The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved spending federal money to add more space for families and 11 new beds to a Keizer women’s shelter.
Following a public hearing, commissioners voted to contribute a total $1.46 million for renovations to Simonka Place, run by the Union Gospel Mission. The work will be paid for by a 2021 grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department intended for homeless services.
The remodeling is intended to allow the shelter to accommodate a growing number of residents with children, those experiencing a mental health crisis and aging homeless women, as well as add parenting and child development services.
“We’re seeing the need to serve three to four times the number of women with children that we were serving just three years ago,” said Kathy Smith, UGM’s director of women’s ministry, at the meeting. “Just last month alone, we were unable to serve 25 children, and there’s really not a lot of other resources for women with children in Marion County.”
Larger rooms will provide women in crisis with their own space to recover as well as accommodate larger families of up to eight people with their own bathroom, according to Dan Clem, UGM’s executive director.
“These ladies deserve a place that looks like a home and with their children, be able to have play space for the kids. Right now, it’s hallways,” Clem said at the meeting. “We want to make this a place where they can feel at home, have space for the children, get the mental health help that they need, stabilize, and to be able to serve the more aging population that’s coming in our door with no other options.”
He said the renovation will add new features intended to help older women with physical challenges, such as handrails and ramps.
The 60-year-old building also needs renovation for its roof, lighting, floor coverings and siding.
In the last three years, Clem said he has spent almost $100,000 of donations on repairs to fix a leaking roof and plumbing issues at the shelter.
The remodeling will increase the shelter’s bed count from 86 to 97 and double the number of families it serves.
Commissioners also unanimously approved a renewed contract with the city of Salem to pair two police officers with a mental health professional to respond to crisis calls.
The Salem Police Department assigns trained officers to ten-hour shifts four days a week to respond to calls from dispatchers involving mental health. They would also help other agencies throughout the county respond to such calls.
The county will pay about $599,000 under the contract and provide a qualified mental health professional to help respond with officers. An existing contract expired at the end of June.
The county has four such crisis teams, according to Ann-Marie Bandfield, program manager for acute and forensic behavioral health at the county’s Health and Human Services Department.
Bandfield said at the meeting that the teams can respond to 911 calls which emergency dispatchers determine are mental health issues. After arriving at the scene, they provide a mental health evaluation and help de-escalate the situation.
They can then transport the person to the Psychiatric Crisis Center, a 24-7 facility operated by the county’s Health and Human Services Department, or to Salem Hospital’s emergency room if the person has more serious needs.
“Another route is an officer could be out on a call and realize they’re really dealing with mental health concerns that are really beyond their skills, and so then they can call the team to come out as well,” Bandfield said.
She said the crisis teams also take dozens of calls every day from officers who have responded to a call and need direction or support.
The board unanimously approved or advanced other agenda items, including raising garbage collection rates charged by private haulers that contract with Marion County in unincorporated areas.
Original story below:
The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday will consider spending federal money to add more space for families and 11 new beds to a Keizer women’s shelter.
READ IT: AGENDA
There will be a public hearing to consider renovations to Simonka Place, run by the Union Gospel Mission.
The work would be paid for by a 2021 grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department intended for homeless services. The county would contribute a total of $1.46 million for the renovation.
The remodeling is intended to allow the shelter to accommodate more women with children, those experiencing a mental health crisis and aging homeless women, as well as add parenting and child development services. The 60-year-old building also needs renovation for its roof, lighting, floor coverings and siding, according to the agenda item.
If approved, the renovation would increase the shelter’s bed count from 86 to 97 and double the number of families it serves.
Commissioners will vote immediately after the public hearing.
To participate
The commissioners meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Senator Hearing Room at 555 Court Street N.E. Anyone can attend or sign up to give public comment in-person at the meeting. The meeting is streamed live on YouTube.
Crisis response
Commissioners will also consider renewing a contract with the city of Salem to pair two police officers with a mental health professional to respond to crisis calls.
The Salem Police Department would assign trained officers to ten-hour shifts four days a week to respond to calls from dispatchers involving mental health. They would also help other agencies throughout the county respond to such calls.
The county would pay about $599,000 under the contract and provide a qualified mental health professional to help respond with officers, according to the agenda item.
An existing contract expired at the end of June.
Garbage rates
There will be a public hearing to consider raising garbage collection rates charged by private haulers which contract with Marion County in unincorporated areas.
Most prices would increase by 4.9% in urban areas and 3.7% in rural areas.
If the rate increases are approved, residential customers in urban areas of unincorporated Marion County would pay an additional $9.12 per year for a 35-gallon garbage cart. That would raise the annual rate for such customers from $186.60 to $195.72.
The board will vote immediately after the public hearing.
Also on the agenda
Commissioners will consider approving a $1 million contract with Boston-based Public Partnerships, LLC to approve payments for “fiscal intermediary services” for people being served by Marion County’s Health and Human Services Department, according to the agenda item. Such services could include medical billing and addiction treatment for people who can’t afford it.
The board will consider approving a $204,000 contract with Salem-based A WorkSAFE Service, Inc. to provide urinalysis collection for five Marion County Specialty Court programs.
They will also consider appointing Marion County Undersheriff Jay Bergmann as a citizen member and Josh Lair as the Local Alcohol and Drug Planning Committee representative to the Marion County Public Safety Coordinating Council for terms ending in December 2026. Lair is the Salem-based community outreach coordinator for Ideal Option, a private medication-assisted treatment center with a Salem clinic.
The 32-member council advises the board of commissioners and includes public safety, education, social services, civic and business leaders, as well as representatives from law enforcement, prosecution, community corrections, public defense, judiciary, domestic violence services, public health and juvenile justice. They would be appointed to three-year terms.
Commissioners will also consider appointing Kevin Cameron as chair, Danielle Bethell as vice chair, and Colm Willis as second vice chair of the board to serve from Jan. 2, 2024 to the first Monday of January 2025. The board is required under state law to appoint a chair and vice chair among its members, and Marion County commissioners have historically rotated the positions. Bethell is currently chair.
They will also consider appointing county Chief Administrative Officer Jan Fritz as the county’s representative to the Courthouse Square Condominium Association, and a memorandum electing Fritz and Allan Pollock as directors effective Jan. 1, 2024. Marion County and the Salem Area Mass Transit District, also known as Cherriots, are owners and members of the association. Pollock is the general manager for Cherriots.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
