CHECK
CHECK THINGS OUT AND SHE STARTED BY FOLLOWING UP ON
KAREN'S TIP IN OREGON'S CAPITAL
CITY THE LANDSCAPE
OF HOMELESSNESS IS CHANGING.
A VIEWER TOLD US.
FOR PROOF, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN
THE MARKET STREET EXIT COMING
OFF A FIVE.
>> SO THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED
AND YOU CAN SEE EVERY CORNER
OF THIS INTERSECTION IS HOME TO
AT LEAST A DOZEN PEOPLE IN
TENTS AND YOU'VE GOT A GREAT BE
LIKE THIS.
LIKE THIS. YOU KNOW I NEVER DID.
MICHAEL WARREN IS THE FIRST
PERSON WE MET.
>> HE'S A WILDFIRE EVACUEE WHO
HAD BEEN LIVING WITH A FRIEND
IN MILL CITY.
WARREN SAYS THE RED CROSS PUT
HIM UP AT THE FAIRGROUNDS THEN
AT THE DAYS INN BEHIND HIM.
BUT HE SAYS A MANAGER MADE HIM
LEAVE BECAUSE HE COULDN'T KEEP
HIS ROOM CLEAN.
HE'S BEEN IN THIS TENT FOR
DAYS.
DAYS.
DAYS. WARREN HAS NERVE ISSUES IN HIS
BACK AND CAN BARELY WALK.
>> NEVER BEEN DEALT LIKE THIS
BEFORE.
BEFORE.
BEFORE. IDANHA RED STUFF AND I'VE NEVER
TREATED LIKE THAT.
I FEEL LIKE NOBODY'S YOU KNOW,
JUST LIKE HE'S BEEN LEFT ALONE,
LEFT TO DO NOTHING, LEFT TO
DIE.
DIE.
DIE. YOU
DIE. YOU KNOW TONY MATHIS AND HIS
DOG ANGEL HAVE A DIFFERENT
STORY.
STORY.
STORY. SUPPOSEDLY THEY SENT ME
PAPERWORK THAT I NEVER
RECEIVED.
RECEIVED.
RECEIVED. MATHIS SAYS HE BECAME HOMELESS
A FEW MONTHS AGO WHEN SOME SORT
OF CLERICAL ERROR CANCELED HIS
SOCIAL SECURITY CHECKS.
>> THE PROBLEM IS FIXED NOW BUT
FINDING A PLACE DURING A
PANDEMIC IS HARD.
WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE
I HAD A PLACE TO WHEN I WOULD
BE THERE I GO LIKE LIVING LIKE
THIS.
THIS.
THIS. I
THIS. I DON'T HAVE A PLACE TO PUT THE
TRASH.
TRASH.
TRASH. I
TRASH. I DON'T HAVE A BATHROOM TO
THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
>> WE FOUND PATTERNS NOT IN WHY
PEOPLE BECAME HOMELESS BUT IN
WHERE THEY LANDED MOSTLY PARKS
AND HIGHWAY ADJACENT LAND
CONTROLLED BY ODOT ACTUALLY
KIND OF THE ONE PLACE WHERE WE
DIDN'T FIND MORE PEOPLE LIVING
OUTSIDE IN SALEM WAS HERE IN
DOWNTOWN.
DOWNTOWN.
DOWNTOWN. AND KEEP IN MIND THIS IS WHAT
DOWNTOWN LOOKS LIKE NOW BUT
THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE
ABOUT SEVEN MONTHS BACK IN
EARLY MARCH.
EARLY MARCH. SIDEWALKS COVERED BY OVERHANGS
AND EASY BATHROOM ACCESS WERE
BIG DRAWS FOR SALEM'S HOMELESS.
BUT BUSINESS OWNERS DOWNTOWN
WERE FRUSTRATED THEN THE
PANDEMIC HIT AND PEOPLE WORRIED
ABOUT COLVARD SPREADING BETWEEN
HOMELESS PEOPLE HERE.
SO THE CITY RESTRICTED CAMPING
ON PUBLIC SIDEWALKS AND OPENED
UP THE PARKS.
