x
Breaking News
More () »

'I can't stop. I can't walk away': Grandma helping Salem homeless receives outpouring of support

Jean Hendron has received calls from community members asking how they too can help amid Salem’s homeless camping ban. She also plans to work with local non-profits.

PORTLAND, Oregon — On Christmas, KGW introduced you to a local grandma, giving up her holiday plans to help the homeless. And she is not done yet.

“I can't stop. I can't walk away. It's just too gruesome,” Hendron said.  

Hendron is on a mission to help those without shelter in Salem one person at a time. We first met Hendron on Christmas as she hit the pavement to pass out food, water, even spare change to those in need.

Since then, she's been getting calls from the community asking how they too can help.

RELATED: 'How can we turn our backs?' Grandma spent Christmas helping Salem's homeless amid camping ban

“Oh my goodness. I've gotten calls from people wanting to help. I have one person who wants to put up a GoFundMe site, which I'm thinking is absolutely a great idea,” she said.

The 70-year-old grandmother from West Linn started making the trip down to Salem when the city enacted its new homeless ban on public camping earlier this month. Something, Hendron says she'll continue to fight.

“As you can probably tell, I'm the kind of person who will get out there and pound the streets and knock on doors and do the paperwork come hell or high water under circumstances like this,” she said.

Hendron was staying in motels in Salem to be able to help. Since her story aired on KGW she has found a place to stay there so she can continue her mission.

Friday, she met with volunteers from the non-profit ARCHES Project, which works with people experiencing homelessness to find self-sufficiency and housing. Hendron plans to work with them moving forward to get more people counseling and services.

She hopes her story will inspire others to do the same.

“I can't just turn my back. I just can't,” she said.

RELATED: Homeless set up camps on Salem Capitol Mall

RELATED: Salem camping ban on public property takes effect

Before You Leave, Check This Out