On Tuesday, a town hall featuring leadership from the city, Marion County and service providers will focus on the challenges of addressing homelessness in Salem. It will also share recent successes.
It’s hosted by the Salem Human Rights Commission, the group which aims to address discrimination in the city. Earlier this year, their annual community belonging survey reported that 91% of unhoused respondents experienced discrimination in the past year.
The town hall will be Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 6-8 p.m. at the Loucks Auditorium, located at the Salem Public Library’s main branch, 585 Liberty St. S.E. Cherriots is offering free bus rides to the town hall. For free fare, riders should tell the driver they’re headed to the town hall.
Joaquín Lara Midkiff, a commission member who leads community engagement, said the town hall aims to address the community’s competing understandings of homelessness by bringing together neighbors, elected leaders, people experiencing homelessness and providers.
“To come together in a positive environment and have an honest conversation about the challenges, but also a lot of the successes. Because there’s a lot of good things happening in town around services, all these amazing things that we’ve invested in the last few years, and we want to highlight that,” he said.
He said the town hall will start with a brief welcome from Robert Marshall, who works at The ARCHES Project and is a member of the Salem Human Rights Commission. Lara Midkiff said Marshall was the main driver of the town hall effort.
That will be followed by a presentation from Lynelle Wilcox, who runs the SafeSleep United shelter in Salem. She also writes a column about homelessness for Salem Reporter.
Representatives from five organizations are slated to speak at the event: the city of Salem, Marion County, Salem Housing Authority, Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency and Church at the Park.
After they speak, there will be about 20 minutes allotted for written questions from the audience. Submit questions through the commission’s online survey here.
“We really want this to be an opportunity to share and learn from each other, so it’s going to be an important time at the end,” Lara Midkiff said.
He said the topics will include how someone can become homeless, how to navigate being homeless in Salem, what services are available and what the future of services looks like.
The providers will also be looking for new volunteers at the event.
“There’s going to be, I think, a real spirit of engagement,” Lara Midkiff said.
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.