THE CITY COME TO HELP, YOU
KNOW, KEEP CLEAN.
NOW THAT DOWNTOWN.
YEAH, EXACTLY.
YEAH, EXACTLY. YEAH.
YEAH.
YEAH. YES, YOU COULD SPLIT YET BUT
OFFICIALS CAUTION RESTRICTIONS
DOWNTOWN ARE A BAND-AID ON A
MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM.
>> I WOULD SAY THAT THE
HOMELESSNESS ISSUE IS
INCREDIBLY COMPLEX AND
CHALLENGING AND GROWING.
SALEM'S HOMELESS LIAISON
GRETCHEN BENNETT SAYS BEFORE
THE PANDEMIC AND THE SUMMER'S
WILDFIRES CLOSE TO FIFTEEN
HUNDRED PEOPLE WERE HOMELESS IN
MARION AND POLK COUNTIES.
>> WELL, THEY DON'T HAVE NEW
DATA TO PROVE IT.
OFFICIALS ARE CERTAIN MORE
PEOPLE ARE NOW BECOMING
HOMELESS.
HOMELESS.
HOMELESS. SO ESPECIALLY AS WINTER
APPROACHES, THEY'RE SCRAMBLING
TO FIND PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO
GO.
GO.
GO. ONE
GO. ONE OPTION THIS OLD DMV ON
PORTLAND ROAD WHICH THE CITY IS
CONSIDERING USING AS A SHELTER
.
.
. THEY
. THEY ALSO WANT TO LET PEOPLE
LIVING IN THEIR CARS PARK IN
THE LOT TOTAL.
IT COULD HOLD AROUND 70 PEOPLE.
IT WOULD HELP BUT IT'S NOT
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH. OH MY GOODNESS.
>> I THINK IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT
ALL OF US LOOK REALLY WORK
TOGETHER TO LOOK FOR SOLUTIONS
FOR MORE WARMING.
WE CLEARLY NEED MORE WARMING
CAPACITY AND NEED THE RIGHT
TYPES OF SOLUTION SO THAT WE
CAN WE CAN MEET THE NEEDS
OF PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE.
IN THE MEANTIME, PEOPLE ARE
FLOCKING TO PARKS WHICH BENNETT
SAYS IS CREATING OTHER PROBLEMS
CARS AND ARV'S FLOODED THE
PARKING LOT OF CASCADES GATEWAY
PARK IN SALEM.
THE CITY SAYS A LOT OF THEM ARE
BROKEN DOWN AND HAZARDOUS TO
THE ENVIRONMENT.
THE ENVIRONMENT. SO WEDNESDAY MORNING THEY
HANDED THESE RED EVICTION
NOTICES TO SOME HERE.
STUART HEINRICH'S DOESN'T KNOW
WHERE TO GO.
>> MY PHONE'S BEEN BROKE DOWN
SO I DON'T HAVE A PHONE PLASMA
FOODSTAMP CARDS SO I DON'T HAVE
HIS SO SO THE DOOR FELL OFF MY
VAN SO I CAN'T DRIVE ANYWHERE.
YEAH, IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE
WE'RE KIND OF FORGOTTEN.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. MAGGIE VESTBERG JOINING US NOW.
MAGGIE, CITY OFFICIALS DID HAVE
ONE KIND OF BIG REQUEST.
THEY WANTED US TO GET OUT.
>> THEY DID.
THEY WANTED US TO GET THE WORD
OUT ABOUT BASICALLY A PARKING
PROGRAM THAT THEY'RE EXPAND TO
TRY TO GET PEOPLE LIKE STEWART
WHO YOU SAW AT THE END THERE A
PLACE TO GO IF THEY'RE LIVING
IN THEIR CARS.
SO THEY WANT BUSINESSES,
CHURCHES ETC. I'M ANYONE WHO
HAS A PRIVATE PARKING LOT AND
IS WILLING TO HOST UP TO EIGHT
VEHICLES OVERNIGHT TO GET IN
TOUCH THAT THEY CAN REACH