A brief story about a JOIN peep, by Quinn Colling

I first met Eamon in the fall. I saw him randomly around the west side of town, camped wherever he would be left alone. Eamon really did not want anything to do with me. I offered him a few blankets or whatever I had with me, but he usually responded "thanks, I'm fine".

As an outreach worker, you soon learn that, with a little patient persistence , a relationship of trust will begin to develop. Eamon, after a few months of hellos and goodbye, decided that he would share a bit of his life story. He came from a middle class family and claimed he had a fairly normal upbringing. Some of his family members had a gambling addiction,which made money tight and the tension high as he entered his teenage years. This led to a separate life outside of his house which sometimes clashed with the law. At age 18, Eamon faced some legal difficulties and spent his early 20's incarcerated. After his release, Eamon went to school, worked as a technician, and supported his family. He maintained a stable life until a divorce from his wife caused a severe depression and a manageable drug habit out to grow out of control. Eamon could not kick the depression and found himself without a job or a home.

For the next seven years, Eamon moved across the continent. (At one point, he was homeless and sleeping outside in the Manitoba provence of Canada). He lived on the streets or with anyone that would let him sleep in their home. He worked odd jobs, barley scraping a living together. Eamon admitted that a few times he tried to get off the streets, but without any success. "Really", he stated, "I gave up on life long ago." Eamon and I spoke for a while longer that night and I told him if he was interested in housing that he should come see me at the office. The day arrived that I was supposed to see Eamon, but he did not show up. I spent the next two weeks looking for Eamon at various camping spots and did not find him. I assumed that he moved to a different town.

I was wrong. One month later, Eamon came to see me at the office. It was a shock to see a healthy, cleanly shaved and smiling Eamon standing in front of me. It turns out that he almost died and had been in the hospital. Some of his organs are failing and he ended up in a coma for over a week. He had been clean for a month and wanted to take me up on my offer.

Eamon moved into housing three weeks later. He has been clean for over five months and housed for three. His health has its up and downs, but that is not stopping him from starting a new life. He is in the process of applying for social security and he volunteers twice a week for various agencies. Eamon has even decided to go back to school. A technical college recently accepted his application and in four years he will receive a bachelors degree. He is currently applying for scholarships and trying to make sense of the student aid process. It will cost quite a bit of money, but he states that it is worth it. He tells me "Quinn, life is worth living and I will make this happen". I believe he will.

Congratulations, Marc!

JOIN's fearless leader won the Lowenstein Trust Award for his extraordinary contribution to our community. Check it out:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/02/jolin_wins_lowenstein_award.html

Immersion Retreat- A glimpse into being homeless in Portland

Immersion Retreat- A glimpse into being homeless in Portland

by Rico Micallef

My son John is being confirmed this year at St. Anthony’s in Tigard. Kathy Fedr is the youth minister in charge of the program. The kids need to perform service hours for confirmation. As part of the service hours, Kathy makes available a variety of programs to give the kids the opportunity to perform these service hours. One of the programs is an “Immersion Retreat” with JOIN. JOIN is a Portland based outreach program whose mission is to make connections with homeless people and help them transition into housing. Kathy told me about the program. I thought it sounded like a great program, and a way to gain insight into a world that I really knew very little about. In fact I thought the program would be a great experience for me and my kids, Maria (13), John (14) and Megan (16); my oldest Amy is away at University of Oregon so she did not participate. My goal was to gain understanding and insight and hopefully through that gain compassion for a lifestyle that I fortunately have never had to experience. So the kids and I, along with Kathy Fedr, Gabe and Katie, (two other confirmation students) headed down to JOIN for the immersion on Friday Jan 16. We arrived at JOIN at about 7:30pm, and were met by Malcolm; a 24 year old man whose enthusiasm to help was quite infectious. Malcolm’s sense of duty and willingness to help is very inspiring, this is a man that clearly feels guilty that he gets to leave the world of the homeless and curl up in his bed each night.

