There are 240 people in the community who moved from homelessness into a shelter or home after working with Church at the Park last year, according to its recent annual report.
That represents more than half of the 384 people who moved out of the organization’s microshelters last year. Most had been living unsheltered on Salem’s streets and in parks before moving in, said CEO DJ Vincent. He said comparable programs for people in such situations typically report a 20% to 40% success rate.
This is likely the best intervention we have for homelessness.
That includes Susanne, who got the keys to her own place at Yaquina Hall in late November, after two years working to keep up with appointments and work toward housing, according to a Church at the Park Facebook post.
If this seems like the bare minimum required to be a functioning adult—keeping up with appointments and working toward housing—that’s pretty much right, and a likely a good example of the population Church at the Park serves.
While staying at a Church at the Park microshelter, people get help connecting with work, health care and housing.
The organization reported that last year, 168 people moved directly from the pods into a home of their own. Another 72 moved into a “positive destination,” which includes transitional housing and shelters where they can continue to get case management and support finding a home.
The 128 people who moved into “negative destinations,” Vincent said, include those who were asked to leave over a lack of progress over six to nine months or did not follow expectations like keeping drugs and alcohol off the property. An additional 16 people left for an “unknown destination.”
That’s 128 people who probably need institutionalization in order to move forward.
Many of the shelter residents reported having one or multiple disabilities. There were 215 who reported a mental health disorder, 146 with a chronic health condition, 140 with a physical disability and 93 with a developmental disability.
That’s 55% with mental health problems.
In the coming year, Church at the Park will continue to face budget cuts from the state, which last year led the organization to lay off 16 people and reduced its capacity at the young adult site from 38 to 19 beds. Earlier this month, the organization laid off three additional outreach staff who worked to meet people in the community and connect them with shelter.
Church in the Park’s budget, at least the last numbers I have, is about $8.5 million. The State of Oregon is cutting funding of a program that demonstrably works while simultaneously funding illegal immigrant healthcare, to use but one example, to the tune of roughly $600 million a year.
This is what Democratic priorities are.