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Varney points to Homeless Services Team and clean-team pilot as downtown success
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Summary
Councilor Mickey Varney said Salem’s Homeless Services Team (HST) pairs two officers with the clean team to clean campsites and connect unsheltered people with services; he said downtown coverage expanded from four to seven days a week and that the approach helped move people into housing.
Councilor Mickey Varney described Salem’s Homeless Services Team (HST) as a partnership between two police officers and the Salem clean team that focuses on campsite cleanup, public safety and connecting unsheltered people to services and housing.
“The HST or homeless services team provides security and helps connect, unsheltered individuals to resources, and they work alongside the clean team,” Varney said, and he reported that downtown now has coverage from those teams seven days a week, up from four.
Varney called the downtown pilot successful, recounting a visit to Wallace Marine Park where he said areas from softball fields to the boat ramp were clean and that fewer people were camping there, making the site more accessible to other visitors. He credited coordinated staffing and increased funding for the expanded coverage.
The comments came during a League of Women Voters candidate forum produced by Capital Community Media. Varney described HST as part of a broader set of interventions, including REACH and other services, aimed at moving people into stable housing.
