Stopping an eviction and finding housing again in Salem and Marion County, Oregon
If you are behind on rent in Salem or anywhere in Marion County, or you have already lost your housing, there are local programs as well as organizations that can help, including the local ARCHES Project. Some pay back rent so an eviction never gets filed. Others give you a free lawyer if you already have court papers, or help you get into a new place. This page explains each one, who it helps, and the phone number to call.
If you just need ongoing help affording rent and no one is trying to evict you, start with our page on rent assistance in Salem and Marion County instead. This page is for people whose housing is in danger right now.
Start with The ARCHES Project in Salem
The ARCHES Project is the main place in Marion County to ask for housing help. It is run by the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, a nonprofit that handles most of the government housing money for Marion and Polk counties. You do not need a referral to talk to them.
Their office is at 615 Commercial Street NE in Salem, open on weekdays, and the phone number is 503-399-9080 with the main website at https://mwvcaa.org/programs/the-arches-project/. Staff there can tell you which programs you qualify for, help you apply, and get you signed up for housing help if you are already homeless. They also run programs for veterans and for young people ages 14 to 24.
ARCHES has rent and eviction prevention money when funding is available, so ask about it directly. One thing to know: some of their rent help now comes through the Oregon Health Plan, the state's Medicaid program, as a health benefit for members with certain conditions. That help is real, but approval can take weeks or months, so it works best before things become an emergency. If you already have an eviction notice, say so when you call, because the faster programs below may fit better.
If your landlord has already filed in court
Eviction cases for the whole county — Salem, Keizer, Woodburn, Silverton, Stayton, and everywhere else — go through the Marion County Circuit Court in downtown Salem. Getting court papers does not mean you have lost. It means you have a court date, and there are people in Salem whose job is to help you before that date arrives.
Start with a free lawyer. Legal Aid Services of Oregon has a Salem office at 280 Liberty Street SE that takes eviction cases for Marion and Polk county renters at no cost, with Spanish-speaking staff. Call 503-581-5265, and call early, because they can only take so many cases each month. There is also a statewide line just for renters with an active eviction case, the Eviction Defense Project, run by the Oregon Law Center, which has a Salem office of its own. Call 888-585-9638 or email [email protected] and leave your name, date of birth, and case number.
There is also money set aside for exactly this situation. The Eviction Prevention Rapid Response fund pays back rent, court fees, and up to a month ahead for renters with an active case, and the money goes straight to your landlord. Call 833-746-8167 at the start of the month, since the spots fill within days, and leave your name, phone number, and case number or you will not get a call back. Tell ARCHES you have applied too — a caseworker at the Commercial Street office can help with the paperwork and look for other funds at the same time.
A notice on your door is not an eviction. For monthly renters in Oregon, a nonpayment notice has to give you at least 10 days to pay, and after that your landlord still has to file at the courthouse and win before a sheriff's deputy can make you leave. No landlord can change your locks or shut off your utilities. And if the case is about unpaid rent, paying the full amount before trial ends the case — which is exactly what the fund above and the agencies on this page are for.
If you have already lost your housing
When you are sleeping in a car, a shelter, or someone's spare room, the way into housing programs in Marion County is a shared waiting list called coordinated entry. Instead of applying to many agencies one at a time, you do one interview, and local housing programs fill their openings from that list. The Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance manages the list for Marion and Polk counties, and ARCHES staff can do the interview with you at the Commercial Street office.
Depending on your situation, the list can lead to a shelter bed, or to rapid rehousing, which pays your security deposit and several months of rent in a new place while a caseworker helps you get steady again. After your interview, check back in with ARCHES now and then so your name stays active on the list.
Help for farmworkers and veterans
Marion County has a large farm workforce, and there is a housing program built for it. The Oregon Human Development Corporation helps farmworkers and their families with rent, deposits, and emergency housing, with Spanish-speaking staff, and legal immigration status is not required. Call 503-982-5100 or see the housing focused page at https://www.ohdc.org/programs/housing-assistance/.
Veterans have their own option too. Easterseals Oregon runs the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program from its Salem office, with short-term rent and deposit help for veterans who are homeless or about to be. Call 971-304-7140, and ask ARCHES about its veteran services as well.
Charities that help with smaller amounts
The Salvation Army in Salem and the St. Vincent de Paul Society both give one-time help with rent in Marion County when they have funds, and we cover both on their own pages: see the NHPB guide to Salvation Army of Marion and Polk County and St. Vincent de Paul of Marion and Polk County. Their money runs out quickly each month, so call early.
Two official sites are worth saving. Oregon Housing and Community Services lists current state rent and eviction help at https://www.oregon.gov/ohcs/pages/housing-resources.aspx, and Oregon Law Help explains renters' rights in plain language at https://oregonlawhelp.org.
Whichever program fits you, call as early as you can. Most of these funds are limited and run out each month, and every one of them can do more for you before a court date than after it.
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