A camp pictured at Oregon State Capitol State Park on Monday morning. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
More than 20 homeless residents packed their belongings Monday morning after a short stay at a state park near Oregon’s capitol building.
But it remains unclear where they will go as the city of Salem, a week after enacting a ban on public camping, hunts for empty buildings to be used as shelters with few barriers.
Homeless campers arrived at State Capitol State Park on Friday night, according to camper Donald Ray Martin, seeking a place to stake tents that wouldn’t violate the new, citywide law.
Although they had to move days later, Martin said the campout made a statement.
“Now the city knows what they’ve done with this ordinance,” Martin said of the new city law, which went into effect Dec. 16. “We’re tired of being bullied around.”
State officials notified campers over the weekend camping isn’t allowed at the park, according to M.G. Devereux, deputy director of the state parks department. The park closes from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Parks staff and state troopers stood by on Monday morning as Martin and others packed.
State staff didn’t issue any citations or make any arrests for trespassing, according to Devereux.
“We were more working on education and voluntary compliance,” Devereux said.
Staff from Salem Housing Authority and The ARCHES Project, a nonprofit services provider, also spent time Monday helping campers move and connect with services.
“We just tried to be friendly face down there with the state troopers and park rangers. Just try to lend a hand while we can,” said Nicole Utz, the housing authority administrator. “Any time that happens we try to step in and listen and understand what the needs are and encourage them to get into services.”
The state park encampment was a brief, albeit high-profile pit stop.
A person walks near tents at Oregon State Capitol State Park on Monday morning. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
Many homeless campers spent months living camped around The ARCHES Project’s building downtown. Last week, two days after the city ban went into effect, city staff cleared the camp. City leaders have also maintained that, regardless of the ban, the camp was too much of a health hazard to stand.
Campers, meanwhile, may struggle to find places to go. There are an estimated 330 shelter beds offered in Salem, but the patchwork of organizations who run them have different rules. Some offer only beds to men, or don’t allow pets, or have high sobriety standards that some can’t meet.
City, nonprofits hunt for empty buildings
City leaders and nonprofits on Monday continued to look for empty buildings that could be turned into the sort of shelter with fewer barriers and restrictions for displaced campers.
“I am looking at two places today,” said Jimmy Jones, executive director of the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, which oversees The ARCHES Project.
The two spots: a building at 280 Church St. N.E. and another at 1185 22nd St. S.E., both vacant.
Any short-term lease would be paid for by The ARCHES Project, to which Salem City Council gave $213,000 last month to open two church-run warming shelters every night from January through March.
At least one of those warming shelters, however, won’t open every night. Last week, First Presbyterian Church of Salem voted against opening every night say they were too busy. The miscommunication between the churches and the nonprofit were first reported by the Statesman Journal.
Still, no plans had solidified by Monday afternoon.
Salem, meanwhile, does not plan on sanctioning any campsites, according to Kristin Retherford, urban development director. Retherford said it would take months to set up a campsite with safety measures, supervision and other safeguards. Doing an “unmanaged” site was not recommended, she said.
“There are just too many logistical challenges,” to sanction a campsite, Retherford said.
Have a tip? Contact reporter Troy Brynelson at 503-575-9930, [email protected] or @TroyWB.
People stand near tents at Oregon State Capitol State Park on Monday morning (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
A person walks near a structure at Oregon State Capitol State Park on Monday morning. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
A tent stands near Oregon State Capitol State Park on Monday morning. (Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter)
