Your Thursday evening update on Salem news

Good evening, Salem.

If you don’t work in local government or social services, you may not have heard of the Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance.

But the group, formed about five years ago, is an increasingly key part of Salem’s plans to shelter and house homeless people.

It’s what government agencies call a “continuum of care” — a regional group that coordinates local homeless services by giving federal and state money to the organizations that run shelters and get people into housing.

With more federal and state money flowing into homeless services, the alliance is growing rapidly, sending more money out the door to directly help homeless people and also adding more overhead.

That last point led to some disagreement from leaders of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, the region’s largest homeless service provider, during the alliance’s recent budgeting process.

Reporter Abbey McDonald takes a deeper look at what the alliance does, how it’s growing and the disagreements over the future and scope of Salem’s homeless services in her story below.

It’s the sort of deep look at a major player addressing one of Salem’s most pressing issues that you won’t find anywhere else. That’s the local journalism Salem Reporter is committed to bringing you.

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As Salem’s homeless services grow quickly, disagreements emerge on overhead spending

A regional government agency that oversees homeless services in Marion and Polk counties is hiring more employees with an influx of state and federal money, prompting discussions about what the…

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Fire chief says Salem on track for city takeover of ambulance service

Salem has ordered 12 ambulances and plans to hire 52 employees to staff them as the city ends its contract with Falck for ambulance services, Chief Mike Niblock told a…

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Salem Reporter adds legal notices to boost access, save public money

EDITOR’S NOTE: Salem Reporter launches a new public notice service with benefits for citizens, government and sustaining local news. Here’s how this works.

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Covid infections spreading in Oregon

Nearly 15% of Oregonians tested for Covid in the last week were positive for the virus, a high rate for this time of year.

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As Salem’s homeless services grow quickly, disagreements emerge on overhead spending

Fire chief says Salem on track for city takeover of ambulance service

EDITOR’S NOTE: Salem Reporter adds legal notices to boost access, save public money

Covid infections spreading in Oregon

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