Salem-News.com Homeless articles Page 7

OR 2010 Homeless Count: A Sad but Significant Tally (AUDIO REPORT)

Last year's one-night tally counted just over 17,000 Oregonians, including 4,300 children.

(SALEM, Ore. ONS) - This week, an army of volunteers visits shelters, food pantries, tent cities and even jails in an attempt to count the number of homeless people in every state.

In the 2008 survey, Oregon topped the list for the highest per-capita number of homeless people, at just over one-half percent of the population.

Veterans: Banished and Betrayed

Harsh new measures have now snared immigrants who spilled their blood for our country.

(SAN DIEGO) - “Banished veterans." The phrase shouldn't make sense. Someone joins the military, fights in a war, returns home, and then is banished? Thankfully, this can't happen here...

But it is happening here. Thousands of men and women who have risked their lives in the country's wars have been deported or are living under the threat of deportation because they committed non-violent crimes that often wouldn't warrant serving jail time.

Warming Center Opens in Salem

Red Cross responds to need for emergency sheltering of vulnerable.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Volunteers with the Willamette Chapter of the American Red Cross are opening a Warming Center in Salem tonight to help shelter people from the cold weather. The site for the Warming Center will be at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall located at 630 Hood St NE in Salem.

The shelter is open until 7:00 a.m. today, and then will open at 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Thursday and Friday. Weekend hours to be determined based on need.

Oregon and SW Washington Weather Closures and Alerts

So far the reports are few, we will keep you updated, this information includes Red Cross tips for making it through cold winter conditions.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Any time the weather turns dangerous outside, our staff kicks into high gear, prepared to bring you the latest information on closures of everything from schools and government buildings, to private industry, higher education, and all types of transportation routes.

Additionally, this report contains a number of important tips that will help families retain a higher level of comfort while raising the safety level during the bitter, cold days ahead.

Thanksgiving Comes One Day Early For Hundreds in Salem (VIDEO)

Salemites are invited to enjoy a hot, homemade Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday.

(SALEM, Ore.) - "It's a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, dinner rolls and good ole pumpkin pie," says Mike Adams. This dinner will be a welcome sight for about a thousand people in downtown Salem Wednesday evening.

Record numbers of people are in need this year, and many are hungry. Now an ongoing annual event, a group of hard working people have served Thanksgiving dinner in downtown Salem since 2002.

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".

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.