The evening started with a discussion of what our expectations and thoughts about homelessness were. That evening we slept in sleeping bags on the floor. We awoke the next day at 6am, and took the bus to the Blanchet House for breakfast. Blanchet House is in Old Town and serves 3 meals a day, 6 days a week. They serve 41 guests at a time, but still manage to provide an astonishing 26,000 meals a month! We broke up into groups of two, and got in line; once we entered we were given a fork and satdown at table. We were immediately given a plate with 2 pieces of French toast, a ¼ of a grapefruit and half a bagel. In addition there was a thermos of hot chocolate, peanut butter and syrup on the table. This was a perfect way to warm up on what was a beautiful but cold January morning. Maria (my youngest) and I were paired together and we sat down by two gentlemen. The one on my right was a machinist who was out of work; he was well spoken and talked about the difficulty in finding employment. He was inside (i.e. he had a home). The gentleman on my left was difficult to understand, all his belongings were in a large black garbage bag. He took considerable interest in Maria and me and was very concerned for our well-being. Although I told them both that we were here with JOIN, they did not understand that we were in a sense, “visitors”. They did not pass judgment on us, did not look at us and see that our clothes were in better condition then theirs; they simply assumed we were in dire straights and were now in a similar predicament as they were. I am a coffee drinker, and I HAVE to have my morning cup of coffee. I asked about coffee, there was none, that morning they were serving hot chocolate. I poured a cup of hot chocolate. Well, the gentlemen on left got up, went to his bag and returned with a jar of instant coffee, and proceeded to share with me. Once I finished my cup of hot chocolate he called someone over and got me a cup of hot water and made me a cup of instant coffee! I was taken back, this man who had so little would so willingly share with me. After all, he did not know me from Adam, had no idea what my story was, just that I, like him, was at Blanchet House this cold morning for breakfast. Well, his generosity did not stop there. He asked me about various social agencies that I could go to for help. I tried to explain that we were here with JOIN, but he simply said “great”, and sought to further assist us. I did not know what to say, do I say I am not homeless; I am just here to learn? Well, I did not; I did not want to offend him. I accepted his willingness to help and told him that we were working with JOIN today. He asked me if I had food stamps, when I said “no” he offered to meet me later to take me to the food stamp office. Then he opened up his wallet and gave me 7 coupons for meals at the Sisters of the Road Café. The café serves low cost nutritious meals to everyone. The meals can be purchased via cash, food stamps or in exchange for work. He clearly had worked there and had earned a variety of meal tickets. I thanked him and told him that he needed them, so he should keep them. He insisted that he had plenty for himself and for me to take them, so that I could take care of my daughter! I was overwhelmed and accepted his generosity. At the time I really did not know what these coupons were for and what they were worth, so after breakfast we got together to discuss our experience and I told Malcolm about the coupons and offered them to him, asking him to give them to someone who could utilize them. He instead gave each of us one of the coupons and said that if someone asked you for money give them this instead.

We then proceeded to walk around Old Town, where various social services, missions, housing, etc. were. In addition we learned the necessity of having the facilities downtown. Interestingly, the bus station is a central part of this. Greyhound is the most likely form of transportation that the homeless use, as a result many arrive in Portland via Greyhound, hence there is a need for these various missions to be near the Greyhound station. In addition since the government social services are downtown, there is a need for affordable housing downtown. This presents a difficult economic dilemma. How do you revitalize downtown neighborhoods but at the same time keep them affordable for low-income individuals? Low-income families typically do not have transportation, and must walk or take the bus to get from place to place. Being a distance outside of the city makes it very difficult to visit social services.

We eventually made our way to Downtown Chapel, where we sat and conversed and Megan and Katie served bagels and soup. We spoke with a variety of people; some of the stories were quite elaborate and hard to follow. One woman who was very friendly and told elaborate stories gave Maria a small toy. Once again the generosity and sense of community among the individuals we met was incredible. It was now around noon, and it was time for our scavenger hunt and lunch. We were each given a $1 for lunch. We could give the dollar away; buy something to eat or something else. In addition we could go back to Blanchet House for lunch. We broke up into two teams, John, Katie and I, and Kathy, Megan, Maria and Gabe. The scavenger hunt consisted of finding various services for the homeless such as where to get a food basket, where to eat lunch, where to go for shelter, where are public bathrooms, where to get socks or blankets as well as learning terminology such as what is the CHIERS van? What is a Burnside Cadillac? Find a copy of Street Roots and find out what the newspaper used to be called. In order to be successful it was necessary to converse with people on the street. This was an excellent way to simulate the day-to-day activities that a person who recently found himself on the street would have to go through. Since we had recently had soup and a bagel we ended up skipping lunch. I used my $1 to buy a copy of Street Roots. The other team had lunch at the Blanchet house- where they enjoyed bratwurst.

