Review and Renew – A Collaborative Gathering on Safety, Housing and School Progress
Written by Tim Buckley, October 2025
A year ago, CBEL invited six community leaders to talk frankly about how to make our cities safer, how to increase housing security and home ownership, and how to help students find more academic success in school.
The gathering was unique because it paired three neighborhood leaders with three community leaders. Their individual perspectives gave the audience of almost 100 a lot to discuss in the half hour after the panel presentation. The collective input became part of a plan for improvement.
On November 6, those same people will gather again, to look at what has been done and what “better” would look like.
CBEL’s strategy to bring grassroots leaders together with “grass tops” leaders has been very fruitful. First, it’s uncommon that these leaders ever find themselves at the same table to discuss common issues. Usually, neighborhood leaders complain about the lack of access to community leaders and yearn for more responsiveness to their wishes. On the other hand, community leaders complain that they don’t hear enough from citizens, and wish that policies and practices they develop would better satisfy the community.
The leaders listed below convened over breakfast last November. Each spoke from their perspective as an individual, as well as a representative of a larger group.
Andrea Casteñeda, Superintendent, Salem Keizer School District
Ron Berkley, Vice Chair, Kennedy Neighborhood Family Council
Maribel Hernandez, Chair, Highland Neighborhood Family Council
Trevor Womack, Chief, Salem Police Department
Jessica Blakely, Director of Development & Strategy, Salem Housing Authority
Eduardo Angulo, CBEL Director of Neighborhood Family Councils
The gathering begins with a free, nutritious breakfast graciously provided by the Collaborative’s host, Tim Davis, CEO of Valor Mentoring and owner of The REC community center. As everyone knows, sharing a meal with others creates an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect.
The panel, one by one, related how the issue of public safety, safe housing, home ownership, and public education impacts them and their family, as well as how their experiences could inform the bigger picture – the health of our whole community. These stories are often filled with emotion and meaning, which makes their impact more profound.
In small groups, gathered around the same breakfast tables, the audience then relates their own experience on the same issues, with the panelist’s presentations as a stimulating backdrop.
The tables are covered with craft paper and everyone has a marker or pen. Each is invited to speak their story, but also to write down something important for everyone to consider, an idea to help guide future policies and practices.
These same people have agreed to return on Nov. 6 to revisit these three topics: safety, housing and student success. What you hear will stir you…whether with sadness that we haven’t made enough progress, with gratitude for the improvements made, or with hope, that with continued investment of trust, collaboration, hard work and commitment, we will return next year with another reason to celebrate.
Stephanie Jenkins, a regular Collaborative participant, and founding member of the Hallman-Northgate Family Council, said, “I think that each individual story we hear in these gatherings has a unique quality because it comes from their lived experience. Whether we’re discussing housing, safety or education, these stories contribute to our understanding of family life and neighborhood resilience. Their stories are also inspirational because we can apply ideas, solutions and resources others use to our own neighborhood’s challenges.”