The repairs at Simonka Place, the Salem-Keizer area’s oldest operating women’s shelter, have become perpetual.
The home shelters dozens of families in need each year in an unassuming building off River Road in Keizer. The decades-old building is past due for an upgrade, said Dan Clem, executive director of Union Gospel Mission, which runs the shelter.
“It’s kind of like your car. You spend so much on it, you go: okay, time for something a little better or new,” he said. “It’s the same idea as a facility. To upgrade it, not to be fancy, but certainly to feel more like home.”
The Marion County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 14 approved an agreement with Union Gospel Mission to spend $1.4 million in federal housing funds to improve and expand the Keizer women’s shelter.
The total project cost is $3.5 million, said Josh Hren, spokesman for Union Gospel Mission. They plan to meet that total with a private donor fundraising campaign that will launch next year.
The work will accommodate more families, adding 11 beds for a total of 97. The updated rooms will be able to host larger families of up to eight, each with a private bathroom.
“It’s not just about bed count, it’s about what the ladies need and what we want to provide,” Clem said.
The shelter serves women and children who often stay between six months and a year. The shelter gives them a place to sleep, and connections to social services and treatment in-house.
In the last 11 months, 149 women and 42 children have moved from the shelter into stable housing, according to data provided by Kathy Smith, Union Gospel Mission’s director of women’s ministries in a county statement.
“Our program is essentially 360 in that we can address domestic violence, we can address addictions, we can address trauma,” Clem said.
The facility operates 24 hours a day, said Clem, causing wear and tear. Union Gospel Mission moved into the location in 2002, from its original site where it opened in 1968. It also has old aluminum windows and fluorescent lights.
The carpets and heating and cooling systems are over 20 years old, and the shelter has spent thousands in donations to fix a leaky roof and plumbing issues.
“It, as you might expect, has some aspects of it that are somewhat commercial,” he said, and that a more home-like environment will help the shelter residents stabilize.
The work, which will begin in April 2025, will knock out some walls and add a private bathroom to each new unit.
The renovation will make every room ADA accessible, he said, with enough room to accommodate CPAP machines, which they’re seeing more of with an aging population.
“We just want to do a better job. We’re blessed if we can say, ‘Sure, come on in,’ and have enough beds to do it with the services we need,” he said.
They’ll also expand the childcare space for kids to play in while moms attend addiction counseling, medical and mental health services in the building. That lets moms focus on the classes instead of splitting their attention.
By doing construction in phases, Clem said the plan is to allow everyone to stay in the shelter, rather than relocating to a partner agency, throughout the project. It just may be more cramped during that time.
The $1.4 million comes from federal American Rescue Plan dollars, one-time funds which Clem said did not interfere with the faith-based approach of their shelter. Union Gospel Mission generally does not take government funding because such funding can’t be used for religious activities.
“We don’t normally use government money, but in this case those funds were so unique,” he said. “It allowed us to do it without interfering in the work that we do, and our faith, so the flexibility of these funds and the absolute commitment by Marion County Commissioners — we’ve been praying on this for years.”
According to the contract with the county, the money is proportional to the non-religion portion of the organization’s activities. The county is covering 70% of costs, while private donors will pay for 30%.
He hopes to finish the project by October 2025.The result will mean the staff will have a better facility to serve women and children in need, he said.
“We won’t have to say ‘I’m sorry’ as often,” he said. “Right now we’re doing the best we can, but the ladies deserve the best we can do.”
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
