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“Being alone, and being a girl and being homeless is scary…I’m not okay with the way the world is going right now.  So, I kinda want to change it.”  — Kloi Spencer When Kloi was 15, she was homeless, living on the streets with an abusive boyfriend and addicted to methamphetamine.  Three years later, she’s […]

Meet the new coordinator of Santiam Hospital’s Service Integration program.

“Service Integration is about action.  It’s about getting things done. And not being afraid to voice concerns and to challenge the current system and ask questions about why it’s done that way.”  Those principles have guided Melissa’s work in the Santiam Canyon since 2017, when she and Santiam Hospital established area Service Integration teams. After […]

Easterseals Oregon through its Supportive Services for Veteran Families program last year permanently housed more than 100 homeless veteran families in Marion and Polk counties.  In the first podcast since the start of the 2020 C19 pandemic, Michael talks with Easterseals CEO Carol Salter and program manager Andrew Rice about what brought them to this […]

Michael talks with Annette Jensen, who credits her grandmother and being a teen mother to her strength-based, problem-solving approach to her work in social services.

Matt and Gary share how they moved from homelessness and addiction to Be Bold Street Ministries in Salem, where they spend seven days a week walking beside those who’re now where they once were.  However long it takes, they say, and sometimes it takes years.

In September 2017, the Salem City Council rejected proposed Ordinance Bill 22-17, which would have banned camping on public property, and prohibited sitting and lying on sidewalks from 7a to 9p. In July 2019, the City proposed to put a virtually identical bill, Ordinance Bill 10-19, back to Council. In response to negative media coverage, […]

The program director of Mill City’s community radio station (KYAC 94.9 FM) talks with Michael about music, life “up the canyon”, and repairing stringed instruments.

Craig talks with Michael about his work with the rural community of Aurora, Donald and North Marion, Oregon, and why he didn’t become a marriage counselor, after all.

We are all going to die, and most of us care how we will spend our final days. So, why do we resist talking about death? Mary Wallace, outreach volunteer with Willamette Valley Hospice, tells Michael how Hospice helped her and her husband have that conversation and make appropriate plans.

Michael talks with former Salem City Councilor Steve McCoid about Council politics, tough decisions, and public service. In March 2019, McCoid was appointed to serve on the Mid Willamette Valley Community Action Agency board.

Jimmy tells Michael what’s really happening with area homeless services, and why Salem, Marion County and Polk County need to make a “generational shift” in the delivery structure. See “ROCC: Leave or Remain?” and this presentation to the Mid-Willamette Homeless Initiative Steering Committee for background.

Polk County’s Prevention Coordinator tells Michael about the needs and challenges identified in the 2017 Youth Activity Interest Survey, and how they’ve shaped community response.

Angelina was homeless for more than two years after she lost her job.  Today she’s attending community college, has income and housing, and wants to work with people with disabilities or experiencing homelessness.  In this podcast, Angelina talks with Michael about the anxiety, uncertainty and rejection that so often accompanies homelessness.

The Director of Polk County’s Family and Community Outreach Department talks about Court Care, the Resource Center in Dallas, free bus rides, homelessness, and what brought him to this work.

KMUZ station managers Ken Adams and Pam Kelly terminated the Willamette Wake Up Tuesday team, without explanation, three days after this show aired on November 6, 2018.  Adams later told the Salem Reporter, “the separation stemmed from a dysfunctional relationship between the station and the hosts” whom he said were not “team players“, citing the […]

Troy has ministered to the Mehema-Lyons community for more than a decade.  In this interview, he tells Michael how he came to give up his dreams of being a rich businessman to become pastor of the Mehema Community Church, and how his work has changed the way he relates to people experiencing homelessness. Pre-recorded, edited, […]

Tamela’s 27 year-old son died by suicide in July 2017.  No one saw it coming.  Tamela talks to Michael and Sara Cromwell about suicide prevention, and why we need to talk about it.  Live, Willamette Wake Up, edited Resource:  “Recognizing Suicide’s Warning Signs Could Save Lives” (Christine Vestal, Pew Stateline, 11/30/18) ; The QPR Institute

In 2017, the Salem Housing Authority launched the Homeless Rental Assistance Program (HRAP), the goal of which is to provide permanent, supportive housing for 100 chronically homeless individuals.  So far, 71 have been placed, and 69 remain stably housed.  In this special report, Grants Coordinator Pamala Garrick and Housing Stability Coordinator Sonya Ryland talk with […]

After 35 years as Chief of the Gates Rural Fire Protection District, Gary talks about how he came to be fire chief, what his service has taught him about the Gates community and how his upbringing put him on the path to be what he calls a “servant leader.”   Pre-recorded, edited and aired on […]