Salem-News.com Homeless articles

Colorado Woman Seeks Location of Lost Friend in Salem

"I just wish to put it out there that if any one has seen a man in his mid-40's walking around with a female rottweiler, to please contact me to let me know." - Karen Depierre

(SALEM, Ore.) - A Colorado woman named Karen Depierre says she is desperately trying to locate a friend whose last known location was Salem, Oregon.

Depierre says her friend, Jeff Dower, is 45-years old. She says she has not heard from him since June 2, 2009, and she has not been able to make contact with him since that time.

Keizer Woman and Children Escape Apartment Fire (VIDEO)

A smoke alarm rouses a mom and her two small boys during a dangerous apartment fire.

(KEIZER, Ore.) - Keizer firefighters were called out at 11:46 p.m. Thursday over a report of a fire in an apartment complex on Plymouth Drive NE in Keizer.

Captain Brian Butler says firefighters arriving on scene at 11:50 p.m. called for a second alarm. Fire crews rolling up, "observed fire from the rear of the building on the second floor".

Family of 7 in Gervais Sees Home Go Up in Flames

Contact your local Red Cross to help families like this one.

(GERVAIS, Ore.) - A late evening fire Monday left a family of 7 without a home. Paul Iverson, Fire Marshal with the Woodburn Fire District, says fire crews were dispatched to a report of an attached carport on fire at 9:30 p.m. Monday evening.

"The first arriving engine called for a second alarm due to the fire extending into the home," Iverson said.

Secretary Shinseki Announces $17 Million in Homeless Grants

For Oregon, the news means $506,527 will be allotted for ten beds in Eugene at Sponsors, Inc.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced that 19 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will share more than $17 million in grants to community groups to create 1,155 beds for homeless Veterans this year.

“These grants will aid our efforts to eliminate homelessness among those who have served in uniform,” said Secretary Shinseki. “Our partnerships with community-based organizations provide safe, transitional housing while these Veterans leverage VA’s health care and other benefits to return to productive lives.”

Oregon`s Poverty Rate Rises in First Year of Recession

In the survey released Tuesday, the seven other states that saw an increase in poverty from 2007 to 2008 were California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

(SILVERTON, Ore.) - Oregon was one of only eight states to see its poverty rate rise during the first year of the recession, according to results of the American Community Survey (ACS) released Tuesday by the U.S Census Bureau.

The survey estimated that 13.6 percent of Oregonians -- more than 506,000 people -- lived in poverty in 2008. That rate was significantly above Oregon's 12.9 percent poverty rate in 2007, according to Joy Margheim, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy. "We weren't winning the war on poverty before the economic downturn, much less now," Margheim said.

Deputies Locate Disabled Woman (UPDATE)

The Missing Woman, Sparkle Green, has returned home safely and unharmed.

(BEAVERTON, Ore.) - Washington County Sheriff's deputies are asking for the public's help in locating a missing developmentally disabled woman from the community of Aloha.

26-year old Sparkle Thira Green left her adult foster care home last Tuesday, September 22nd, and went to her mother's house in NE Portland. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Sparkle Green left her adult foster care home earlier this week and has not returned. She was last seen in Portland and may be downtown, according to Sgt. David Thompson with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

Hunger Action Month: Empty Cupboards Spreading Through Oregon (AUDIO)

Hunger affects one in five Oregonians, and one in eight Americans nationwide.

( PORTLAND, Ore.) - The report from the front lines in Oregon is that the economy is taking a bite out of family dinners. September is Hunger Action Month, and Sharon Hills, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Food Recovery Network, says this year's designation comes as requests for emergency food boxes are at record highs.

"The increase has been at least 40 percent in families requesting food. Of those families, between 40 and 50 percent are children." Hunger Action Month is a time to educate the public on the difficulties faced by families on limited food budgets, according to Hills.

Grant Supports Oregon Housing Program Combating Violence Against Women

$499,978 will Support Program in Klamath County, Oregon.

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Attorney General Eric Holder says $499,978 in Recovery Act funds was awarded to an Oregon organization by the Office on Violence Against Women Recovery Act Transitional Housing Program.

The funds are being awarded to the Klamath Crisis Center in Klamath County.

Man Arrested for Salem Transient Camp Murder

The location appears to be a transient camp on Mill Creek.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem Police detectives made an arrest in the death of a man that was found in Mill Creek in southeast Salem Thursday night. Earlier today, officers arrested 47-year old Ben Stephens for the crime of Murder.

Joseph W. Hollander, Marion County Deputy District Attorney, says Salem Police responded to a report of a body Thursday, August 6, 2009 at approximately 10:09 p.m.

Oregon Tops National Homelessness Tally (AUDIO)

The AHAR report on homelessness is compiled for Congress by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(SALEM, Ore. ONS) - The number of homeless people in Oregon has climbed for the third straight year. A new national report compiled for Congress by the Department of Housing and Urban Development says about one-half of one percent of Oregonians are homeless.

That may not sound like much, but it's a higher percentage than in any other state, compared to its total population, and it means 17,000 people statewide are living in shelters or on the street.