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Oregon is converting motels into homes for wildfire survivors with nowhere else to go.

Deep in the densely forested foothills of southern Oregon, near the town of Butte Falls, Lanette and Steve Martin lived with their son and his family — until last year, when a wildfire chased them away from their home. As embers the size of charcoal briquettes landed on their front deck, the retired couple and their family jumped into their cars, leaving behind five chickens and a cat. “If we’d waited another 10 minutes, we would have been engulfed in flames,” Steve Martin said. That same day, Sept. 8, 2020, an urban fire fueled by hot, dry weather and strong winds tore through the n...

Identity Politics, Lack of Affordable Housing, Bend Roundabouts & Homelessness in Central Oregon

View Comments With more than $4 million in funding from the Oregon Community Foundation's Project Turnkey, the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency is poised to purchase a Salem motel and reimagine it as transitional housing for people displaced by last year's wildfires and the chronically homeless.  Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency Executive Director Jimmy Jones said the agency is looking to buy the 80-room Super 8 motel on 1288 Hawthorne Ave. NE and seeking a total of $5.95 million in funding.  The site is set to open in late summer.  “We are really excited about...

View Comments A young woman with a new baby escapes an abusive relationship and turns to the Center for Hope & Safety for emergency shelter. She is housed in a congregate setting, sharing living space and restrooms with other survivors. The Salem-based nonprofit organization connects her to resources and enrolls her in its rapid rehousing program, helping her to not just survive but thrive. It takes nearly two years, but she now has her own place, is going to school and has a job and access to childcare. The center will be able to house and help more women like her — homeless or at risk o...