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Change awaits Friendship House
BY RUTH
LIAO
Statesman Journal
October
28, 2006
Friendship
House, a Salem drop-in center that provides mental-health services,
is about to face major structure changes. The facility will close in
January, and Marion County health officials say its services will be
expanded and spread among three locations.
Kam Shing
Chan, the man arrested on charges of attempted murder and arson at
Peoples Church on Lancaster Drive NE, was a client of Friendship
House, said an official with the state Psychiatric Security Review
Board.
Board
executive director Mary Claire Buckley said Chan frequently spent
time at Friendship House while living in Salem.
Other
clients of Friendship House, who rely on the facility to provide a
structured environment and support, are uneasy about the planned
shakeup. Chan, like the rest of the clients, wondered where they
would go, said client Starla Campbell, 63.
"We're a
family. We look after each other. We care about each other," she
said.
Chan was
found criminally insane in connection with the 1989 death of his
5-year-old daughter in Portland and committed to a state
institution. He was released in 1995 and since has been monitored by
the Psychiatric Security Review Board.
Friendship
House is run under Marion County's behavioral-health division as
part of its adult out-patient services. It provides socialization
and support skills to adults with mental disabilities. On Friday,
about 20 clients were at the center.
In 2000,
Friendship House moved from downtown Salem to save costs, already
cutting back on services.
Marion
County Health Department administrator Roderick Calkins said he
understands that clients worry about the transition, but he said the
change will help provide more streamlined services for them.
Calkins said
that instead of Friendship House, the county will offer a focused
employment program to help adults make the transition into the work
force. Life-skills training, provided now at the center, will
continue to be offered. These services will be housed in separate
facilities, although Calkins said the naming of the locations was
pending, and locations have not been released to clients.
Peer
counseling, currently offered at Friendship House, has yet to find a
permanent home. The program, called Consumer Empowerment Team, is
part of a grass-roots effort for clients to help one another.
Campbell,
who is the team's president, has secured a temporary location for
the group to meet in after January. But Campbell worries about the
lack of grants toward the program.
In the past,
the Mid-Valley Behavioral Care Network has given money for peer
counseling, but it has not renewed its support this year.
Representatives of the regional-care group could not be reached for
comment.
Calkins said
that the county will remain open to assist the group.
rliao@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6941
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