The downtown ARCHES Day Center offers space for unsheltered Salemites, including respite during inclement weather, navigation through complex social support systems and warm breakfasts.
Soon the building, and Coldwell Banker’s neighboring building, will be bordered by a security fence.
In July, the city’s Urban Renewal Agency approved an up to $90,000 grant for the fence, which according to a July 22 staff report will protect the properties from excessive trash and camping, and make the buildings safer. ARCHES and Coldwell Banker applied for the grant together.
Contrary to appearances, The ARCHES Project’s goal with the fence is to make the facility more accommodating, said Robert Marshall, the grants and development specialist for the organization. He believes it will make those who use the services feel safer, and deter those who may wish to do their clients harm.
“The leadership team, we’ve always wanted to try to put up a fence, as much as possible. The reason for (not having) it is the way it looks to the public,” he said.
The situation changed over time, he said, and ARCHES leadership began to see a fence as a way to make the vulnerable population feel more secure. Between 2018 and 2023, the day center saw a more than twentyfold increase in the number of people served a year, from 133 to 2,739 people. Many of them come from vulnerable backgrounds such as having survived domestic violence.
The center is typically open from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Unsheltered people use the day center to get their mail, take showers, have breakfast and lunch, do laundry and get help navigating health care and housing programs.
But the parking lot has served as a de facto gathering place for people who camp there and across the street at Marion Square Park. That means there are often unsheltered people gathered around the building, even when ARCHES has no employees on site.
Marshall hopes the fence will deter people from gathering there after hours.
“When it’s not staffed 24/7, and there’s no staff here to keep them safe, (gathering at the building) kind of gives that false sense of hope and security to individuals,” he said. “The other plan with this is that it will help encourage people to utilize other – staffed – shelters.”
Marshall said it should also deter people who aren’t there to use the services.
“They’re going to drive by, they’re going to see a fence, and think ‘It’s probably not the place that I should just be hanging out and preying upon people,’” he said.
Over 40% of people who use the day center report having a mental health condition, 33% report having a chronic health condition, 32% report having a physical disability and 22% have a mental disability, Marshall said. Over 28% are survivors of domestic violence, stalking or human trafficking.
“When we look at those numbers, we serve a pretty vulnerable population, and the idea of a fence is providing an environment where individuals can come in, they can feel safe, they can do their laundry, they can check their mail, they can receive service navigation without the threat of being preyed upon by individuals that wish to do them harm,” he said.
Marshall said it was more of a general feeling and a look at the vulnerability of those served that led to the decision to build the fence. He said ARCHES hasn’t received reports about safety concerns from clients so far. He said they wanted to be proactive about preventing assaults from happening in the parking lot.
“What can we do to make these people feel safer? People shouldn’t have to ask for it, if we can make it happen ahead of time,” he said.
Marshall said another issue is that the building is only open during the day, and the grounds are open at night despite there being no staff or services available.
On Tuesday morning there were about 20 people gathered outside the day center, surrounding a pile of bikes and belongings blocking much of the sidewalk on the Northeast Union Street Side.
The city’s staff report said that both the ARCHES and Coldwell Banker properties have had a history of vandalism from people congregating, and experience “excessive trash, camping and illegal activity.”
ARCHES has, in the past, hired security during opening hours, Marshall said.
He said the safety and security of clients was more important from ARCHES perspective, though businesses shared concerns about vandalism. Coldwell Banker did not respond to a Wednesday email request for comment.
“Our reasoning for it was protecting the people, not the property,” Marshall said.
The fence will be iron, and encompass both buildings, which together take up about half a city block. It will have two gates for car entrances, and a pedestrian gate for entry from the sidewalk. The plans aren’t yet finalized, but the design will have a flat top without spikes.
“We want it to be a welcoming environment. We want people to be able to feel like they can come,” he said.
Lindsay Bigelow, co-director of Kindness Closet of Salem, serves dinners every other Saturday from the ARCHES Parking lot. She said in a text to Salem Reporter that she understands the need for the fence, and doesn’t feel like it will make anyone go hungry.
She said the fence will hopefully encourage people to go across the street for a nightly dinner at Union Gospel Mission when the ARCHES Day Center is closed.
“I am a little worried guests might see a fence and immediately think ‘institution’ but I’m pretty confident in staff’s ability to maintain positive relationships with clients accessing services regardless of the fence being there,” she said.
Marshall said that he’s been fielding a lot of questions, even from family, about building a fence at a place that is supposed to be welcoming.
He compared it to putting a fence around a school or a playground, which is a proactive step to protect the vulnerable population inside.
“But then people see that organizations that are serving homeless individuals are putting up a fence. They immediately go to, ‘Oh, homeless people are dangerous, and even social service agencies are trying to keep them out,’” he said. “But that’s not the case. We’re doing it as a protective measure, but people have different perceptions.”
There’s not a solid timeline for putting up the fence yet, Marshall said, and remaining steps include securing all permits and site reviews. After that, they plan to quickly start construction.
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.