At 1PM we met back at the bus stop and took the bus back to JOIN. At JOIN we met Buck, a man who spent several years on the street, but has now been off the street with the help of JOIN for several years. Buck was a small business owner who lost everything after his wife died. He had difficulty coping after the loss of his wife, and eventually found himself on the street after losing his business and his home. Buck was a very pleasant man. He explained why he had chosen to live underneath the Ross Island Bridge rather than in a shelter. In a shelter, you are inches away from the other occupants; illness and disease can spread easily among the occupants. In addition, Buck had a dog. There are no shelters that accept animals. In those situations a person has little choice but to wave a sign and ask strangers for money. To be honest, I have historically never had much sympathy for people hustling money on the street. I always assumed that they chose to be there and there were plenty of places that they could go if they wanted to. I never realized that there were reasons why you would not go to a shelter versus staying on the street.

Our first task was “dumpster diving”, we went to a dumpster that was locked at a local car wash. They permitted us to “look through” the dumpster to find items that a homeless person could use. The kids found a towel, cans, bottles, a sandwich that was still wrapped, and other “useful” items. When we were done we put the items back into the dumpster. We then proceeded to the Ross Island Bridge, where Buck showed us where he once lived. He and seven others lived in tents underneath the bridge. They would carry 4 gallons of water in jugs several times per week from the gas station to their campsite. The water was strictly for drinking and cooking. Buck mentioned that when he was on the street he took a shower once every six months. I use to work on Milwaukie, as a result I drove over the Ross Island Bridge almost everyday for about 3 years; I had no idea that anyone was living underneath the bridge. When we were there, we came across one shelter underneath the bridge made of cardboard. This winter, the idea of living underneath the Ross Island Bridge with only cardboard protecting you from the wind and cold is truly frightening!

We returned to JOIN, where we met Michael, a man that had been on the streets since he was 10 years old. Drugs and an abusive home life had put Michael on the streets. He spent much of his youth in and out of jail involved in drugs and violence. He was now clean and off the street, and wanted to help educate people on the horrors of making the wrong choices.

We then had a simple dinner of pasta with vegetables, sauce and bread. The last thing we did was reflect on the weekend and what we learned.

My children thought I was nuts to “make” them do this. Only my youngest, Maria, thought it would be an interesting exercise. In the end they all came way with something. I know for myself, I achieved what I wanted, which was to gain a better understanding of the issues facing the homeless and more compassion for their plight. Hopefully the lessons we learned will translate into action, making ourselves available to help. I for one plan on doing more to assist people who find themselves homeless through a variety of circumstances.

One last thought…..

I cannot but help think of an encounter I had several years ago with a homeless person. Allegro, my company, was at the time located on Airport Way. There was a green area behind Allegro with trees and a creek running through it. We had two homeless people “camped” behind us. At first I did not think much about it. Unfortunately, they would routinely go through our dumpster and make a mess; this coupled with employees concern for their safety left me little choice but to deal with the situation. I went out to speak with the people in the tent, but they were not there. Their “campsite” was a mess: garbage everywhere, old computers, monitors, open cans of food, trash, etc. I returned to my desk and called the landlord and explained the situation to them. They called the police and the police came out. When I showed them to the campsite, the officer had his gun drawn. I was a bit alarmed and asked why; he explained that you never know what you are going to find. I thought to myself- I naively walked into the camp by myself, maybe that was not such a good idea? The officer left a note advising them that they were trespassing on private property and that they had 24 or 48 hours to clear out or their belongings would be seized and thrown away. I felt awful, and asked if that was truly necessary. After all, how could we throw the few belongings these individuals had? I was told that if we tried to help we simply would never get rid of them and it was best to take this approach. Having had no prior experience with this type of situation, I took the easy path followed the officer’s advice. In the end Allegro was a tenant, it was not my choice to evict them or not. At the same time that this was going on, we had found a cat in the warehouse that had a litter. Before the day was out, several employees had volunteered to take the kittens home, and one employee passed a hat around to raise money to take the cats to the vet to ensure they were fine. There was no hat passed around for the individuals “camped” behind Allegro. No one wanted to know who they were; all they wanted was for them to be gone. I am ashamed that I did not do the Christian thing and help them. Unlike the man at Blanchet House that was so willing to assist me, at that time I was not willing take a chance, I told myself I was too busy, it was not my problem. I took the easy way out, and I closed my eyes. I won’t let that happen again.

