Ken Houghton of Arches is looking for volunteers to work in teams with unsheltered neighbors, mornings from 7-9 am. The Good Neighbor  Hospitality Teams will wake up folks sleeping in doorways and stairwells, getting them up and moving before the businesses are open for the day. The volunteers will have a cart with hot drinks and breakfast sandwiches. Each Hospitality Team of four will consist of two sheltered and two unsheltered volunteers

Ken Houghton sees the Downtown Salem Good Neighbors Team as one step towards uniting sheltered and unsheltered neighbors as valuable partners in a mutual goal of keeping Salem clean, vibrant and thriving.

You could also help by donating items for  outreach bags for the unsheltered volunteers and unsheltered folks being woken up. Items would include socks, underwear, thermal underwear, feminine hygiene products, foot powder, hand and foot warmers, shoe laces, belts, address books and day planners with a calendar, and gallon size ziplock bags. Costco gift cards would be very welcome to use to buy items in bulk and supplies for the food and drink cart.

And you could donate items or money toward  incentives offered to the unsheltered volunteers which would be earned using a point system based on hours worked. Incentives would include tents, tarps, sleeping bags and mats, blankets, hammers, saws and ropes.

For more information on volunteering or on donations,  contact Ken Houghton at 503-399-9080, extension 4015 or via email at kenneth.houghton@mwvcaa.org.