18-15, merging the Social Services Advisory Board and the Housing and Urban Development Advisory Committee to form the Urban Development, Community Services and Housing Commission (CSHC). The City Council would vote to kill the CSHC in December 2018.
Also in September, UGM's new executive director, Bruce Bailey, informed the Salem Homeless Coalition that UGM was "nowhere near a capital campaign."
Summer 2015: City staff issued a report on the status of "After Hours Parks Restrooms Closures" and the City Council held a work session titled, "Public Restrooms and Regulating Conduct in the Right of Way."
December 2014: Eco Northwest's "Salem Housing Needs Analysis" published, showing more than one third of Salem households have problems paying for housing, and that Salem was short 6,400 units affordable by households earning <$25K/yr.
Fall 2014: Without noticeable fanfare, the City released for distribution posters developed for a "Real Change"-type of campaign to discourage panhandling. See here, here, and here [http://www.saleminsider.com/2014/12/resident-aids-homeless-spite-citys-efforts-leave-cold/].
July 2014: The Mid Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and partners applied for grants to staff the Riverfront Youth Shelter for minors. See Knowlton, S. "Group one step closer to opening youth shelter in Salem." (26 July 2014, Statesman Journal.) Plans fall short and the shelter doesn't open.
June 2014: UGM executive director Michael Rideout reported to CANDO that UGM was in the middle of a capital campaign to raise funds for a new Men's Mission, and projected they would break ground in the spring 2016. The capital campaign later stalled, and would not restart until October 2018.
May 2014: CANDO was informed that the Safe Streets and Parks Task Force's proposal to provide portable toilets downtown was likely going nowhere. See here.
March 2014: Mayor Peterson volunteered at a warming shelter and learned that lack of access to toilets after-hours downtown was a serious problem. See [http://www.opb.org/news/article/salem-considers-portable-toilets-for-homeless/]. The Mayor asked the Safe Streets and Parks Task Force to consider how the City might provide "toilets and sanitary services for the homeless." See Attachment A, here.
January 2014: Salvation Army reopened the renovated, adults-only, Lighthouse Shelter, capacity of 83.
November 2013: Financial mismanagement forced the Salem YWCA to close the Salem Outreach Shelter, which provided transitional housing for ten families (a family defined as a parent or legal guardian with minor child(ren)). Following renovations, The Salvation Army reopened the Lighthouse Shelter (adults only, though, no more families).
September 2013: Home of the Brave, a transitional housing program for male veterans located in a seven-bedroom house at 655 Cottage St, NE, and supported by private donations, including substantial underwriting by Larry Tokarski, opened its doors. The program folded three years later. To hear an interview with HOB's Deputy Director, Gerald Pygott, go here.
June 2013: After losing federal grant funding three years in a row, Northwest Human Services closed an extended stay shelter for youth that was partly funded by the City of Salem.
Spring 2013: Salem Mayor Anna Peterson appointed a "Safe Streets and Parks Task Force", "to address complaints and concerns from the public about begging and loitering downtown, urban camping in our city parks, and the serious increase in homeless families and individuals in need of services and shelters." See the 2013 Mayor's State of the City Address here.
The Salvation Army closed the Lighthouse Shelter for renovations that did not include additional bathrooms for the family units. The shared-bathrooms arrangement posed a safety risk to children, so Lighthouse became an adults-only shelter.
2012: The national plan was revised [http://usich.gov/opening_doors/] to prioritize chronic/veteran homelessness. The Salem Housing Authority directed the Mid-Valley Conference on Homelessness [http://www.cityofsalem.net/Residents/HousingAuthority/Pages/Conference.aspx].
2011: The U.S. OIG found that MWVCAA, the agency responsible for coordinating Salem's homeless/anti-poverty efforts, had "paid for HPRP services without adequate supporting documentation for participant eligibility and expenses and did not always enter participant data accurately into the HPRP reporting systems" and would be required to take corrective action. MWVCAA decided it couldn't manage the Marion and Polk CoC any longer. Marion and Polk County then "merged" with the 26-county Rural Oregon CoC.
2010: Eight years in, the national plan to end homelessness [http://usich.gov/opening_doors/] was "tactically rebooted." Marion County launched its "Reentry Initiative."
2009: Homeless count in Marion and Polk Counties reached 3,244. The U. S. District Court ruled Portland's "sit-lie" ordinance unconstitutional.
2007: The Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency hired Pacific Policy and Research, Inc., to conduct a baseline survey of homelessness in Marion and Polk Counties (earliest Point-in-Time homeless count.)
2008: The Great Recession hit.
2004 or earlier: Salem, Marion and Polk County were registered with HUD as a "Continuum of Care" for the purpose of receiving federal homeless assistance funds under HUD's Continuum of Care Program. This local CoC, which was called variously the Marion and Polk Continuum of Care Collaborative and the Mid-Valley Housing and Services Collaborative, would dissolve in 2011, and become part of the Balance of State CoC, aka the Rural Oregon CoC or ROCC.
2002: Hundreds of cities began adopting 10-year plans to end homelessness in response to a call from the federal government and The National Alliance to End Homelessness. UGM's Simonka House (formerly Salem Women's Home) moved to 5119 River Road N. in Keizer and was renamed Simonka Place, capacity 45 (would later double).
2001: St. Francis Shelter board purchased Cardinal Lane Apartments at 1820 Berry Street SE and relocated, 14 units.
2000: Homeless activist and advocate, Jack Tafari, lost his job in Salem and moved to Portland.
1997: CANDO approved the decision to demolish the Derby Building that included the Senator Hotel to make way for Courthouse Square.
1995: HOAP moved to 694 Church Street NE.
1987: President Reagan reluctantly signed into law the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Mickey and Virginia McClure and Eddie Smythe opened St. Francis Shelter in the Devereaux Apartments at 1492 State Street, 10 units.
1986: Northwest Human Services opened the Homeless Outreach and Advocacy Project (HOAP).
1982: "The federal government just got out of the business of housing" and began emphasizing home ownership. The National Coalition for the Homeless was formed. The Senator Hotel in Salem was renting one-bedroom apartments with shared bathrooms for $84 to $149 per month.
1981: Ronald Reagan became U.S. President.
1969: Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, Inc. registered as an Oregon business entity.
1968: UGM opened the Salem Women's Home in a two-story house on 14th Street NE, capacity 13.
1966: Salvation Army built the Lighthouse Shelter at 1901 Front Street NE.
1953: Union Gospel Mission (UGM) opened at 745 Commercial Street NE.
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