Snow Days

When I was first considering this blog entry, I was planning to describe a day that had gone quite well.

I had arrived at the JOIN office early and was happy to see that the box truck which I had signed out was there and ready to roll. I had an easy drive to a SE apartment complex where I met with a man that I met doing outreach and the manager of the complex.

He was receiving his keys to his new apartment and spirits were high. We had been searching for a place that would approve his application in spite of his two felony drug convictions one and two years before. Although I am confident that he will be a great tenant, finding a landlord who was willing to offer him a chance was not easy.

After touring his new place and exchanging happy words, I was back on the road and headed for the Community Warehouse.

JOIN helps folks find housing. The Community Warehouse helps folks create homes. The staff there are amazing and patient and helpful.

The man that I was meeting was waiting for me and we quickly went to work finding a fold out couch and two chairs and a table that would fill his small studio apartment. His experience finding a place was also challenging. He has an eviction within the last year along with significant time sleeping outdoors.

We unloaded the furniture into his apartment and I sat down to take in the warmth. We had worked hard and together to find a good place.

The rest of my day was spent stopping by the apartment of a guy that JOIN had helped move in to an apartment about a year ago, and visiting a man that I recently helped to move into the Clark Center Men's shelter, and a few campers out in the eastern part of my Southeast outreach area.

I remember driving home feeling that things had unfolded nicely.

And then the weather threatend.

Before the first of the frost hit, JOIN had issued a press release asking for donations of blankets and our office filled up quickly. Every outreach worker and several other staff loaded vehicles and hit the streets with blankets, coats, socks, hats, scarves and gloves. The once over-filled office emptied within a couple of days as we worked day and night checking in on folks.

Now the weather seems so familiar and the snow quite beautiful.

Donations are continuing to pour in and we are continuing to get them out to folks who are choosing to stay outside instead of seeking shelter in one of the warming centers.

I am so very impressed by the way that our community is looking at this extreme weather as an opportunity to look out for one another. I wish I could pass along the thanks I hear from people to those in the community who are donating clothes, money and time to help out folks who need it.

Warming Center Opens in JOIN's New Building

Left: Marc Jolin and Nick Fish at the Warming Center Press Conference

Right: The new warming center

November 18th, 2008, by Mike O'Malley

Staff Meeting
The Join staff, just like any community, can be grouped along many different fault lines: meat-eaters and vegetarians; right-handed folks and lefty southpaws; coffee drinkers and tea sippers; loyal true-blue Democrats and ornery Nader-supporters; those who appreciate the work of Bruce Springsteen and those who feel that Bon Jovi is actually the best thing to ever come out of Jersey. To this list must be added: those who love meetings and those that tolerate them. I tend to fall into the latter of these categories, but, since I am lucky enough to work with some of the coolest, most extraordinary and talented people on the face of the earth, I don’t mind spending an hour every Tuesday morning in staff meeting. Sometimes we pick up some donuts to make the meetings more palatable—nothing like fried dough to take the edge off the morning. The donuts are noticeably lacking at this morning’s meeting, but there is a new staff member—her name’s MC, she’s a JV, and she’s AOK by me. We spend the hour discussing some of the pressing issues facing our agency right now and sharing stories with each other. Since I spend a great deal of time working on my own, I really appreciate this chance to check in with my co-workers and bask in the warmth of their company and their wit.

Moving Furniture
When the meeting adjourns, I head out in Join's furniture-moving vehicle, a giant white box truck that is the vehicular equivalent of Moby Dick. Today, I am bringing furniture to two people who Join helped move off the streets and into apartments. I am assisted in my efforts by Amit, a generous friend with a strong back and a work schedule that is flexible enough to allow him to volunteer a few hours for Join every once in a while. Together, we drive to the Oregon Community Warehouse and sift through their aisles and aisles of donated furniture and household items, the blessed detritus of our society ("We are totally dependent on America's habit of upgrading its home furnishings," one Warehouse employee reflects). Amit and I cram the great white whale with some nice pieces of furniture and head first to Sally's apartment.

