News from the Contiuum

By Sarah Owens and Michael Livingston

 

Concern over homelessness in Salem continues to grow, according to the latest Customer Satisfaction Survey by DHM Research for the Salem City Council.  In presenting the survey results to City Council, DHM's John Horvick said the degree of concern in Salem is in line with other communities along the I-5 corridor, with 44% of Eugene residents believing homelessness to be a top concern.  See Harrell, S.  "Concern about homelessness grows and many think Salem is headed in the wrong direction, survey shows." (13 October 2020, Salem Reporter.)  Mayor's comments suggest he sees the 45° incline over the past 6 years as a perception issue.

 

2020 Salem Customer Satisfaction Survey

The survey is intended to inform the recently published 2020 Council Policy Agenda.   As discussed last February in "Council Sets Ambitious 2020 Policy Agenda", the City remains committed to supporting Salem Housing Authority (SHA)'s Homeless Rental Assistance Program (HRAP) and the affordable housing projects being developed by SHA and the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency (MWVCAA) (Redwood Crossings, Yaquina Hall and Sequoia Crossings), as well as Mountain West Investment Corporation dba MWIC Jory Salem, LLC (Jory Apartments) (though this project was looking iffy -- see "City Council, September 28th - Costco" (25 September 2020, Salem Breakfast on Bikes.) -- construction has begun.  See Clarkson, L. "Construction at Park Avenue and D Street: What's That?" 2 November 2020, Statesman Journal.)  

Redwood Crossings opened in August.  See Woodworth, W. "New 'first of its kind' housing project in Salem opening to help homeless." (10 August 2020, Statesman Journal.)  Yaquina currently is expected to be completed in July 2022, and will consist of 52 units (studio and one-BR), very low income (<50% AMI), of which 20 will be permanent supportive housing, with residents paying 30% of income for rent.  Yaquina will have on-site services to support those with serious and persistent mental illness.  Sequoia Crossings remains in the design/funding phase, but SHA does own the land, so it's just a matter of time.

Also in the 2020 Policy Agenda: "lobby" the legislature for mental health resources, "plan and site" a navigation center (see "Urban Renewal to the Rescue" (28 November 2018)), "support" United Way and MWVCAA's pilot mobile Community Response Unit (CRU), and "build partnerships" to fund a sobering center (see "City Admits Sobering Ctr Might be 'Unattainable'" (12 March 2019)).  Of these four items, only the first two realistic.  

The regular legislative session starts in January, so telling the City's lobbyist to add "mental health resources" to his list is simple enough, but what good it will do is another matter.  The City's navigation center plans are plodding along in that the MWVCAA board has signed off on the sale, and, just last week, the Urban Renewal Agency approved spending $2M for a navigation center in the RDURA.  All that's left is for the City Council to approve the contract.  The arrangement will allow the day shelter to expand from 27 to 41 hours/week and be open on Saturday.  Current hours are M-W, F: 9–3 and Th: 9–noon.  Expanded hours will be M-W, F-Sat: 9–4, Th: 9–3.  It won't be the 24/7 nav center/low barrier shelter that some had hoped for, pre-pandemic, especially all those wanting to enforce the sit-lie and camping bans, but it's an improvement nonetheless. 

As for CRU and the sobering center and all who believe in unicorns, Chiefs Moore and Niblock have consistently maintained that, while they would "love" for Salem to have a CAHOOTS-type service, Salem is not Eugene -- it doesn't have Eugene's sobering center or the other social service resources and infrastructure that are needed to make such a model successful, i.e., allow it to deliver emergency services at a lower cost.  Although the City did build sobering facilities into 615 Commercial Street using urban renewal funds, it has failed repeatedly secure the financial commitments needed to cover the operating costs, which, pre-pandemic, were estimated at $1M annually (see posts labeled "sobering station").  Current pandemic and economic conditions make it even less likely than before that the City will be able to "build partnerships" to fund a sobering center (higher cost to deliver emergency services, fewer available resources). 

If "support" means "invest" in a pilot CRU as a "CAHOOTS-lite" program (CRU without sobering center), advocates are going to have to show how the program could reduce the City's service costs.  So far, they've not been able to do this.  For example, of the average 324 calls per day the Department received in 2019, only 14 or 4% were for emotionally distressed persons or EDPs, and the officer positions in the Behavioral Health Unit assigned to respond to these calls are funded by state grants through the counties.  

Without City support, it seems unlikely the plans for a pilot CRU program will go forward.  This means that Salem Police, Fire, and Community Development/ Neighborhood Services must continue picking up the slack for the foreseeable future.  The calculus could change if a  Democrat is elected to the Marion County Commission which for the past 40 years has been staunchly Republican.  See Harrell, S. "VOTE 2020: With a public sector background, Ashley Carson Cottingham wants to shift the county's focus to the most vulnerable."  (16 October 2020, Salem Reporter.) 

Dropped from 2019 Council Policy agenda:  four Downtown Homeless Solutions Task Force recommendations:  24/7 toilets downtown (Portland Loo purchase is feasible but operating funds appear to be the issue), Downtown Good Neighbor Partnership (snuffed by the pandemic), single-point-of-contact (ditto) and downtown cleaning services (Council did not fund for 2020). 

In other news, so far, the homeless community has managed to avoid a major COVID-19 outbreak.  See Harrell, S. "Local health providers see low rates of Covid in Salem’s unsheltered population."  (11 August 2020, Salem Reporter.)  The City Council responded to complaints about camping in Wallace Marine Park by allocating another $312K for security services to patrol it and Marion Square Park through 2021.  City staff and Salem police last week "walked through the parking lot at Cascades Gateway Park, placing red eviction notices on cars, RVs and vehicles..that posed environmental hazards."  Vespa, M. "'We're nobodies': Amid pandemic and wildfires, Salem's homeless flood parks, land along highways."  (16 October 2020, KGW News.)  The Salem Planning Commission approved DevNW's rezoning application and site plan for the Evergreen Baptist Church affordable housing project, over the Grant neighborhood association's continuing objection.  See "Affordable Housing Project in 1928 German Baptist Church to Try Again at Postponed Hearing."  (6 October 2020, Salem Breakfast on Bikes.)  The chemical toilet in the First Congregational UCC parking lot (within the downtown core) was fatally damaged earlier this month, apparently by fire, and has been removed.  Unknown if it will be replaced.  The toilet had been there since June 2015.  See "Toilets and Panhandling."  (6 September 2015.)  The loss could not have come at a worse time, with the pandemic having taken so many public toilets offline.  See Banks, Taunya (2020) "The Disappearing Public Toilet," Seton Hall Law Review: Vol. 50 : Iss. 4 , Article 4. 

11/16/20 update:  FCUCC replaced the toilet, and added a second, ADA compliant unit.

12/2/20 update:  Portland's CARES Act-funded chemical toilet program adapts to NIMBY aggression.  See Acker, L. "Portable toilets in SE Portland stolen, vandalized in escalating fight between city and neighbors."  (1 December 2020, Oregonian/OregonLive.)