When considering how to help Salem’s downtown homeless population, Church at the Park’s Founding Pastor DJ Vincent decided to look ahead.
“The largest number of people coming into homelessness are 55 plus,” he said. “ That tells us something about what’s coming.”
To accommodate the need, Church at the Park plans to expand its Village of Hope micro shelter site, adding 40 beds for seniors in need, staffing, offices, accessibility and more showers.
Salem’s oldest micro shelter site hasn’t made many permanent changes to the lot it sits on since it first moved there in 2022.
The rows of tiny homes sit on gravel or pre-existing pavement at 1280 Center St N.E., across the street from the central Salem Safeway. Akin in size to backyard storage sheds, they’re connected by pathways of rubber mats to make for more accessible walking.
The main communal picnic tables, where residents gather for meals, meetings and activities, are sheltered by thick tents which can be battered during inclement weather.
When the site moved to Center Street, it was only under a two-year lease. Structures were supposed to be temporary under state guidelines, and Church at the Park wasn’t able to add much more than showers, storage and restrooms.
Vincent said they recently renewed the lease, giving them the option for longer-term planning.
Church at the Park’s plan to expand the site would add space for dozens of seniors while adding sidewalks, offices and a common space structure to improve accessibility and amenities for residents and staff at the site.
Church at the park has raised $800,000 of its $1 million project goal in private donations, said Sam Dompier, chief development officer.
Vincent said that the expansion discussion began with a local philanthropist last fall, who asked how to help reduce the number of unsheltered people living downtown.
“People are asking: ‘What do we need to do more?’ Well, it’s make spaces for people 55 plus, and help stabilize and launch them toward their next thing,” Vincent said.
In 2023, the annual Point-In-Time count recorded 429 people over age 55 who were homeless in Marion and Polk counties. That’s a quarter of the 1,683 total homeless people in what’s widely considered to be an undercount.
At first, Vincent said they considered adding a fourth micro shelter site, and vetted a few options and spoke with neighbors including on N.E. Lana Ave. But in speaking with officials at Oregon Housing and Community Services, who would ultimately be asked to fund long-term operations, it became clear that they’d more willingly fund more beds at an existing site rather than a new project.
Church at the Park has begun the work to design the expansion, which will face intricate permitting requirements with the city of Salem.
The move to more permanent additions from the current temporary structures will likely trigger city site plan reviews, said Olivia Dias in the city planning department, which will likely take a few months to process.
The plan includes adding 32 micro shelter units, miniature homes that will have a bedroom and a bathroom for singles and couples.
The proposed expansion would add shower and laundry capacity, and six offices for meetings with partner agencies. It would also add a community space for the new tenants, and includes decks and accessible sidewalks for residents.
The site currently has two case managers, two peer support specialists and a shared health systems navigator who goes between sites, Dompier said. They’ve discussed adding another case manager and another health systems navigator with the expansion.
“Many of the people both are aging and are medically vulnerable. So a lot of the stability, and long-term stability, is working both on housing needs and medical needs,” she said.
They’re also working to include partnerships with Northwest Senior Disability Services and Salem Health, to develop on-site medical assessments.
“We’re really good at triaging and getting people stable,” Dompier said. “I don’t think we have an imagination of becoming a health care provider or behavioral health care provider, but how can we create a resource-rich environment here for people to get stable while we connect them to the existing long-term support services?”
Church at the Park has reported that, since opening, about half of micro shelter residents have moved from the site into positive destinations like permanent housing, transitional housing, inpatient treatment or care facilities.
Currently, the Department of Human Services visits weekly to help people connect with benefits, and Church at the Park’s navigation team.
Church at the Park’s three sites, including a family site and young adult shelter, host a total of 250 people. They recently secured about $8.5 million in state funding to stay open until at least next June, after the city pulled operational funding amid budget cuts.
Vincent said he wouldn’t move forward with the expansion without an indication from the state of continued funding for Salem micro shelters.
Much of the expansion work will be done early next year, said Dompier, but building the sidewalks will be weather dependent.
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE.
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.