I met Sally in 2001, camping near a freeway off-ramp in the Hollywood district with her longtime boyfriend, Ted. We've stayed in close contact over these past seven years as she struggled to survive on the streets while battling her addiction, eventually kicking heroin a couple of years ago with the help of the methadone program. It was a happy, joyous day last April when Sally finally moved off the streets and into her own one bedroom apartment, a beautiful place in Southeast Portland. I'm thinking about that April day as Amit and I pull up to her place and unload the furniture. Sally is there waiting for us and is extremely grateful for the recliner and queen-sized mattress, though I catch the emotional exhaustion in her voice. Last week, Sally came home to find Ted lying dead on her mattress in a pool of blood and bile, a victim of liver failure. On the same day, Sally was informed that her best friend in Portland had also died. Amit and I spend a while hanging out with Sally in her apartment and offer what emotional support we can, but this is a woman who has experienced the kind of bad day that few of us can imagine. Considering the hard rain of events that this last week has brought her, though, she actually seems like she is doing fairly well. "I just have to keep moving forward," she says. "It's what I've always done." I leave the apartment in awe at the strength and resilience of her spirit, with a promise to visit her again soon.

Our second furniture delivery is also in Southeast Portland, just down the road from Sally. Roger is another long time camper, someone that I have known since 2000. He moved off the streets a few days ago and has been sleeping on the floor of his empty apartment in a nest of gray disaster blankets ever since. Amit and I bring him a veritable IKEA's worth of household furnishings: bed, couch, coffee table, end tables, lamps, armchair, artwork, and various kitchen sundries. I can tell that Roger is very pleased with all that we have brought him, though he is not one to gush. To be blunt, he is a cranky, cantankerous, crotchety old-timer, but I am actually very, very fond of this weathered survivor and extremely happy to seem him safely inside before the winter cold descends on Portland. As we sit and chat in Roger's now furnished apartment, the subject of a telephone comes up. "I don't want one," Roger says emphatically. " People don't want to talk to me, and I don't want to talk to them!" Present company excluded, he assures me. I thank him for that honor and tell him that I'll come back and visit soon. Amit and I return to the box truck and head back to Join.

A Day at the JOIN "House"

JOIN always inspires such a mix of emotions for me. I can feel sorrow, peace, frustration, anxiety and joy on any given day as I interact with our community. Human emotions are often laid bare here.

I help run JOIN’s basic services in our day space, “The House,” and I am continually reminded of how physically and emotionally taxing homelessness and poverty can be. The House can often be chaotic. New people looking for housing, regulars waiting for a shower, and people just looking for a safe place to rest all crowd into our small space. I’ve learned to focus on the person in front of me with single-minded intensity.

My friend Hank is facing the reality the he will go blind shortly unless he gets surgery on his corneas. Hank has no insurance. He doesn’t qualify for Oregon Health Plan. He is already $35,000 in debt. He spoke very casually about his predicament, perhaps because he has so many other health problems. He told me, “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” I wonder if he will be able to navigate the lengthy appeals process for Social Security Disability in time to apply for OHP. We shall see. Despite the challenges his health poses, Hank is always eager to chat with me and often offers to help clean up our day space at the end of the day.

I’ve seen a spike in the number of families with children seeking housing services. It is so heartbreaking to see little kids who are worried about where they will sleep for the night. At the same time, small acts of kindness and beauty punctuate the community landscape here. One camper offers another a bus ticket after we have run out. People exchange tips on the best places to get meals. Morris, a JOIN regular, is so proud of the macramé bracelets he has been creating. A tiny kitten was recently a temporary resident of JOIN during the day. Scott and Angie’s cat had kittens, and we are helping to find a home for one of them. I make a point to wander upstairs periodically to join the crowd of admirers clustered around her. Scott and Angie have inquired about pet services, which can be difficult for low-income folks to get on a consistent basis. We are lucky to have a partnership with Pet Samaritan for our campers and their pets.

Jillian, House Coordinator