Salem Foundation

Helping out in any way you can makes sure we all stay healthy and strong!
Marion Polk Food Share

The last week has shown that people in this community need SNAP to survive. For the first time ever, the Food Share is trying to serve people without the support of SNAP, which is leading to record numbers of families being served at our partner programs and pantries.

At the same time, it's clear to us that this community comes through for each other -- no matter what. Businesses, religious organizations, community groups, other nonprofits, government agencies and more are stepping up to make sure folks are fed during this chaotic time. All we can say, from the bottom of our hearts, is THANK YOU.

THANK YOU for showing up for your neighbors right now.
THANK YOU for practicing kindness and patience at our partner pantries.
THANK YOU for organizing food drives, volunteering your time, and giving what you can.

Just thank you. 💚

C@P has been communicating with downtown businesses and city leaders about a proposal to provide safety and sanitation services in the downtown area. The program is called Clean Start and it would offer unhoused individuals supported employment opportunities as sanitation workers who work to keep their community safe and sanitary.⁣⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐂@𝐏 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.⁣⁣
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Similar efforts across the nation have demonstrated effective outcomes including:⁣⁣
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𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘: Clean Start helps keep the city clean by employing unhoused individuals to remove litter and maintain public spaces, improving the appearance and health of our community.⁣⁣
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𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒: Clean Start strengthens relationships between the unhoused community and the City of Salem by fostering visibility, trust, and mutual respect.

𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓: Clean Start increases employment outcomes for unhoused individuals by providing paid, low-barrier job opportunities, hands-on work experience, and connections to long- term employment pathways.⁣⁣