ODHS mobile vans show up, offer help when people are moved out of homeless camps in Marion County

It was a drizzly, misty, cloudy, cold, 37-degree-day in Salem when Jamie Baldwin and Michelle Carmona pulled up in Olive, one of the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) mobile vans at a camp for people who were living in tents, vehicles and out in the open. The camp, at Hawthorne and Mission streets in the former Costco parking lot, along the I-5 corridor, was being cleared. People were hurriedly gathering their belongings, not sure where they could go next.

Carmona is a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Employment and Training Navigator, District 3, Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties for Self-Sufficiency Programs (SSP). Baldwin is an SSP Community Manager for District 3.

"There was a sign posted that there was going to be a cleanup, but the sign was mostly destroyed. There was a lot of trauma going on for the people there," Carmona said.

Baldwin and Carmona set up their van, named Olive, for "Olive Branch." Olive has a mural of scenes from the Willamette Valley painted on her sides.

They brought out a table and chairs and set up their laptops. Carmona had brought a coffee pot. They offered people hot coffee - five pots worth throughout the day.

"We got people EBT cards (Electronic Benefit cards for SNAP and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and referred people to employment trainings. One person wanted to get into addiction services and we got them a bed in a treatment facility," Baldwin said.

"One man needed housing. We got him into veteran housing, SNAP benefits, changed his phone and got him a new email address. He had been living out of his truck and then his truck was stolen with all his blankets and even his cat in it. He had nothing to sleep on for six days," Carmona said.

They let people charge their phones, most of which were dead.

"One man told me he hadn't talked to his mom in six months. I joked with him that he had better call her," she said.

When the coffee ran out, they went to the store and loaded up on Cup-a- Soup to hand out.

The beauty of the ODHS vans is that workers can get eligible people needed benefits, such as an EBT card for SNAP, right there on the spot without people having to travel to an office. Or, if someone didn't have the needed documents, they have access to verify who they are and can help them.

"I washed a woman's hands. She told me, 'Dirt is the color of my skin.' I asked her permission to wash her hands. I had soap and water. She started to cry. She said she didn't deserve it. She had no shoes or socks. I put a Band-Aid on her finger and advised to see on a health professional. You can't do that in an office," Carmona said.

For houseless people going into an office could be difficult. Many would have to leave their belongings behind and could risk them being stolen.

"I was surprised at the number of people who didn't have SNAP. The also don't know where our office is," Carmona said.

Also, many times, such as at this camp, there are other community social services such as addiction and mental health services and the Law Enforcement Assisted Division offering help.

"An office is not always trauma informed. When we go out with the van, we are in THEIR house. We don't judge. We're here to help. We're here to make this horrible process of losing their camp into 'Maybe you'll get a job' or 'You'll get food services.' We truly walk beside them. Everybody there was so happy and thankful," Baldwin said.

"You would not believe the gratitude. People say things like, 'You made this so easy. You are so nice.' It is so cool to be a part of this. We try to break barriers down. We are truly there to help. We do things like help them set up an email account. They can't get a job without an email account. There are so many things we take for granted," Carmona said.

The vans are also changing community partners' viewpoint of ODHS. People weren't aware of ODHS in community. Olive had also been to several other camps in Marion County offering services

"Now we get so many invitations to be at events. They now see what we do. We are trying to do anything and everything we can to provide services. Just being out there is so important. We can take the time and serve people the way they deserve to be served," Baldwin said.