Seven Albany-area homeless people who cannot shake their addictions are getting help at a farm near Stayton.

That is what George Matland of the Signs of Victory Mission told a group Wednesday that is working on behalf of the homeless in Linn County.

He joined representatives from Compassion in Action and Love Inc. to recount their efforts this past year in assisting the disadvantaged and to announce new goals.

They spoke to 65 social service and medical providers attending the fifth Albany Community Summit on Homelessness at City Hall.

Here is a wrap-up:

Signs of Victory - Matland said the mission is leasing a 200-acre farm, where people are "detoxing and getting their lives back together." Some of the residents had jobs at one time but "they didn't deal with their addictions" so they lost them.

Living on the farm gets people away from their problem environments, allowing them to work on a new life plan.

Ironically, he said, for 20 years the farmhouse was a haven for drug users. During a cleanup and renovation performed by the residents, syringes were discovered and there was a loaded .38 in the basement.

Only people committed to changing their lives are accepted at the farm, Matland said.

Compassion in Action - Curtis Miller, executive director, said volunteers put together "daily living kits" for men, women, children and infants, using complimentary hygiene items. It asks people returning from trips to donate any complimentary hygiene items they may have picked up from hotels. The group spends about $910 a month to purchase the rest of what goes into the kits. The most expensive item is disposable diapers. Next year, Compassion in Action wants to place barrels throughout the community to make it easier to donate diapers.

For information about helping, contact Miller at (541) 990-2182 or e-mail him at curtnjoy@hotmail.com.

Love Inc. - From March through September, the agency fielded 742 calls for assistance, said Deb Powell, executive director.

She said the agency will become a bigger help in assisting the community once more churches in Linn County take part. It works as a clearinghouse to get people the help they need.

For more information, contact Powell at (541) 924-5683.

Albany police Capt. Ben Atchley, who led the summit, said he was pleased to see so many people still dedicated to helping the disadvantaged three years after the first summit.